Nicknames

I have been wanting to write about the various nicknames for the Mississippi River for some time and time is running short for this blog. So here are some of them: The Father of Waters, the Gathering of Waters, the Lazy River, the Big Muddy, the Big River, Old Man River, Body of a Nation, and the Mighty Mississippi.

Today's ride was mostly along the river. We saw two locks and dams today. The river widens quite a bit above the dams. It looked to be at least 2 miles across. I wondered whether the dam caused the river to back up and flood the surrounding area. After some consideration, I decided that the dam is built in these spots because the narrowing of the river forced a lot of water through a narrow area and created rapids that made the river unnavigable. The river here is much calmer than on the Lower Mississippi. There are not as many large rivers feeding the big river in the north.

Today's ride was unremarkable. There was plenty to see, just not enough safe moments to gaze around while riding. We were on a highway for 50 of the 66 miles. The road had a narrow shoulder for most of it and lots of truck traffic. We were honked at many times today. Tomorrow is more of the same with 94 of 101 miles on a major highway. These two days will rank in my least favorite days for bicycle touring.

Today's stats: 66 miles; 15.2 mph; 1041 feet climbing.

Highlight of the day: I had a margarita and beer on the hotel deck overlooking a tributary river to the Mississippi. I do not ordinarily have alcohol on ride nights but wanted to have it to soothe my thoughts about today's ride.