Music City

Big change up today. Stayed at the hotel until 11, browsing at the breakfast buffet, talking about past trips and future trips, and using the real computers for Internet.

Got the bikes arranged for shipping home rather than bringing them on the plane. 

We found the perfect music scene with a concert in Centennial park. It was a number of bands and most all were really good...mostly blues and folk and one great a Capella group. It lasted until 5 and then we went down near the tourist area for a beer and some food. Again it was funny to see groups of young women dressed up and some even wearing sashes that said "bridesmaid". Someone mentioned it was wedding season. A Tennessee tradition?

We came back to the hotel and played a few hands of Hearts and talked about flight times in the morning. We'll have breakfast together. 

We did it! - Nashville

Yesterday, the last day of riding, was a long day.  We left the beautiful Bull River Inn about 9:00 and rode easily back to the Trace.  The morning was cool and so we needed jackets.  We had about 10 miles less than previous days and I was starting to get into a rhythm of riding.  It was even more hilly than the day before and we had a headwind for most of the day.

As usual, we broke the day into hour to hour-and-a-half sessions with breaks in between.  Some breaks we just stopped and ate and other times we took the took off our shoes and napped on any horizontal surface.

The trace was beautiful as always with smooth roads and groomed green shoulders.  We did cross the giant bridge (picture below) and made me nauseous to look down.  Dave chucked my apple core off it but I couldn't watch it go down.

The end came at milepost 440 and was kind of an anti-climax.  It just ended.  

Then we found the bike shop, found some packing tape, boxed the bikes, taxi to the airport, pick up the rental car, get to the hotel, shower and drive downtown to dinner.

Downtime Nashville was a scene...the streets were packed with people...women were especially dressed up.  The fashion is for skirts and cowboy boots.  It was mostly young packs of guys or girls, but there was a mix of people that made for great visual entertainment.  Most storefronts were bars with bands blasting away...some country, some rock and roll, none very appealing.  

We had dinner at Jack's Barbecue (picture below) which was great fun.

We slept relatively late today and hung out in the lobby where breakfast was available for several hours...no rush to get going feels nice.

Got to finish up the details of shipping the bikes home and then look around town for a festival and/or some music...hoping to hear some Blues.

Sure nice to write this blog from a real computer instead of tapping it out on my phone.

Tennessee

Weather report: clear sky, 80 degrees, perfect day for cycling. 

Terrain:  it's been getting hillier, with gradual ups and downs of over a mile. 

We're tired from the accumulation of 80+ mile days so we found some distractions in people to talk to and plenty of rest stops. We got back to the Trace late morning after going through Florence, AL. We crossed the big Tennessee River and eventually had to press to make up time. We got to the B&B at 6:00. 

The Buffalo River Farm is quite a place...a big building...a whole house for us!  We're the only guests. The host, Donna, is very nice and very much into being the best host. It's fancy enough to have made  me nervous at first. Donna went and got us a  take-out dinner and we ate it while watching the Bruins. Not much talk this evening. Early to bed.

We'll be on the road by 9:00 so we can get to the bike shop for packing by 5. This trip is going by fast. 

Welcome to Alabama

Ever heard of Tuscumbia?  That's where we are this evening. Had a good day riding that again should have ended 15 miles sooner. The last part was off-Trace to get to our hotel and it was on a high speed divided road that wasn't designed with anything but motor vehicles in mind. Steve flatted from the junk on the road and then it poured for the last two miles. 

But a hot shower and a cold beer and things looked better. Took a cab into the downtown to eat...Oh Bryun's.  We had a good meal...blackened catfish for most. Desserts for all. 

The weather was decidedly cooler today and is supposed to be tomorrow too.

A few pictures of the day...

To Tupelo

I found today to be harder than yesterday. It seemed hotter and my "contact points" started hurting sooner. We did start by 7:30 and so got some miles in before it really warmed up.  We had some good rest stops including one where we stretched out on the picnic tables and shut our eyes for a few. 

We had a few drops of rain and found out there was a tornado watch this afternoon, but they seem to all be west of here. 

So nice to get to Tupelo where they have hotels, a bike shop and restaurants. Had a good dinner and sang Happy Birthday to Dave over dessert. 

Tomorrow we end in Alabama. 

Jackson to French Camp

The Trace has been surprising. I didn't expect the road to be so super smooth and to be so removed from stores and gas stations. It's a beautiful strip of green parkway through an unknown state. It has a smell that alternates between Easter Lillies and swamp. We also had a tailwind that made us feel super and sped us along. Except for a strange incident with flat tires that refused to be fixed about five miles from the end, we cruised along through the heat and humidity and the smells. Here at French Camp we love the showers and the AC, the nice people and dinner. We finally got to meet Steve. Tomorrow we go another 80 miles to Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis and good bar-b-que.

some pictures..

Jackson

It's going more or less according to plan.  Met Dave in Chicago airport and took the connecting flight to Jackson. Locals on the plane overhearing us had to offer advice and ask about the trip. A few complications with bike assembly at the airport and little daylight made us accept a ride to our hotel from some very nice people with an SUV. Met up with Tom and had a great dinner sitting outside. We're 2 mi from the Trace now.