Rough Riding Road Report

Woke this morning in beautiful Natchez MS.  Terry started out this morning as the lone rider as Dave's knees finally said NOOOO MORE!   On the road by  6:30 am.  He rode down canal street to get on the bridge to cross over the Mississippi into Louisiana without the posse.  

  Dave and I lagged behind a bit to drive around the scenic city to look at architecture.  I would love to show you some pictures of  Natchez but the battery in the camera died. Wouldn't you know it.  Then we too crossed over the bridge and did our morning chores of gas and ice.etc.......

Down the road we went for the morning chase to find Terry.   We traveled on some back roads with mediocre blacktop.  Then the road  turned to brand new blacktop smooth as glass.  I thought wow Terry must have really made some time here and I was a bit jealous.   Then it quickly turned to rugged terrain. The fairy tale had ended. The road was patched, cracked, split, bumpy, pot holes, you name it. Hang on to your teeth.   And I am driving this.  I couldn't imagine what it must have been like on the bike.

We finally caught up to him about 36 miles out.  I decided to join him before it got to hot.  Today's route was out in the open with no protection from the sun.  We rode on levee roads that are considered hwy's but it is a stretch.  We were to be on this stretch of hwy for quite some time.  We then turned onto another road and that was just as bad if not worse.  We decided it was best to ride on the shoulder.  It was a smoother surface but it was full of debris, gravel, retread chunks, sticks, glass, etc... 

We once again saw lots of farm land. Today we saw some tall stalks and couldn't figure out what it was.  It was definitely a crop of some kind as there was fields of it.  We saw some workers in a field next to it so we stopped and asked.  It was sugar cane. They first plant the field with soybeans and then when that is harvested they plant sugar cane. There was a plant down the road further which we did not go see.  

The church you see in the photos was built with hand made bricks, The stained glass windows had come from Europe.  It first started out as a mission in 1848.  

Today we rode on a bridge over Old River.  It had a huge long lock for barges to pass through.  The bridge was a draw bridge and we were standing right in the middle of it trying to take a picture when an alarm went off.  We quickly scurried to the get off the lift section of the bridge.  We then proceeded to try to take the photo from another angle when a man came scurrying up to tell us we could not take a picture of the lock.  It was a government order.  Your homeland security at work.  It was a huge structure and there just happened to be a barge coming through too although we did not stop and wait to see it pass.

The huge tree in the photo with the long reaching arm we do not know the name of yet.  We will however know it before this trip is over.  It was magnificent!

Still looking for a Dairy Queen.

The picture you see of Terry's backside is to show you what I really see as I am riding everyday.  He is doing all of the heavy lifting.  Breaking the wind and pointing out the obstacles in the road so I don't hit them.  It was amazing that we did not have a flat tire today.

Coming down the home stretch now!

Dave, Terry & Julie

Day 20 Pictures

Morning on the Mississippi

Into Louisiana

A church built from hand made bricks in 1848

Cobble stone blacktop or alligator hide

What Julies really sees on her daily ride

Above ground burial vaults

Sugar Cane crops in Louisiana

Sugar cane farm hands

Anybody know what the name of this tree is? Send us a comment if you do

A gift from the gods!!!

We woke up this morning early once again and headed down to the continental breakfast at the hotel.  Which I love because I don't have to cook.  Yippee for me!  Today we enjoyed a typical southern breakfast of fresh fluffy warm buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy. I also had the best cup of strong coffee.  It was delicious! Great way to start the day here in the south.

Dave and Terry took off down the road on another sunny morning.  They started the ride on some beautiful country roads with livestock and rolling green hills.  Traffic was picking up as people were going to work but they were headed in the opposite direction so it was not bad.   Narrow,curvy, sweeping roads with no shoulders.  Roads were in good condition.  Especially compared to yesterday.

Then they turned onto the Natchez Trace Parkway.  The cycling gods were shining down on this day. The roads were smooth as could be and there was absolutely no traffic except for the park employees.  The parkway was impeccably maintained. There was absolutely no litter and all of the ditches were mowed .The scenery was gorgeous with canopied roads protecting us from the sun with long sweeping curves with gradual climbs and descents.  It doesn't get much better than this.  We were on this parkway for 50 miles.  Not exaggerating.!!!  When we turned to get off the trail we were saddened to leave it.  Truly unbelievable!!! The trail stretches 444 miles.

    The trail was first used by the Indians and then trappers, traders, Europeans and early settlers.  The trail connected the Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers. Meriwether Lewis died on this trail when he was the Governor of Tennessee while he was on his way to Washington DC.  Some say he committed suicide and some say he was murdered.

We ran into a park employee having lunch along the trail the same time we stopped for lunch.  He recommend that we stay in Natchez because this side of the river is higher and has a lot of History.  It is the oldest City on the Mississippi.  He also recommended our dinner spot. The Pig Out Inn.  We finally got our BBQ! YUM!   We are also staying in the old Historical Natchez Eola Hotel downtown just blocks from the river.  We took a walk along the river to see the views from the bluff and then a little walking tour on the way back to see the old river city and it's architecture.

Well time to put lady Antebellum to sleep so she can rise early once again.

Terry, Dave & Julie

Day 19 Pictures

Trail used by Indians & trappers

Historical Natchez Eola Hotel (Downtown Natchez MS)

Bridge to Louisiana

Tonight's BBQ hot spot (Natchez MS)

??? Deliver in Spamtown

The writing's on the wall

A snippet of scenery seen today  

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Morning came and we were all still dreaming of BBQ!!!!  As I mentioned last night we were off to the Shotgun House for some BBQ ribs.  Only to discover it was Monday and they were not opened.   Man we were bummed.  We have been smelling them for days as we stroll the small towns of Mississippi.

The Shotgun House was within walking distance so we took the hike only to discover that they had a blues musician walk of fame embedded in the sidewalk with famous blues musicians names.   Still looking for a place to eat we went across the Levee from the hotel to the Casino for dinner.   The food was delicious but cheap.  Dinner was served in Styrofoam containers. We just need to set the bar a little lower I guess.

We did have a nice continental breakfast at the hotel this morning before we left which was good as we still had some laundry to do and an oil change was in order.  So the guys left early again to beat the heat knowing they had an 112 mile day.  I shoved off too and headed for the Quick Clean laundry mat.   It was open and had a few patrons already.  I then ran to the oil change place and was on the road to catch up with the guys around 8:30 am. They had been riding for 2 1/2 hours before I caught up.

They had a morning ride around 2 lakes which were a bit more scenic than yesterday.  They came across the remnants of an old church that had been destroyed by a cyclone in 1904 but not before all of the windows had been removed to use the lead for bullets in the civil war.

The roads this morning were rough and tough, no shoulders and not much traffic.  The rough roads did not improve much as the day went on.  We disobeyed another detour only to find out that it was probably not the best idea we have ever had.  It was Ugly.  They were reinforcing the levee road also known as hwy 465.  It was not much of a hwy.  There was no center line or shoulder markings and was marked as single lane traffic only.  There were pot holes and patches that made your hands sore from the bouncing around.  Then just when you thought it could not get any worse it did.  It then turned to dirt and then loose dirt.  We must have gotten off our bikes at least 10 times to walk across the cattle guards. It finally got so bad we had to load the bikes on the van and drive the last mile to meet the pavement again.

Then once we got onto the new pavement it was a sweet ride.   I gave up the bike so Dave and Terry could  finish out the day in Historical Vicksburg. The last stretch of the ride proved to be colorful as you have seen in the photos. The home of Rev. H.D. Dennis. It was a grocery store.  The story goes as this. The Reverend promised to make the store a palace if his wife Margaret agreed to marry him.

Then into Vicksburg they rode along the historical riverfront with murals painted on the levee walls depicting periods of history.  Vicksburg is also known for the first Coca Cola bottling plant in the US.  The 1890 building has been restored into a museum  complete with a soda fountain and candy store.  Lots to see and do here just not enough time.

We are staying in another comfortable inn tonight that had a guest reception in the lobby serving appetizers, coke and beer.  So we went down and enjoyed ourselves while chatting with other guests who turned out to be construction workers who have been staying here for months.

Then we picked up our laundry on the way back to room so it was a truly productive day.

Good Night Y'all and tune in tomorrow for more stories served up with some southern hospitality.

Dave, Terry & Julie

Day 18 Pictures

Remnants of the Civil War

Disobeying another Detour

"Very Interesting but Stupid"

Red Neck Boat Lift

Home of Rev HD Dennis

"Rollin,Rollin,Rollin,Rawhide"

BB King in sidewalk in Greenville MS

Shotgun Bar B-Q

Glitchville

Morning came early again in the Shack Up Inn.  We had a hurried morning trying to get out the door and back to the route.  I still managed to make bacon and eggs in a cast iron frying pan with frozen eggs.  The refrigerator was so cold the milk and orange juice were slushie.   I would be willing to bet it was not an energy star refrigerator.  It was old!!

The first part of the route was spectacular scenery around Moon Lake.  The sunrise was gorgeous too.  Big Bright red/orange sunrise with a bit of a haze on the lake.  I did my usual gas and ice routine and then meet up with them on State Hwy 1.  Terry and Dave took a side route to Friars Point the birthplace of Conway Twitty before getting onto Hwy 1.   The rest of the route was state hwy 1 for 77 miles.  It was flat and no new scenery.  Just farmland,farmland and more farmland.  And a big headwind.

Today's beauty was in the people we met along the way as we had a flat tire and the bike rack arm broke.  We pulled into the little berg of Rosedale where we found a park for lunch.  There were people in a gazebo visiting and Dave went to ask one of them where we could find a welder to fix the rack.  Within minutes a farmer pulls up in his truck and asks if we are in need of help.  We say yes and he proceeds to tell us who to see when we get to Greenville where we are to end for the day.

Then another car pulls up with two guys in it and he says he saw us broke down on the side of the road and wanted to know if we were ok and where we were from.  They stopped and visited a bit and chatted about the war.  The one guy said he was 95 years old and he served under General Patton.  Nice Folks down here in the Delta.   You could say Minnesota Nice!

Then off we went down the road with another 40 miles to go to Greenville on Scenic Hwy 1.   With a stiff headwind we still managed to put some miles behind us so we could get into town early today.  It does pay to start early and beat the heat for sure. It also gave us time to get the bike rack fixed.  Terry ran to Jimmy's Welding to see about the repair.  Jimmy was out but soon to return.  When Jimmy came back he and Terry made quick work of the repair.  He was the only one in the shop who welds on Stainless Steel so we needed Jimmy!   Great Job Jimmy thanks for coming to our rescue.  The price was right too!!!

We are staying in another Hotel tonight where there is AC and no Mosquitoes.   Terry says I can type much faster and with better accuracy when  I am not swatting mosquitoes at the same time.  He could be right.  Staying on the river tonight right next to a Casino.  Do you think it could be my lucky night?    Not a chance considering the luck we had this afternoon.  Keep those comments coming as we love to hear what is happening back in Hooterville.

It is 6:30 pm and we are finished with our pictures and blog.  Still have tomorrow's route to review and some good home cooking to be eaten.  We are just heading out to the Shot Gun House for some BBQ!   I can smell  it now.

Dave, Terry & Julie