First thing on the agenda this morning was also a momentous occasion as the hotel casino we stayed in last night was right next to the Mississippi River and it was time to cross into Arkansas, my 5th state. I was nervous because bridges scare me. I don't even like to drive over them because of the height and realization I'm on this narrow little piece of concrete way up above the river with walls on each side. Sam's notes said the bridge was long and dangerous and I've wavered over the decision the past few days if I'll just have Marie drive me over or if I'll ride or walk my bike over it. This morning the sun was out and there was little wind and we'd looked at the bridge last night and saw that there was a shoulder so I decided to join Dale over on the bikes. He promised to stop and walk with me if I got two nervous. Even before we started my heart was in my throat and I should add my blood pressure was high this morning.

The Greenville Bridge is over 2 1/2 miles from one side to the other. It was a cool, but beautiful morning and we got on our bikes in the Casino parking lot and within a few minutes we were on US Route 82 (and US 278) and starting up the gradual climb of the bridge. One of the problems with bridges is that the sound of traffic is amplified so it was disconcerting to hear the big trucks pass by, so Dale and I could hardly hear each other. I called out to him that I may need to walk. We'd crossed several bridges by now on this adventure (I'd already walked one and had Marie me drive me over another one, but was determined to challenge myself today). We were familiar with the expansion joints bridges have to adjust for material stretching and shifting due to weather and other natural occurrences and we slowly and silently pedaled over several of these zig-zag seams with gaps running perpendicular to the road.

We'd pedaled nearly a mile, me still in a slight panic from the height and trucks and noise, and were just about where the bridge was starting to level off when I heard a gasp from Dale right in front of me followed by ka-thunk as his bike hit a different kind of expansion joint and came to a stop; fortunately remaining upright. This expansion joint had gaps running parallel with the direction of the road and both his tires had burst when they dropped into the gap. I veered to the side to miss him and in so doing crossed the joint at an angle which kept my tires from falling through. So I got my wish and we walked the remaining mile and a half over the bridge; Dale gingerly pushing his bike along with the two flat tires.

Marie faithfully met us on the other side. Fortunately, Madaleine had brought along some extra tubes and they were the same size as Dale's bike. It was 11:00 before we got biking again by the time Dale had straightened out a rim that had bent on impact and we got both tubes changed and the wheels back on. We'd had so many little issues those last days of Mississippi- I don't think the state wanted us to leave...

We stopped at the beautiful Arkansas welcome center and looked over maps because I wasn't liking the traffic and inconsistent road shoulder of US 82. We plotted out a course and headed south to catch other roads and had smooth flat riding with minimal traffic and dogs. It was nice riding along big flat fields and we made pretty good time until one road turned to gravel; but we carried on and after only about a mile of that we were able to get back on a paved road.

Dale was especially enjoying the different raptors soaring over the open fields (and occasional tree and bayou land). We both watched a plane out of the corner of our eye that was also flying just off in the distance for several miles. We eventually got even with it and realized it was a crop dusting plane spraying a field next to our road. Remembering the tractor sprayer incident from a few days ago we waited for it to pass in front of us and then made a bee-line while it was turning around for it's next pass. But it made an exceptionally quick turn and we were forced to stop while it sprayed and passed directly in front of us. Fortunately, the pilot shut off the sprayer and pulled up quickly and since there wasn't much wind we weren't splattered with chemicals this time.

We pedaled on and not too far up the road we saw Marie had stopped at a church that shared its driveway with an industrial building. We were enjoying our break and Marie's usual delicious sandwiches when the yellow crop dusting plane landed in the field behind the industrial building and drove up not more than 100 feet from where we were eating. We watched while he and a helper refueled and re-supplied chemicals and the plane was soon back in the air to it's next job. Shortly after it left a woman, Sherry, came out from the building and wanted to know all about what we were doing. Her husband had told her he thought he sprayed two bicyclists that morning. We had a great 45 minute chat and she shared all about her and her husbands crop dusting business and her family. She even invited us to ride with her husband his next refill but we politely declined- especially when she told us the man that had ridden with him earlier that morning had lost his breakfast and spent a half hour laying on the ground recovering after he returned from his flight. Sherry also told us about an eagles nest we'd see up the road a few miles and gave us her sister's name and phone number in Texas in case we needed any help when we passed through that state.

We continued on, a little off the beaten path, until around 4:15 this afternoon when we reached Crossett our target destination for the day. We had a fine Cajun meal at a very local eating establishment Beech Street Bistro.

It was a good day; and we biked 52 and a half miles, another personal record.