Good Day

Today my wife and I got up early and headed down to Hattiesburg. We rented bikes and trekked a few miles down the Longleaf Trace, which is an old railroad line that has been paved over. It runs for roughly forty miles toward Prentiss, Mississippi. They hope to connect it eventually with Natchez, but that's in the far future.

We didn't rent ordinary bikes. We rode recumbent bikes. They're known as "bents" in the biking community. Basically, the rider sits in a more reclined position. Imagine sitting with your back against the wall and pushing your coffee table forward. Since it's a more natural motion, you have more power and your back doesn't hurt as much.

In fact, every single speed record for bikes belongs to a recumbent, if the various websites I've visited are telling the truth.

My wife rented a three-wheeled recumbent, which is incredibly easy and fun to pedal. Any time you want to take a break, you can just stop pedalling and catch your breath. We would switch bikes every now and then to work the different muscle groups so we could continue. I think we covered about 14 miles in a little over two hours- not bad for two people who rarely ever bike.