Elvis is alive!

Day 3     French Camp to Tupelo, MS      90 miles

Elvis was born in Tupelo, but lived here only a couple of years. Yet, he lives on. Everything here is Elvis!

But first, we had to get to Tupelo. We had a superb breakfast in the dining room at the B&B, with quiche, bacon, and fruit. I created my blog quickly before departing, and had to chase down other riders since I left late.

After riding 12 miles (at Mile 193 of the Trace Parkway), I reached a campground called Jeff Busby. If you rode up a steep hill for a mile, you reached a lookout from the highest point on the Parkway within Mississippi. How high is this highest point? 603 ft. This doesn't sound so high, does it? But the photo above is what you can see from up there - tree tops. Where are the snow-covered peaks, lakes, and waterfalls? haha

By the time I descended the Jeff Busby lookout, I was way behind all the other riders except for the two who came riding up just as I was getting back on the Parkway. It was Paul Wood and Nate, the Category 1 racer who is one of the staff. They are so good that they typically can catch everyone even when starting very late. Well, they encouraged me to try drafting with them to catch up, and I agreed. Paul knew I didn't like to draft other bikes when riding fast, since I cannot fall, but he reassured me that Nate was a predictable, steady rider, and the Parkway is smooth and straight -- favorable conditions for not having a mishap. So, I fell in behind Nate, with Paul behind me, and off we flew. WOW, that was exhilarating! I had not ridden like that since the day of my accident in 07.

We finally caught up to everyone at the first rest stop, 22 miles in. I was pooped. The good thing was that I had cell phone service and could text with Janet for the first time since yesterday afternoon. Last night we couldn't connect at all. By the way, the treats prepared by Rod and Lisa were top notch, as usual.

I continued on. It was another good day for bicyclists because the Parkway was still flat, and we still had a tailwind. I eventually came to a spot where the Original Trace was next to the Parkway.

This spot looked especially cool, sunken down a bit which gave it the "well worn" look. Kind of neat knowing that this trail had been trampled for thousands of years.

I'm going to post one more picture at this spot because it's about the only one from today showing me in my cool Appenzeller Cheese jersey, and you know how vain I am about my cycling appearance!! haha

The original Trace is behind me there if you look carefully.

Shortly after that stop, Paul and Nate caught me again, and again invited me to join their fast paceline. I did, and off we flew for about 11 miles to the lunch stop (at a place with a great name - Witch Dance). My avg speed was almost 19 mph at that point!!

As always, we had an incredible lunch. My legs desperately needed the rest. Eventually, I climbed back in the saddle and rode behind the tandem and two of the women.

Here's a photo of the tandem and the other two. Those trees on either side of the road were typical scenery, except this morning we passed a broad section that had been hit by the tornado in April, 2011. I wish I took a picture, because the entire forest was chopped off. All the trees had been snapped in half, and it gave an eerie sight to the landscape.

After 84 miles (at Mile 260 of the Parkway), we reached Tupelo but had three miles of city to reach our hotel. On the way, there was a welcomed sight:

Reminiscent of what many of us did when we rode across the country in 07, I stopped in for a milkshake! I kept watching for others to wave them in, but I never saw any (only Paul, Nate, and Thurman stopped later). That cherry shake was such a welcomed treat, and I'm certain it helped me recover for tomorrow!

In the downtown, they had decorated guitars all over the place. It was just like the pianos in Lockport,NY last summer, the cats in Catskill, NY, the pigs in Cinci, the frogs in Erie, PA, and the cows in Chicago. Here are some samples:

This last one has our hotel in the background. I later took a much-needed jacuzzi there to massage my neck and legs, but first I just HAD to ride over to Elvis Presley's birthplace.

I couldn't believe how small it was. As Janet replied when I sent her a photo of it, "He had humble beginnings."

See how narrow the house is? They had a theater and lots of other Elvis stuff, but I wanted to get back to the hotel so I did not buy a ticket and linger.

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we enjoyed a Happy Hour filled with margaritas at a next-door watering hole, and then walked a bit farther to our fabulous restaurant. As always, we had our own room, which is nice so that we can be noisy. After dinner, Paul gave us jerseys. You will be able to see the one I got if you read the blog tomorrow night, because I will wear it tomorrow. We will leave Mississippi, pass into the corner of Alabama, cross the Tennessee River, and ride 20 miles east of the Parkway into Florence, AL. It will be about 95 miles, and I can't wait!