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. 

Ready to go

I'm finally packed.  Bike in box and gear in panniers.  The handlebar bag is almost empty.  Total weight of the gear is18 pounds.  It doesn't feel to bad, but I don't know if that's a lot or a little weight.  I know that it's a lot less than it would be if I was backpacking. 

I'll leave from Manchester, NH to get Southwest Airlines.  A few weeks later and I could have gotten a Southwest flight from Portland as they're just starting up in Maine.  I'll meet Dave at Midway in Chicago for the connection to Jackson.  The weather forecast for Jackson on Monday, our first full day of riding, is 90 degrees and humid...gonna sweat some this week!

1,2,5,6,7,8,9 gears

It's getting close to when I need to pack the bike up, but I had some gear issues last time out and I wanted to see if my adjustments helped.  A short ride yesterday and I found out that it was still slipping when in 3rd or 4th gear.  I was starting to panic a bit.  Luckily I live down the road from L.L. Bean.  I big thank you to Ryan at their bike shop in Freeport who took my call, diagnosed it over the phone and let me come in and wait while he fixed the problem...at 8pm on Wednesday!  What a place.

The bike has bar-end Shimano index shifters and a Shimano 105 rear derailleur.  Turns out the derailleur hanger was bent.  I suppose I would have eventually kicked the thing after a couple days of bad shifting and maybe fixed it, but Randy was calm and had a tool/guide to align it.   Of course I haven't actually ridden the bike since the repair.

What's the ES for?

Got the Smoothie ES out for a spin with the panniers. This isn't my normal ride so it's an adjustment. Feels like driving a van when you're used to a sports car. I bought this bike for touring 3 years ago and didn't use it much so I gave it to my son, Daniel, who needed a bike at college. It was nice to ride it again. I still need to add the handlebar bag and adjust the gears. The ES is for "extra smooth".

I'm writing to see if the post works!  Right now I'm nice and comfy in our living room looking out at a forest of Pacific Northwest trees. A week from now, I'll be on my way to Mississippi to bike the Trace. One day later we'll be heading north. We hope to arrive in Nashville 5 days later. I've never been to Mississippi. Or Alabama. Or Tennessee. Why do these states have so many double consonants?  At least 3 of us are over 50.  Steve, how about you?  I'm thinking we're all in reasonably good shape, but several days of 70 or 80 miles?  Who knows?  It never feels good on the butt. Will we get the South's famous heat and humidity? Or will we get lucky and have warm, dry weather with a nice southerly breeze?  The last time I did a major tour was the summer of 1985 with Tom and friends Brad and Russ - that was a coast to coast adventure over two months, camping every night.  That was pre-kids and pre-career. We were younger, stronger and poorer.  This time we're going to stay at B&B's and motels. We have cell phones.

The Basics

Four guys riding their bikes on the Natchez Trace Parkway from Jackson, MS to Nashville, TN, roughly 400 miles, during the week of May 19th  (next week!).  I'm from Maine, Dave is from Oregon, Tom and Steve are from California.