GaryinMich

There are 3 of us trying to plan riding the Natchez Trace in October and am looking for some advice from past riders. We aren't having too much trouble planning the bike ride but there are a lot of questions on travel logistics.

Current rough plan is to drive from Michigan to Memphis and rent a Uhaul pickup truck. We would leave our vehicle at the Memphis end of the route and drive the rental one way to Natchez. From there we will ride back to our vehicle.

Wondering about Uhaul locations in reference to the Trace and possible places where to leave the car for a week so we can ride to it at the end. Open to all suggestions and comments.

robow

First a little heads up, the Trace starts near Nashville, TN and not Memphis, though hitting Memphis when they're doing their BBQ festival is a good thing.

Second, consider leaving your vehicles at the Nashville Airport long term parking.

Third, be prepared to be very self supported, there are not a lot of services right on the trace and often it means riding off the route several miles in order to obtain food and services, you will only pass through a couple of larger communities for most of the route.

Fourth, be prepared to ride alongside a lot of RV's and gawking tourists, though you won't have much semi traffic to contend with.

Have a great ride !

GaryinMich

You are correct and I knew it was Nashville. Don't know why I had Memphis on my mind.

robow

Figured as much and if that isn't the name of a Country Western song, then it should be

krue1971

I'm also planning on hitting the Trace in October, riding from Nashville to Natchez. First thing I recommend is ordering the packet from the National Park Service. Also you can read journals of people who have ridden it at crazyguyonabike.com

mstateglfr 

So you will ride it South to North? The recaps ive read have all been N to S.


Having gone to college in MS, riding the whole Trace or even the MS segment, has been a long term plan. I did day rides back in the day and its a great road- plenty wide in the parts I rode.

Id assume you already have these references- they've been bookmarked by me for a handful of years.
Bicycling the Natchez Trace Parkway | NatchezTraceTravel.com
https://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=us

jgscisum 

Bicycling the Natchez Trace by Glen Wanner is a must have book. Relied on it for my trip North to South. Some facts are outdated but 99% is right on. Plenty of off road stores for food and restaurants if that is your thing while touring. PM me and I can give you some great info and must see places about Tennessee and parts of Alabama.

pdlamb

Thinking about directions on the Trace and fronts coming through in October...

You'll have very strong southwest winds for about 6 hours before a front comes through. You could have 24-36 hours of north winds after the front blows through. OTOH, it'll probably be easier to get a U-Haul in Nashville than Natchez.

shelbyfv

You might consider a minivan if there are just 3 of you. Franklin TN is near the upper end of the Trace. Some parts of Nashville, including the airport, are a LONG way from the Trace.