Tour de Hoot

Saturday, May 19, I traveled to McGehee for this ride. This was my first "Hoot" ride and was going to be my first century ride of the year. The course if flat, except for the bridge crossing the river, and takes you to the Arkansas Post where you turn around and head back.

It was a beautiful warm, and sunny day with great rest stops! At Arkansas City, they had fresh melons by an old courthouse along with wonderful homemade cookies!

I rode with Brad and Susan from our ABC group, rode on "Joe and Ruth's Train" for a little while, and met Paul from Fort Smith who decided to do the century with us.

This was delta land, which I'm very accustomed to cycling on, it seemed like home with all the crops growing and the back roads. We encountered some fierce headwinds after the Arkansas Post while heading back in. Brad had some asthma issues and couldn't finish the last 20 miles, but Paul and I managed to make it! My first century of the year and his first ever century are now history!

This was a fun ride and I look forward to doing it again next year. It raises money for the local Boys and Girls Club which is a great cause. So many small, rural towns don't have organizations like this for our youth so I was glad to be a part of it and help in a small way.