Miniature Burros and Horses in the Backwoods
We recently found some side roads that have very little, if any, truck traffic. Which makes it much more enjoyable and less stressful to explore the area on the recumbent Catrike .
Yesterday, while driving around looking for a place to ride, I found a TVA-administered camping/picnic area called Jackson Island. It's located right on the Tennessee River and a bit crowded with campers rich and mostly poor, but very pretty.
The backwoods around here closely resemble the Estancia and McIntosh areas of New Mexico... lots and lots of abandoned properties with rotted-out and burned-out RV's and mobile homes left to deteriorate in the open weather. Small towns are like NM as well..... mostly boarded-up and closed businesses. Very sad to see so many defunct gas stations, collapsing barns, and used-to-be businesses with waist-high weeds choking the parking lots. Charles Kuralt said it true when he commented that the US Freeway System created long travels "with not a thing to see". We all miss old route 66 and route 60 and 54, highway 85 running north and south through NM, with small businesses and small towns dotting the landscape all along the way. On the one hand, we're happy to not be forced to drive through places like Budville with its acres of rusting cars snatched off the highway because some poor family ran out of gas and left their car for more than a few hours, and no one misses having to creep through Albuquerque's Central Avenue going from Amarillo to LA. On the other, the ONLY businesses that survive freeway conditions are the mega-corporations and Walmarts. The freeway rules forbid having multiple points of entry where small time businesses could lure motorists off the road. Changes come with both good and bad consequences, unfortunately.
I got in relatively short rides yesterday and today, but as usual, even a short ride is better than nothing.
Yesterday's Ride:
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 3.42
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.8 MPH 5.3 MPH 18.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
47 minutes 38 minutes 4 minutes
Today's Ride:
Ride Started: 9:41 AM Ride Ended: 10:47 AM
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.34
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.5 MPH 6.6 MPH 26.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
57 minutes 37 minutes 18 minutes
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