Today was a perfect day of riding. The ride started at 50 degrees and warmed up to the mid-60s and it was sunny with low winds. Although I have been trying to be a purist and ride every mile, there are times when safety and my mental health take priority and we make minor modifications since we have the support vehicle. Today we started on the opposite side of town from where we stayed as Clanton is a high truck traffic area at the intersection of a major highway. We skipped ahead about 4 miles of riding due to the heavy traffic and lack of a road shoulder. I promise I'll try to make those four miles up later in the trip. Once out of town we continued on AL 22 which, although narrow, 55 mph speed limit, and still no shoulder, is a nice road. After 15 miles, we turned on to Rt 183 for 26 miles. It had a few rolling hills but also a fair amount of flat riding. Dale and I cruised along the mix of pine woodlots, pastures and occasional row crop farmland meeting Marie for a quick break about every 10 miles. As we approached Marion, we saw signage indicating that we were riding on part of the historically significant Selma to Montgomery 54 mile voting rights march in 1965. The last few miles had some steep hills, and once in Marion, we walked our bikes up the last hill and met Marie at a local restaurant, Lotties, where we had BBQ. After 44 miles, farther than either of us have ever biked in one day, it hit the spot. We were tired, but felt triumphant as the traffic stress was much reduced and physically we'd conquered this stretch.

Tonight we stayed in Selma, AL. We took the opportunity this afternoon to ride into the city and see some of the historic sights. We drove over the Edmund Pettus bridge which was the site of the brutal beatings of civil rights marchers during the first march for voting rights. On the other side, we stopped at the Civil Rights Memorial Park and read the plaques in the park. It is such an important piece of history that we need to continue to recognize, learn from and push for change. We drove by: the Brown Chapel AME church which is where the march was planned and started; National Voting Rights Museum and Institute which was unfortunately closed by the time we arrived; the Old Live Oak Cemetery; the Old Depot Museum, also closed; and the Old Town Historic District. You could spend several days here.