Day #17: Creekview Farm Retreat B&B to The Finish- 40.46 miles

Total for our entire ride: 529.07 miles

THE FINISH

On our last morning of our last day we woke up to rain. We all sat and watched from our screened in porch as we sipped coffee. It was a light rain...but we all heard the heavier rain earlier in the night. We were all so thankful that we again managed to dodge it completely. The raincoats NEVER came out of our bags for our entire trip.....so far. 

Misty, our hostess, arrived at 8:00 sharp with our breakfast of scrambled eggs, fruit, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy. As we ate, we watched the rain slow to a mist, and then stop altogether. Seems our window of opportunity to avoid getting drenched had arrived. 

We saddled up and headed back to the Trace at 9:00am. Each of us getting more excited that "the finish" was at hand....but a bit anxious about the prospect of the mean hills/switchbacks that several folks had warned us about. Regardless, we were on our way through the beautiful rolling Tennessee countryside. 

The earlier debate about wether to finish on this day....or to make the very last approach of 4 or so miles on the following day from our VRBO location in Franklin quickly resolved itself- we all unanimously decided that we wanted to push for the finish today. No more dodging rain and guessing mileages and negotiating potentially monstrous hills- LETS JUST MAKE THE FINISH!

The majority of the day was best described as rolling. Some rolls higher than others.....but none too terrible. Not like we had heard. Also, the prior days and weeks of peddling experience seemed to come together to propel us all up and over these stubborn hills. We were indeed all in our groove and ready to call it done. As we crossed the huge Natchez Trace Parkway bridge- we knew that we were only a mile or two from the finish. As all of us watched carefully for mile marker 444 as we descended the last portion of the Trace- it became evident that there might not actually be a mile marker "444"!! Sure enough, there wasn't. The last mile marker we saw was #442! 

And so then it was done! The Trace ran out and we found ourselves celebrating our success at the area at the end widely known as The Loveless Cafe. .....Although we passed on the hour and fourty-five minute wait and ordered up pulled pork sandwiches from the small general store next door. 

It was very cool as we visited with the waiting crowd and answered countless questions about our long ride. I think we had mixed emotions as we were to enjoy being a bike touring celebrity for only this one last day.

The backtrack mileage to our VRBO cottage proved tiring- It was only about 6 miles....but we knew that the journey was done....and the adrenaline was just about gone. 

As we reflect on our successful adventure from our tidy cottage in the woods here in Franklin Tennessee....we are extremely thankful for our great fortune to have completed it safe and healthy.... And no doubt so much richer for the incredible experience of seeing new and beautiful places and
meeting such great people along the way. And we are also thankful for our Families and Friends that supported us 

along the way. 

We Love you all.

POSTED BY: Mitch

Day #16: Fall Hollow B&B to Creekview Farm Retreat B&B - 31.28 miles

PEDALING FOR A BOLONEY SANDWICH....

This morning Bill and Kathy Roper prepared blueberry waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. We sat on stools that were facing the kitchen and Bill entertained us while we waited for breakfast to get ready.

(Bill and Roscoe the Dog)

While we waited, in walked the aunt and uncle of Hannah Kirby, one of the top ten remaining contestents on The Voice. It was fun to hear about Hannah as a young girl and the hard work she's put into being a singer/songwriter.

For miles and miles we've heard about "the hill" as you leave Fall Hollow and head north toward Nashville. The hill did deliver on its promise to be daunting, but all in all it really wasn't what is was cracked up to be. We visited the Fall Hollow waterfall on the way up and rested. The rest of the day offered some classic Tennessee rolling hills and beautiful small farms. This was by far my favorite day of riding. Every turn revealed another small waterfall, long distance view, green rolling hills and perfect cool weather.

Our goal for lunch today was Fly's (country store). And it was suggested that we absolutely have the Boloney sandwich. When we rolled up to the store, there was a Natchez Trace Park Ranger getting ready to get in his vehicle. He was very friendly and Mitch was admiring his mustache....

After the ranger left, we ambled up the porch stairs and back in time to the Fly general store. It once was loved but time has been standing still here for quite a while. Wilson Fly, proprietor, was however worth the trip. He is 87 years old and not much gets by him. Well some dental care got by him but he was getting along fine with the few teeth he had. So remember this is the place that we were supposed to get that sandwich. When we ordered, he twirled around on his stool, reached into an old delapidated refrigerator (vintage 1960) and pulled out this massive chunk of baloney. Wilson says, you want 1/8" or 1/4" inch"? Uhhhh I'm thinking.....oh dang I've come this far what the heck... Mitch, Suzy and I ordered 1/4" and James pulled back and ordered a turkey sandwich.

We spent about 2 hours resting on the porch and talking with Wilson. After a while, a young woman walked up in mud boots and a dirty but cute dress. Turns out she and her fiancé recently bought a small piece of property visible from the store. She is raising milk cows and sheep and currently stays at the farm when it's cool and goes to a nearby Columbia hotel when the weather is bad. We nicknamed her "the milkmaid". She was an interesting character and we were intrigued to hear her story of falling in love with a Nashville musician, moving from Oklahoma with her animals and setting up her little farm right here in Fly, TN.

The last leg of our day was an easy 2 1/2 miles to Creekview Farms B&B. This b&b was built in 2010 and the Misty (the owner) said about 70% of her guests are cyclists! This was a 2000 sq ft home and we had it all to ourselves. There was a screened in porch around the front and sides and faced a pond and distant creek. Once again, we succeeded in dodging significant rainstorms and spent the time safe, dry and warm inside!!

I must confess something that we have laughed and laughed about. I was so tired this evening. After my shower I went to sit on the porch with Mitch and Suzy and James. We were discussing tomorrow and the upcoming inclement weather and our departure time. I looked straight at Mitch and asked, "what time is it in the morning"? Mitch looks at me with a blank stare. I repeated myself a little louder. He still gives me this helpless stare and moves his head toward James in despair (as if James could possibly help answer this question). I heard James say "....AM"!!!??!!
Finally, my brain was able to compute what my lips were saying. I shook out the cobwebs and shouted, "Temperature!!! I mean temperature"!!!

POSTED BY: Charlotte

Day #15: Collinwood,TN to Fall Hollow Campground B&B - 40.09 miles

CATFISH CALLING 

The day dawned quite cool with a heavy misty fog. It's not supposed to rain but this is real close to it and another layer was required to keep warm and dry. We hopped onto our bikes and headed into town back to Chad's Restaurant for breakfast. Fay is not only our waitress she is also the manager, the cook, and the cashier. She's one busy lady but not too busy to chat and make her customers feel welcome. We visited with a table of local folks while we waited and as we've experienced up to this point most all are impressed with our adventure and ask lots of questions. When asked how far we were headed for the day one old timer said to us "you know there's a really big hill coming out of Fall Hollow". Thank you, we know there will be some big hills coming up and that's ok. 

Back on the Trace the miles seemed to fall away quickly in the cool misty morning and before we knew it 5 miles had passed. Mornings usually go something like this, ride 5 miles stop and let James take a bathroom break. Repeat several times until he's finally out of coffee or Dr Pepper, but real heart stopping excitement for the morning was when he saw something laying in the road that he wanted to go back for. As he was turning his bike around he lost his balance and down he went into the middle of the road near a blind curve. As I rode back to him all I could think was someone coming around the corner at 50 miles an hour may not have been able to stop. No one came and he got up a little scuffed, a little bloodied and picked up the object he risked life and limb for. A broken cassette player. Really? Scared me out of a good 10 miles worth of adrenaline. Made him promise no more stopping for stuff in the road. 

We ate lunch at the Meriwether Lewis Death and Burial site and spent time walking around the area before we headed off again.

We arrived at Fall Hollow Campground, our B&B for the evening and spent time relaxing near the beautiful clear Swan Creek that runs along the back of the property. The owners, Bill and Kathy Roper, also run a restaurant and we had been told the fried catfish was not to be missed. It was whole fried catfish which could be ordered on plates of one, two or three. We were hungry and each had two. It was delicious as was the homemade peach cobbler with ice cream. 

POSTED BY :Suzy

Day #14: Collinwood, TN.- Day of Rest

COLLINWOOD

Seems funny that during our days off we assume that the post for the day will be pretty much bland except for "We rested and ate out....and rested some more. End of story.
But the truth is....This day proved to be just as memorable as our riding days.

Most of the day was mostly just like the description above: We rested in the morning and worked on minimizing our load as we will push tomorrow thru the final 3 days of riding in some of the toughest climbs of the trip. We tuned up our bikes and then headed over to Chad's Restaurant for another round of Lumberjack burgers and Catfish!! Great stuff.

But the best stuff of the day was about people.  A common theme in bike touring is that being at street level for an extended timeframe....you can't help but come across some of the greatest people. They don't ever make headlines...and they don't want to. But they are the folks many times behind the scenes doing good things for their community and other people every single day. We've talked about this as a group. It's so unfair that the news every night flashes the really BAD things that happen and show mostly the bad folks doing bad things. In reality, the majority of folks are good. And do good.

In walk Dianne and Larry Butler. Owners of our B&B "Miss Monetta's Cottage". They were just checking in on us and delivering a few more goodies such as breakfast bars, popcorn and coffee and such. We exchanged a few words on the outside deck when Dianne invited us all to see the other cottage that they rent out. For the next few hours.....Dianne and Larry proceeded to give us all a tour of their home town of Collinwood in their Trailblazer. The sawmills, the businesses, the old train station and so much more. All just because. We were thrilled that they would spend this much time and effort trying to make us feel welcome and at home.

We thank you Dianne and Larry......and we thank you Collinwood Tennessee!!

DAY #13: COLBERT FERRY, AL TO COLLINWOOD, TN - 30.62 miles

STONE WALL- THE LEGENDS MUST NEVER FADE

Early this morning we woke and quickly packed our tent footprint and sleeping bags. It poured rain last night, but we stayed dry in our "undisclosed" camping spot...

This morning it was foggy as we left the park. We pedaled over the Tennessee River Bridge and it was a magical, powerful sight to see how quietly the river swam underneath us. This morning brought a few hills and then the road began to roll gently. As northern Alabama drew nearer the Tennessee border, the swampy area could not be more muggy. Thankfully, the skies were overcast and the roads were mostly shaded.

Our favorite stop today was at milepost 338, The Stone Wall (near Florence, AL).
This commemorative wall is being built by Tom Hendrix, a great-great grandson of Telahnay who was a Yuchi Indian. The story is one of passion and heritage that pays tribute to a young Indian girl
swept up in the removal of native peoples and thus one of many in The Trail of Tears. Tom has been
building this stone wall for over 35 years. An Indian spiritual advisor said to Tom, "When they come, some will ask 'Why does it bend, and why is it higher and wider in some places than others'? Tell them it is like your great-great-grandmother's journey, and their journey through life--it is never straight." So true in every aspect of our trip so far!
This is a must see for those thinking of taking a tour on the Trace. The wall is the largest memorial to a Native American, largest memorial to a female, and the largest un-mortared stone wall in the United States.

We met a couple of Canadian riders at the Alabama/Tennessee border. They had flown to Nashville from Calgary and Toronto. Sure wish we would have taken their photo. Both were seasoned riders and had a lot of different rides already under their belt. We chatted a while and then headed north and they headed south.

We arrived in Collinwood around 1:30pm and checked into Miss Monetta's Country Cottage #2. Dianne and Larry Butler own this cottage and another close by. They are a charming couple and so accommodating. Dianne washed a load of our laundry (whoa was it stinky) and it came back fresh as new. We ate lunch at Chad's Restaurant and chowed down on hamburgers and chicken strips.  The evening was restful. Really looking forward to our day "off" tomorrow!

Day #12 - Tishomingo State Park to Colbert Ferry- 31.72 miles

STEALTH CAMPING

We woke early after a restful second night in the cabin. We quickly had breakfast and coffee, packed the bikes up and headed out. The three miles down the mountain and out of the park went much quicker than the way in and up. In fact it was pretty much hands on the brakes all the way. Woohoo!

Our destination today is Colbert Ferry on the Tennessee River. This is one of the spots on the Trace with a biker only campground, our stopping point for the night. We pedaled up some moderate hills, and got just a taste of things to come as we head North. The day started off cool but very quickly became muggy. Ugh. What happened to Spring? We have stopped at almost every pull off along the Trace to read the history of the area and if truth be told to catch our breath and give our seats a rest. Today was no exception. We've come to call these roadside stops 'interesting things' and there is always a sign 1/2 mile prior to the pullout to let you know one is coming up. Today we stopped at Cave Spring and saw two shallow caves used by Native Americans. A spring and small creek bubbled down and around the caves. It was a cool and peaceful spot in the trees.  Bear Creek Mound was next and was one of many Indian burial mounds along the Trace that we've seen.  We came upon the next pullout for Bear Creek and in the parking area was a truck and a trailer with several bikers standing around it. It was the support group for the Fuller Center for Housing bike team and they were riding from Nashville to Tupelo as a fund raiser. The Fuller Center for Housing is similar to Habitat for Humanity and we were told the two groups were founded by the same individual. The group had approximately 36 riders and it was interesting to see several on tandem cycles and even one rider who was 86 years old. Most impressive. James and Mitch spotted their fancy bike pump with it's built in pressure gauge and quickly asked if we could borrow it. Amazing what a difference properly inflated tires can make!

We wished them well and continued on our way and for the next several miles passed Fuller Housing team members heading South.  It was nice to see other biker's.  We arrived at Colbert Ferry and quickly found the primitive biker only campground, just where the adventure cycling map said it would be - down the road and go around the road closed barricade, down a path to the campground. It was swampy. Day after day of rain had left the area saturated and mosquito infested. We looked around and said no way could we camp there and decided to ride down to the recreation area by the river to check it out. This is a beautiful spot on the Tennessee River and none of us realized just how big and wide this river is. It's huge. Barges were traveling on it. We had snacks at a picnic table overlooking the river and watched the barge and boat traffic go by. We had been told a few days previous that the park had been closed a week earlier due to an accident on the river. A helicopter pilot checking power lines had crashed into the river very near the Natchez Trace bridge and the park was used as the staging grounds for the search and rescue teams. We were able to look the story up online and found out that the helicopter was quickly recovered but not the pilot. While we were sitting there a search boat was launched at the boat ramp nearby and they headed back out on the river to continue looking for the pilot. The afternoon had become overcast and a chill wind blowing off the choppy waters. It was sobering watching what would now be a recovery boat go out and we decided to head back to the park entrance and find another location to camp. A suitable spot was selected near the picnic area and we settled in for the night.

Day #11 - Tishomingo State Park

A DAY OF REST

Today is our first full day off the bikes.  We've ridden a total of 353.9 miles over the past 10 days and our legs could use a break.  Tishomingo State Park is the prettiest park we've been to and for our first scheduled day off, a peaceful and quiet spot. The three mile climb up the hill to the cabin the day before, while daunting after our day's ride, was beautiful with large moss covered rock out-croppings and clear streams running down the side of the hill through the rocks. There are six cabins and they are all booked but because the cabins are generously spaced apart we never heard our neighbors. We woke to a gentle rain and commented to each other how we once again managed to avoid riding in the rain.  We drank our coffee on the screened porch and watched it rain.  James strung a clothes line inside and we were able to wash our clothes and hang them to dry.  There was a sign inside the cabin that announced that towels would be changed out twice daily. What?! Charlotte exclaimed that we don't even get clean towels twice a day at a Hyatt Regency.  We befriended the towel guy and James hitched a 6 mile ride to town with him.  He came back with beer, rotisserie chicken wings and thighs, baked beans, and ice cream! Yes, it was Blue Bell and it was delicious. No freeze dried meals tonight.  This was a great spot to rest and relax.

Day# 10: Tupelo to Tishomingo State Park- 48.37 miles

300 MILES

We broke camp early and headed back into Tupelo for breakfast and to find a Walmart.  Very different traffic scene on Sunday morning and we were able to stay on the main road and head straight to IHOP with no problems.  We parked our bikes and went inside and were seated.  We waited and waited for our waitress and finally was asked who seated us where we were sitting.  Seems that the waitress was working four tables on the other side of the restaurant and couldn't/wouldn't wait on us where we were sitting.  Don't mess with four cyclers who have not yet had coffee.  We argued, waited and then gave up and left.  Went next store to Walmart for a few provisions and then made our way back towards the Trace to Waffle House where we were greeted with open arms and a hot pot of coffee!  The cooks and waitresses put on quite the show and we were entertained while we waited for our food.  Charlotte finally got her blueberry waffle instead of a pancake.  We ate like it was going to be our last meal.  Two eggs, bacon, ham or sausage, hash browns, toast and waffles.  And lots of coffee.  Today was scheduled to be a long ride and we were not going into it hungry.  We were soon on the road again to Tishomingo.  

We took the day in five mile segments and stopped at Pharr Mounds for lunch.  We saw the Twentymile Bottom Overlook and crossed over the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.   The Tenn-Tomm Waterway is deeper than the Panama Canal and stretches  the Tennessee River all the way down to the Gulf.  It is one of the Nation's largest public works projects.    We reached mile marker 300 and stopped for a picture. 

 Only 5 more miles to our campground, Tishomingo State Park where we had previously made arrangements to camp, but with rain coming we were able to reserve a cabin for one night instead of camping.  Thank you to Claire for working to find us a dry place to stay as it seemed like everyone was trying to do the same thing.  We pulled into the checkpoint where Claire greeted us jumping up and down waiving her arms "you made it!" she exclaimed.  So nice to be greeted like this.  We felt like celebrities.  We asked about staying a second night.  Not a problem.  Perfect.  Only thing is, she apologized was that the cabins are located three miles into the park at the top of a long winding hill that surely must have been a 45 degree angle up.  The first two miles were bikeable but we gave up and pushed the last mile so as to save our knees.  We now have a day off scheduled.  Tishomingo State Park was built in the 1930's and the rock cabins were part of a CCC project.  It's a very cool cabin with rock walls, flagstone floors and a large rock fireplace in both the bedroom and the den.  We have two porches, one where we've parked our bikes out of the rain and the other with a porch swing and a couple of chairs.  Nice spot to sip coffee and watch the rain.  After back to back 40+ mile days this is perfect place to rest and relax.  

Day# 9: Stinkin' Jim's Campground to Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor's Center, Tupelo MS. 40.82 miles

CRACK IN THE ROAD

Joe Lightfoot  loaded us up in his truck and trailer and took us to a secret shortcut through the woods leading back up to the Parkway.  Our original plan was to ride 22 miles to an rv park but we arrived and saw the park and we thought we might have a few more miles in us, and it was early.  But first, find a bathroom and convenience store which was noted on the map.  This is the first place we saw as we came down the hill and around the corner.  Surely this is not the place.  

The real convenience store was across the street and a welcome site. We were treated to quite the show by some locals airing up their tires while we ate our lunch.  (Note the blog title)

Our journey ended when we pulled into the Natchez Trace visitor's center  in Tupelo.  We took advantage of the clean restroom to sponge bath and then crossed the road to our primitive campsite.  We quickly setup camp and headed back to the visitor's center to see where we could find a restaurant.  Traffic on the Trace heading into to Tupelo was crazy and we hoped to get our Pizza Hut fix with a campsite delivery.  Denied.  It seems that absolutely no commercial services are allowed on the parkway and they refused to even meet us a block away.  We decided to brave the evening traffic and head into town to see what we could find.  We were hoping to carb up but our choices were slim without traveling into the city center.  We settled on Don Julio's Mexican Restaurant.  Charlotte scored us a private dining area where we could bring our bikes in with us.  Perfect.  Margaritas flowed and chips and salsa kept coming.  Low and behold they had fajita spaghetti on the menu.  It was delicious as were the enchiladas and fajitas.  We stuffed ourselves and then made our way back to the campground and settled in for the night.