All Kinds of People

Being 6 feet tall with a long brown ponytail, wearing a bright yellow biking shirt with a bright teal helmet peddling around on a bike loaded down with 4 panniers worth of gear, I stand out pretty quickly, especially in small towns like Cassville, MO. Often times, locals approached me out of sheer curiosity. “Where ya biking from?” they would often ask. When I replied, “Georgia,” heads would often turn. As a result, I got to meet quite a few people along the way.

A few things stood out for me. The people I met were genuinely friendly. They waved when they pass in the car. They were genuinely curious about me. And when they care about something, they genuinely care. Morgan, Brad, and Doug, the staff at Alice Irene’s in Marionville, prayed for my safety. I was touched. Anthony and his two sons, Harper and Oquan, (who I met in Washburn, MO) were genuinely psyched to have met me. And I was thrilled to meet such bright eyed young ones eager to connect with their loving grandma for the day. I was also stoked to have lunch with an Ecuadorian cyclist named Ricardo.

The list goes on. Michelle in St Robert was inspiring; Kaya and Robert in Rolla were soooo supportive. Kaitland in Farmington, Judith in Cape Girardeau, the list goes on and on. The police officers in Illinois, Jr and his family that got me across the Ohio River, Tim and Zonda, the staff at the Mexican restaurant in Pikeville, Lena in Dayton, Cody at Blythe Ferry, the park rangers, Peggy and her husband in Cleveland, TN, and Jane and her husband all the way back in Canton, GA. I have been truly blessed to have met such wonderful people along the way.

So, there were some bad apples in Fayetteville, AR. My bike got clipped by someone driving too close. Thank goodness they didn’t even knock me off balance. And, I got honked at, flipped off, and even got cussed out by someone passing me by, all in Fayetteville on a Friday afternoon during rush hour. I guess some folks had a pretty bad week.

Now, the folks from Fayetteville all made it up to me the following morning, so I’ll forgive these offenses. Fayetteville is a real bike friendly town with plenty of mountain biking and paved multi-use trails. They also have a path called the Tsalagi (which is the native pronunciation of Cherokee) and some cool art!