We rode about 63 miles today to Clarksville. We deviated from our planned route, which had us heading through Paris, Arkansas in order to find suitable accommodations for the evening.  This deviation put us onto some less traveled roads and allowed us to see a bit more of the local culture. But it also gave every dog along our path an opportunity to show us what defending their turf was all about.  We were chased by dogs all day, which is unusual for us.  Normally, we are riding along major highways and away from homes. 

Our dog strategy is as follows:

1. Ignore the little guys.  They likely can’t reach up to grab your leg even if that was their intent.  They have short legs and usually can’t run very far. Just keep riding and they will disappear.
2. The barkers usually are just that – all bark.  They come screaming out of the yard but their objective is to let everyone know just how loud they can bark.  The may run with you for a few yards, but they are generally harmless. If you talk to them, sometimes they will even stop barking.
3. Beware of big dogs that don’t bark and run right at you.  These boys mean business and you must be prepared for evasive or defensive actions.  Trying to outrun them is always an option, but it takes energy and you feel somewhat demeaned when it is all said and done (I just let a dog force me to use energy).  The best method here is to pull the water bottle and wait til they get right on you. There is nothing that stops a dog faster than a shot of water in the face.  Dan nailed a big pit bull looking creature yesterday and he retreated.  He then saw me coming and thought I might be fair game until I simply showed him my water bottle.  The big guy politely retreated and decided that I wasn’t a terrorists after all.  I stood victorious.

Our wives arrived for a two-day visit. We are going to relax for a day and then get back on track on Wednesday.  We have about 1000-1100 miles until we reach Savannah and we feel that if we ride hard we may be able to finish sometime between May 1 and May 3. 

We are looking forward to our last leg of the journey.