Day 4

Leaving the hotel in Little Rock this morning, I wanted to check out a local bike shop, so I headed to Spokes Little Rock. I'm going to start by saying that this is the coolest shop I've ever been in, with super cool employees and a coffee shop. 

I sat down and talked with some of the dudes for a while and they hooked me up with a free drink at the coffee bar, which led me to find out the shop is owned by the owners of intelligentsia coffee, a big name on the cycling racing scene!

I hung out for about an hour before I went to hit the road, making it a pretty late start, leaving town around noon.

I rode historic highway 67, which took me through Jacksonville, a town that holds lots of civil war sites.

I got a bit turned around in Searcy, but eventually found my way back to my route, adding about 12 miles to my day. I decided to skip lunch since today was starting so late and such high mileage, and just ate a bit of peanut butter every time I stopped for water. 

I finally made it to Newport for the evening, after over 100 miles, and stopped to eat at a Mexican restaurant. Afterwards I talked to some locals to try and find a place to stay, and a man named Charlie Churchman said I could camp on his hardware store property. I rode about a mile to his store and set up my hammock, only to have a seizure and fall out of my hammock. With a massive headache, I wasn't feeling like camping anymore, so I booked a room at one of the three motels in this tiny town. I woke up this morning and ate the continental breakfast while writing. Today's goal is Poplar Bluff Missouri, so I should be crossing my second state line!