 Abandoned machinery after spring flooding SH81 Levee Rd  The impact of Kudzu, common everywhere |
 Charlie and Bettye Jane kindly gave me a lift to 6 miles north of Ripley |
5/9/2011 Hickman KY to Ripley TN
D56, T2.22, Av23.53 Total 5262
Fine day 24℃ strong northerlies
Bart dropped me off some 30 miles from his propperty on the levee Rd near Tiptonvale. A developed northerly of 35Km was blowing in my favour, it was easy going.
That was until my rear tyre deflated , now for the third time ,I only had tubes that were patched. Finding a spot of the levee and down a farm trail, on turning rhe bike upside down my biggest hassle was keeping the wind from blowing it over.
The leak was instigstigated by a tiny piece of wire from a stell belt radial. The rear tyre is so worn now that entry by foreign objects are faced with little resistence. The tyre has done a laborious 5300k loaded and 1000 unloaded. It just has to get me to Memphis where a replacement waits.
Back on the road machinery in various states of repair were parked up obviously abandoned following the May flood. All sorts of farm implements, a semi and even a mobile home on a trailer made up the assortment.
Much of the crops roadside, corn, cotton and soya beans had been planted post flood and were consequently much less advanced than those previously seen.
Cotton was now a common crop, one couldn’t help imagine the fields in days gone by when slaves hand picked the white fluff. Bart showed me how it was done, just the cotton is plucked from the open boll. The tips of the open boll often in the cottonball are fine tipped and sharp. These people must have had calluses on the end of their fingers. Bending all day would have been mandatory.
Today John Deere have harvesters with air conditioners so perfected that the cab is totally dust free with the drivers favorite music on tap .
Services were non existent on these rural roads ,houses were sparse. With such a tail wind blowing, heading in the wrong direction was not on.
Feeling my course maybe wrong ,I flagged down a pickup on a straight sectoin of road. A young couple were on board with a young babe. They were so helpful and we had one thing in common, bloody chiggers, we got talking and Charlie offered to drive me through the hilly area ahead and drop me six k short of Ripley.
This time I didn’t need much persuasion to accept. We loaded up the pickup and yakked for the next half hour.
Really nice people, young farmers, it’s good to see the next generation taking up the rural challenge. So many encounters with groups of farmers have seen young participants obvious by their absence.
Charlies wife Bettye Jane, as he explain a good southern name is from Louisiana, her parents have a B+B down there, she said ring when I get down there. I may well do that.
Arriving in Ripley and treating myself to a motel, with Walmart across the road, a few supplies were bought, i.e. fruit ,canned salmon.
D56, T2.22, Av23.53 Total 5262
Fine day 24℃ strong northerlies
Bart dropped me off some 30 miles from his propperty on the levee Rd near Tiptonvale. A developed northerly of 35Km was blowing in my favour, it was easy going.
That was until my rear tyre deflated , now for the third time ,I only had tubes that were patched. Finding a spot of the levee and down a farm trail, on turning rhe bike upside down my biggest hassle was keeping the wind from blowing it over.
The leak was instigstigated by a tiny piece of wire from a stell belt radial. The rear tyre is so worn now that entry by foreign objects are faced with little resistence. The tyre has done a laborious 5300k loaded and 1000 unloaded. It just has to get me to Memphis where a replacement waits.
Back on the road machinery in various states of repair were parked up obviously abandoned following the May flood. All sorts of farm implements, a semi and even a mobile home on a trailer made up the assortment.
Much of the crops roadside, corn, cotton and soya beans had been planted post flood and were consequently much less advanced than those previously seen.
Cotton was now a common crop, one couldn’t help imagine the fields in days gone by when slaves hand picked the white fluff. Bart showed me how it was done, just the cotton is plucked from the open boll. The tips of the open boll often in the cottonball are fine tipped and sharp. These people must have had calluses on the end of their fingers. Bending all day would have been mandatory.
Today John Deere have harvesters with air conditioners so perfected that the cab is totally dust free with the drivers favorite music on tap .
Services were non existent on these rural roads ,houses were sparse. With such a tail wind blowing, heading in the wrong direction was not on.
Feeling my course maybe wrong ,I flagged down a pickup on a straight sectoin of road. A young couple were on board with a young babe. They were so helpful and we had one thing in common, bloody chiggers, we got talking and Charlie offered to drive me through the hilly area ahead and drop me six k short of Ripley.
This time I didn’t need much persuasion to accept. We loaded up the pickup and yakked for the next half hour.
Really nice people, young farmers, it’s good to see the next generation taking up the rural challenge. So many encounters with groups of farmers have seen young participants obvious by their absence.
Charlies wife Bettye Jane, as he explain a good southern name is from Louisiana, her parents have a B+B down there, she said ring when I get down there. I may well do that.
Arriving in Ripley and treating myself to a motel, with Walmart across the road, a few supplies were bought, i.e. fruit ,canned salmon.
