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Batesville MS to Tupelo MS – 93.53 miles – 4529 ft climbing

After the harrowing 25 miles or so on Mississippi highways, I decided to reduce my chances for being road kill. Upon rising, I planned alternative routes that added about 6 miles for the day, but reduced the amount of miles on the highway of death from 20 to 7. Believe me, every additional mile was worth it, even if the roads were dicey rough at times.

Starting out at the crack of dawn, I thought I would traverse the 20 miles to Oxford (home of Ole Miss – University of Mississippi) while traffic was still relatively light. What I didn’t count on were the inbred hillbillies with IQs too low to register on any tests. Putting them behind an 18 wheeler is a recipe for terrorizing cyclists.

The best analogy I can give to relate the experience is to imagine the shot up signs so common through Texas and Oklahoma. The vehicles just can resist taking target practice on something so nice and bright yellow – about the same color yellow as my windbreaker.

My first experience with this was when a lone truck approached from behind. Rather than getting over, I watched in horror as it angled as close to me as it possibly could, then roared by, blasting its horn at the opportune time for maximum decibels in my ear and optimum shock value. This happened on numerous occasions during the day.

One puny little sedan even tried the same tactic with great effect. I never figured it would be so daring as it took me by surprised and forced me off the road after crossing the devilish road ruts that made mincemeat of my rear tube as it blew out. The damn ruts are on many of the highways. Today I had to deal with it on the 4 lane divided highway of death out of Batesville and again on the two lane highway through the Holly Springs National Forest as shown below.

What makes the whole route today so disturbing is that you never know when that terrorist will come up from behind. Even roads that seemed safe for miles and miles can suddenly turn vicious. I equate it to a quiet creek that turns into a raging torrent during a flash flood. A half dozen trucks will just appear when none were on the road for the entire length up until then.

There was one incident of scoring one for the good guys. I was cresting a hill and watching three vehicles racing from behind and overtake me. The first one blew by me closely, but nowhere near as close as those devilish trucks. The pickup truck that followed gave me the full lane. The trailing vehicle, which apparently the lead car did not see, was a county sheriff who immediately put on its lights and chased down and pulled over the first car. It serves him right.

Most of the time today I had to constantly monitor the traffic behind me. My game plan was to make a strategic exit onto the shoulderless side of the road when seeing approaching traffic in front and an approaching truck from behind.

There were also long stretches when I just eased back and pedaled at a leisurely pace through the quiet rural woods and residential areas. Those times kept me sane and composed from the adrenaline rush of the early morning encounters with the devil.