Brinkley, Arkansas

Woke up to another flat on the trailer in Beebe this morning. Apparently I did not check the tire well enough with the first flat yesterday. When I broke down the tire again, I found a staple size piece of metal in the tire casing. I removed it with a pair of needle nose pliers - patched the tube - remounted the tire - and we were off once again on our adventure. 70 miles today. We averaged over 15 miles per hour thanks to very little climbing and not too significant of a head wind. We stopped often due to the heat and humidity and had a nice lunch at the "The Hornet's Nest Cafe" in Hazen, Arkansas. It reminded us of the Starlight back in Vale (Many of the local farmers were in there for lunch) except that The Hornet's Nest had locally caught catfish fillets on the salad bar. Betsy had 2 of them because "They were good." Today was probably the hottest day yet so far, but I think we are both handeling it just fine. We are staying in Brinkley, AR tonight and heading south to West Helena, AR (along the Mississippi River) in the morning.

Beebe, Arkansas

60 miles today. We actually had a tail wind for 40 or so miles which was nice for a change. No flats on the bike today and it worked beautifully. On the flip side we got our first flat on the trailer today. We had 2 groups of people stop and offer to assist us while changing the flat. One women who stopped was intrigued with the idea of riding across country. She was sitting in her office and saw us ride by and came outside of her business to watch us pass when she saw us pull over and get off the bike. She thought that perhaps someone was ill or hurt as it was already 90 plus degrees and she jumped in her car and drove out to assist. Another couple stopped with their pickup and identified themselves as bikers and offered their work shop and/or tools/parts if we needed anything. The first women who stopped offered her home to stay in if we needed a place. The generosity of people we have met never ceases to amaze me. Once again a great day on the bike with my best friend.

Morrilton, Arkansas

We woke up this morning to another flat tire. I duct-taped the inside of the casing of the front tire (formally the rear tire) but the tire still loses pressure slowly despite changing tubes. I repump it every time we stop for a break and it is working well enough. My last "new tube" was miss marked and when I opened the box to fix the tire I discovered it was a schrader valve and not a presta. It is now in the garbage can of the hotel. There was a stiff wind out of the south today that at times was a headwind, but we where thankful for it as it helped to keep us cooler. Where ever we stop people remind us to stay hydrated as " it is very hot out there". Many people are very interested in the tandem. We are not on an established bike route so people are not used to seeing bikers. Most smile and ask lots of questions and I suspect most of them think we are nuts. They are probably correct. Hooray!!! We arrived at Russellville at 1030 AM. There was not one but two bike shops in Russellville and Highlander Cycles not only had tires (Specalized Roubaix Kevlar) that fit our bike, but they also had a rear derailer (Durace of course) that works as well. The set up in the shop reminded me of our own Eastern Oregon Cycles. They had a surprising inventory of parts despite their size. The owner is a young women who does triathlons and she just hired a new mechanic this year "Josh". They worked on our bike over their lunch hour and had us on our way by 1PM. We rode over rollers much of the day and along a river that became a large lake as we enter Russellville. We rode across a mile long bridge across the lake. Betsy and I both commented how surprised we were at the beauty of this state. So far it is one of our favorites including the Rockies. Kansas - not so much.

Clarksville, Arkansas Tuesday June 21, 2012

66 miles and 2 flats today. The tires are starting to show the wear and tear of the trip. Time to start looking for new ones.I moved the back tire to the front to see if that helps. We changed one flat while at a fruit stand along the road. Great peaches and grapes. The owners son (Anthony) "helped". We met a local man there who was buying fruit who was also a road biker. He had ridden across Arkansas and Georgia last year. He gave us some tips and advise on route. The derailer that was bent in Colorado is giving us more and more trouble, The bike is jumping gears in the mid-ranges despite our best efforts on many of the climbs and the barrel adjuster was stripped the same time the derailer was bent. Looking ahead there may be a bike shop in Russellville. Hopefully they will have some parts. Either way the bike is working well enough to make it. The weather is hot and humid but Betsy,s Camel- Back loaded with ice water gives us plenty of cold water to drink. She refills it at the local convenience stores we come across. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Most motorists are very courteous. We average one idiot on the road a day. Not bad considering.

ARKANSAS !!!

We arrived at Van Buren, Arkansas at 4PM today. We took the route less travelled and lots of hills. The good news - what goes up usually comes down, the bad news - what comes down usually goes up - and that my friends sums up our day. We did 65 miles of heat and hills but Betsy and I both commented this was one of the better days on the bike. The difference seems to be that we got an early start. We had 50 miles under our saddles before noon. We stopped at the Sunshine Cafe in Natural Dam, Arkansas and met a number of friendly and notable people. The ones that come to mind are "Christy" originally from Eugene, Oregon who waited on us for the meal and the "Hobson's" a couple who talked with us at length and offered advice on our route through Arkansas and kindly gave us a state road map (which we had been unable to find), and the guys sitting on the front porch of the cafe who jokingly told us we only had one big hill to climb during the last 15 miles to our hotel (they lied). This is the 5th state since we started our adventure. On to Clarksville, AR in the morning.

Tahlequah, OK

50 miles today. Still hot and humid as you would expect, but we actually had a tailwind (sort of) for the last 6 miles. Lots of hills as usual but also lots of trees. This is not Kansas anymore. Thank Goodness!!! Pizza tonight and sleep early. a little less than 70 miles is on the schedule for tomorrow and we will be leaving Oklahoma behind and starting our travel through Arkansas.

Pryor, Oklahoma 16 June 2012

4th flat today. Not bad for 1300 miles. 90 degree's and 90% humidity. We arrived at our scheduled stop of a Holiday Inn Express at 4PM. The first room, the locks did not work and we had to call the front desk to let us out. This resulted in room change number 1. Then the next room would not lock. This resulted in room change number 2 and resulted in an upgrade to a suite. Head winds as usual but all in all a good day. On to Tahlequah, Ok on Fathers Day.