Perfect Cycling Day!

Day 1       Natchez to Ridgeland, MS      107 mi

Here is our whole group at the beginning of the Parkway. I guess my orange jersey really sticks out in the crowd.

Yes, we had a superb bike ride today along the first 101 miles of the Parkway. We got to watch our mileage notch upward, because there are mile markers the entire 444 miles. The weather was in the 80s, and I loved it after our horrendous winter.

Although we started together, we soon spread out based on riding strength, as is common on bike tours.

This picture shows what the Parkway looks like for the entire distance, although, of course, the background scenery always changes. As I mentioned in my initial posting, there are no stop signs, stop lights, services like stores or gas stations, and no commercial traffic allowed for the entire distance.

We had seen the special sights during the first 11 miles yesterday, so our first highlight today was at the Mile 15 rest stop.

This is the Mount Locust "Stand", which is their word for "inn". Its heyday was 1790 to 1830, after which the Trace declined as a travel path due to the river steamboats. Today, it is the only remaining stand on the Trace.

But I got in trouble taking this photo. I walked halfway from the parking lot to it and realized I didn't have my camera. By the time I went back to get it, the riders were departing the rest stop, so I "hurried" to the stand by riding my bike. Oops. Not supposed to ride on the pedestrian pathway (even though no one was there at the time). The lady came out and told Paul, the ride leader, not me, but luckily an apology and some jokes solved the "crisis".

In the Visitor Center, I met a man who grew up in Simi Valley. We had a lively discussion for about 10 minutes. Fun!

At Mile 41 we came to one of the iconic sights of the entire Parkway. Its photo is on the cover of Natchez Trace books and the National Park Service brochure -- Sunken Trace.

As you can see in the photo below, the original pathway is in a ravine with high sides. It got this way due to trampling from all the animals and people over the centuries because the ground here is so soft and porous.

The ground is soft because it is "loess" (you should Google it), which formed millions of years ago when dust left from the receding ice age blew in and settled. In this part of the country, and along the Mississippi River (within 30 miles of it), loess hills exist and erode easily. That's why in my photo from yesterday of the bluffs above the river, you can see the steep cliffs with their fortified walls - to prevent erosion. Natchez sits on loess.

I just HAD to do a selfie at Sunken Trace. Haha

The scenery was always forested or crop land or pasture land, and we went over cool-looking rivers. My only stop for a photo was of this swampy area. They say alligators can be in these swamps.

Our lunch stop was at Mile 54. On this, the Cadillac of bike tours, the staff makes your lunch and they cater to your every whim. This morning, THEY pumped my tires and took my luggage to the van. THEY put out chairs for us. They put out bike racks for us.

The staff in the foreground, Rod and Lisa, have an incredible spread for us. And we just relax in the shade, eat, and shoot the bull. One pleasant surprise when I arrived at lunch was to learn that Myron's bike had been delivered! The airline got it sooner than they thought, and they actually agreed to deliver it to him right at the lunch stop on the Parkway! So, he happily got to ride the final 48 miles today - and boy is he strong. We have several strong riders!

Myron and I, and later a few others, powered pretty fast the rest of the ride. I was pooped, so I hope I get a good night's sleep. My average speed was fast for me - 17.6 mph. The entire Parkway today was level or only rolling hills, no steep climbs. This is illustrated by the fact that I never had to use my small chain ring (which allows you to use your low gears for hills).

This town of Ridgeland is adjacent to Jackson, the state capital. Five of us got to the hotel before the vans, so we did what any tired biker would do while waiting -- had beers and yakked! Of course, the first thing I did was call Janet. I miss her. At the Mile 84 rest stop, I also received three photos from Katie of little Liam, and Jeremy. While there, Myron had us all record a video singing Happy Birthday to his daughter, and we sounded pretty darned good!

About 90 minutes after arriving, after showering and resting, we walked 1/4 mile to our fancy restaurant, and they had a sign out front welcoming us:

My final picture below is a quick shot at dinner in which only a few of us posed (mostly me). We're pretty serious about eating, so we were getting restless when they started out a bit slow in putting any food out for us, or getting our drinks. But Paul made a few "suggestions" to management, and soon we were "off and running". Great food! I had another of those Pecan beers, only this one was on draft.

During dinner, two folks across from me, Thurman and Bob Long, kept grimacing with cramps. Oh, the effects of a hard day in the saddle. I have been stretching and rubbing-down my legs to prevent any cramps in my tired legs.

Paul, the tour leader, joked that since tomorrow is "only" 81 miles, it will be a day of "active recovery". Hahaha. Nice term to try to make you not think about what 81 miles will feel like after today!