Johno's 'mad journey' 2 - from the Gulf to Canada

Weather - 83degF (30C) at 9:30am with 85% humidity promised another hot humid day and so it was.  The temperature reached a high of 93F (34C) by early afternoon with a heat index of 104 (40C).  The wind was quite strong from the West-south west for most of the day, and was a sort of tailwind for me. Distance: 62.9miles (101kms) Elevation Gained: 2431 feet (741 meters).  Lots of small hills, the highest gradient about 5%. Calories: 3813 Average Moving Speed: 13.3mph (21kph) in 4hrs44minutes of riding; fast on MS145, but slow touring Tupelo Shvitz Index: 9.5/10, especially in the morning. The two biggest annoyances of sweating so much is the search for enough hydration and so much salt in my eyes.  I drank about 4 liters of water, 2 liters of lemonade, about 1.5 liter of sports drinks , and an ice cold water gift from a stranger. I found out why Tupelo seemed so busy last night since the hotel was filled with fans of "Journey" (minus Steve Perry), the 1980s iconic band...

Weather - 84F (30C0 when I left the hotel at 9:30am.Very hot again with high temperature of 94F (35C(  and a heat index of 104F  (40C) by 3pm.  Sun was intense and a south-westerly wind which was strong at times added to the discomfort.   Heat is expected to increase on Monday to Thursday next week as a heat dome takes hold over the central US with heat indexes up to 110F (43C). Distance: 75.0 miles (120km) Calories burned : 4236 Elevation Gained: 1972 feet (601 meters) Average Moving Speed: 13.3mph (21kph).  It varied a lot from very slow on gravel loose stone county roads to fast (20mph) on the road from Okolona to Tupelo  with the benefit of a tail-wind in 5hrs 40mins of riding. Shvitz Index: 9.5/10.  I stopped at a couple of rural convenient stores to stock up on cold liquids.  I drank a lot - too much to remember but at least 5 litres of water, 32 oz Powerade, a large chocolate milk, 3 Cokes, and 2 lemonades. I follwed Google Maps sugges...

Weather:  74F degs (23C) at 10am with 85% humidity.  Temperature reached 92F (34C) by early afternoon and then the sun got intense.  Heat Index reached 100F (38C) by mid afternoon.  Wind was mostly from the west and a little gusty at times. Distance  73.9 Miles (120kms) Elevation Gain - 2533 ft (772 meters) Calories - 4549 Svitz Index - 9.0/10 (sun was intense for the last 3 hours; not so bad in the morning) Average Moving Speed: 14.1mph (22.7kph) in 5hrs 14min of riding. The speed varied a lot - slow in the towns of Louisville and Starkville but over 17mph (27 kph) on the highway for the last two hours                                                                   I was tired of dealing with chasing dogs on the backroads of Mississippi so I decided to risk a more direct route to Starkville via th...

Weather:  73degF (23C) and 100% humidity at 9am and foggy.  Fog burnt off by about 10am and it was on/off sunny for the rest of the day.  It remained very humid with the high of 85F (30C) and a heat index of 96.   Later in the day, a big thunderstorm that was brewing for a long time hit just as I neared the hotel. Distance: 44.8miles (72.1kms) Elevation gain: 2093 feet (638meters) Calories burned: 2794 Svitz Index 8.5/10 (10/10 when the sun was out but it remained cloudy for much of the day). Average moving speed: 12.8mph (21 kph) in 3hrs33mins of riding (slow touring of some sites and towns)                                                            While today's ride was relatively short today, it had a lot of interesting sights and sites.   I mostly followed the busy highway to Union, getting off it be...