Start of Joe Martin

Welcome to the Natural State

Andrew in the back seat, Will ridin’ shotty, and the author in the cockpit, we departed Iowa City remarkably on schedule.

Six hundred miles lay ahead to reach Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Joe Martin Stage Race. The wind in

Iowa as we set out was not so nice, as our new Giant TCRs were exposed to the elements on the roof. But nothing to fear, no doubt

their “beefy” bottom bracket and massive head tubes kept them firmly intact.

Darkness fell and the night driving began. The guys dozed off and I clicked through my CD collection. Can’t believe some of my CD’s are over 10 years old, like Dr. Dre’s Chronic 2001. There were a few periods when we were the only ones on the road as the semis pulled off the road for the night. The number of semis made it evident we were traveling along a major artery of American commerce, and yes we were headed straight to the home of Walmart

The miles clicked by and the terrain turned from flat to rock cliffs on the side of US71 South. And then there it was, the sign said “Welcome to the Natural State.” I feel it y’all, this is going to be a fine trip. Oh yeah racing tomorrow, stay tuned.