Author: Rich

NT14: Land Between The Lakes KY

Posted on September 29, 2014December 8, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #14 Land Between The Lakes TN to Grand Rivers KY Today: 50.7 miles Cumulative this tour: 749.5 miles Only 20 yards from my tent this morning deer were pawing around. I took in the quiet morning sounds of owl hoots, geese cackles, fish jumping, insects singing. One fine morning to be alive, and here. Mist rose off the water, followed by a sudden chill that cleared it all, then more warmth and mist. Perhaps it was a minor mistake last night to pitch my tent beneath a big oak. Throughout the night, acorns would drop. I’d hear one hit high

NT13: Land Between The Lakes TN

Posted on September 28, 2014March 22, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #13 Waverly TN to Land Between The Lakes TN Today: 53.6 miles Cumulative this tour: 698.8 miles All the sleep yesterday did me very good. I woke ready and fresh at 6 AM this morning. Jack and I returned to David’s Place for breakfast. I got a 3-egg omelet with ham. Unfortunately, when it came out, there were cupfuls of gloppy cheese all over it – the menu did not mention the cheese. I scraped off what I could and even then only picked on it. Jack’s veggie omelet looked way better. From Waverly, we took backroads

NT12: Rest Day in Waverly TN

Posted on September 27, 2014March 17, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #12 Rest Day in Waverly TN Today: 0.0 miles Cumulative this tour: 645.2 miles Man oh man, one miserable night. Big ole migraine hit around 3AM, like an ambush. Left side of the head only. Where did that come from? Beer, dehydration, exhaustion, A/C mold, cheese dip, processed meats? Who knows? The migraine was fairly brutal up until about 9AM, and I then slept until 10:30AM. Not a fun way to start a rest day, but then, I guess I’m glad it WAS a rest day, because I couldn’t have ridden. Jack mercifully kept the room

NT11: Rural Riding to Waverly TN

Posted on September 26, 2014March 22, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #11 Duck River (Shady Grove) TN to Waverly TN Today: 53.5 miles Cumulative this tour: 645.2 miles A strange night in the tent. For a good part of the evening, the nearby cattle were lowing. In the dead of night, the sound was mournful, sorrowful, over and over, echoing. Then packs of howling coyotes would start up from one direction, then be answered from another direction. In the morning Jack wondered aloud what he would have done if those coyotes had decided to get aggressive with us. Brandish a Click-Stand at them maybe. I grabbed

NT10: Goodbye Natchez Trace

Posted on September 25, 2014March 22, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #10 Collinwood TN to Duck River (Shady Grove) TN Today: 60.9 miles Cumulative this tour: 591.7 miles We listened to lonely dogs most of the night, most of them distant except for Fido, who was corralled in a nearby yard. Ar-Ar-Ar all night long. With my earplugs it wasn’t really so bad, but why do people like yappy dogs so much? I got up early around 5:40am , and then packed up early. By 7AM, Jack and I were both over at Chad’s. Cheese omelet for Jack and a chicken and ham omelet for me. Too

NT09: Collinwood TN

Posted on September 24, 2014March 10, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #9 Tishominogo State Park MS to Collinwood TN Today: 57.8 miles Cumulative this tour: 530.8 miles Absolutely perfect sleeping temperatures last night. Ultra quiet. A beautiful campsite by a lake. All by ourselves. This is what camping is all about. Bottled coffee and Pop Tarts started my day, and then another stroll down by the lake. Big clouds of steam rose off the water’s surface, muffling sounds and adding enchantment. On the opposite shoreline, white ducks and Canada geese played about. What a morning. The climb out of camp back to the ranger station was

NT08: Tishomingo State Park

Posted on September 23, 2014March 17, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #8 Tupelo MS to Tishominogo State Park MS Today: 45.1 miles Cumulative this tour: 473.0 miles It did get fairly cool last night but I had trouble getting a good temperature balance. Fully in the sleeping bag too warm. Partially out too cold. About 3AM I tugged on my base layer shirt and walked out into the woods for a nature break. I left it on for the rest of the night and that worked out great, with my legs only in the sleeping bag. Oh, the trivial little things we figure out. I must

NT07: Tupelo MS

Posted on September 22, 2014March 6, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #7 Houston MS to Tupelo MS Today: 45.6 miles Cumulative this tour: 427.9 miles Jack and I made a casual departure this morning, opting for a lobby breakfast of cereal and juice. My stomach felt better too. With a short ride plan for today, Jack and I had no need to load up on provisions. As usual, we stopped often on the Trace. The site at Bynum Mounds was pretty cool. Today one sees big mounds of earth covered with grass. But with help from visual aids and signage, one could imagine a busy Indian community

NT06: Rolling Up the Trace

Posted on September 21, 2014March 6, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #6 Kosciusko MS to Houston MS Today: 76.4 miles Cumulative this tour: 382.3 miles Up and out early this morning, we found an Italian place for breakfast (one we believe is run by the same Mexican family that runs Rodeo’s from last night). Jack had a huge veggie omelet and grits, while I enjoyed French toast and eggs. The buzz all around us (from the TV and from patrons) was Mississippi State’s thrilling win against LSU last night. Twenty-one miles to French Camp. We learned that this was formerly a Trace supply outpost owned by

NT05: Kosciusko MS

Posted on September 20, 2014March 4, 2015 by Rich

Natchez Trace Tour Day #5 Ridgeland MS to Kosciusko MS Today: 65.9 miles Cumulative this tour: 305.9 miles Trough breakfast at the Day’s Inn was not really too bad, including some pre-fabbed egg-like cheesy product labeled as an omelet. Add in sausage, danish, raisin bran, juice, and coffee. Up and outta there by 7:30AM – not bad. Jack and I are starting to get the idea that the cool morning hours are the best ones to cycle. We hit up a convenience store for drinks, and then found the bike lane that runs parallel to the Trace heading east