A thunderstorm was the big event of the day. Mid-afternoon I could see a squall to the north. On the road a short way ahead I saw two motorcycle riders were stopped under a freeway overpass. Skies were grey enough that I figured it best to stop just to find out what they were thinking. They had returned from the direction I was headed and said hard rain was coming. We chatted and meanwhile the wind picked up and rain began to fall. I decided to climb up high underneath an overpass and so stayed dry despite lots of wind and rain. That episode cost an hour. I made lots of calls.

The day began with a photographer from the Vicksburg paper. Then at mid-day I was interviewed and photographed by journalists from the Jackson paper. Tomorrow the same routine will take place around noon in Meridian.

The route began with high rollers and then flattened out until Jackson and lots of long hills. My legs hurt this evening, but the scenery was beautiful. Here in Mississippi the trees are large enough to drape over the highway in places.

Speaking of draping, kudzu covers acres and acres of woods and brushland here east of the river. In Louisiana, I saw only one small patch. Spanish moss is common now. I still see a few armadillo parts along the roadside.

In the flat valleys, cotton is developing well. I could smell the pesticide on the fields as I rode past.

In the midst of one large field I saw a pilot in a powered hang glider practicing touchdowns. His buddy was stopped near by. Turned out that they were owners of the company that manufactured the gliders. Meyers was the owner's name.

I've been meaning to write about dogs. Throughout the trek I've been armed with Halt, a pepper spray product in a small push button can.

Whether it has helped I can't say honestly. I do feel safer with it, and I have used it to discourage dogs that chase and come too close.

Especially bothersome have been the two dog teams that wait near the road and charge out fast, snarling and barking. It's great sport for them. They always succeed in scaring me.

I've not hit any dog with the spray. I squirt it on the ground or behind me. They usually stop to check out the odor. I want them to think of me as a bad smelling human thing.

For a while I had the spray hanging in plain view to discourage hassles from humans too. Today one guy said I should carry a gun. I told him that carrying one was a good way to get killed. I think that is true. It's also true about the spray as well. I have it so I use it.

At the interview today in Jackson, I left my bike outside a restaurant. Both reporters thought I should being it inside to avoid having something stolen. I didn't think that was appropriate. I encountered the same suspiciousness in Tucson where I was told to leave nothing of value unattended in my motel room. I'm unfamiliar with both cities, but these suspicions seemed overly cautious. Nothing has been stolen so far.