Thursday, Day 4, 72 Miles

We awake to what appears to be the hottest morning so far (at 5 AM, no less). We get on the road at about 7 and start the long haul back to Jackson and a much needed motel stay. We do fairly well, making the 20 miles back to Red Dog Road. The next 20 to River Bend is much tougher and we stop for trail mix, water and a much needed rest. But, as they say, “It ain’t gonna ride itself”, we get back on and head back along the edge of the reservoir. The crossing breeze from yesterday is now a head wind, due the passing of the front last night. We struggle mightily for the next 17 miles to the overlook, take another rest and refreshment stop and call the hotel for directions. It appears there is no way there with light traffic and, as a local had told us earlier that morning, “the roads don’t have any shoulders in Mississippi”. So we take the Clinton bike trail for about 5 miles and get off on Highway 51/State Street. Four lanes, heavy traffic and the absolute worst surface we have experienced (there were dirt roads on the Great Divide that were better). To make things worse, there’s a nice head wind and then it starts to rain. Hunter thought the rain was actually an improvement, since it cooled us off. After about 10 miles of this we finally make the Hilton Gardens downtown. The receptionist made the mistake of asking me “How are you”? We get to the room, clean up, hang stuff out to dry and head directly to the bar. Fortunately, they have a real nice Alabama-made IPA on tap and a helpful bartender to provide recon. We take his recommendation and head 1 block down the street to the Mayflower Grill, which looks to have been a local hangout forever. Good food, reasonable prices and we head back to the hotel rejuvenated.