Day 4 Natchez Trace Parkway & 440 Miles Done!! 160 miles from Kosciusko to Natchez today!
It took a monster day of riding but we finished the Natchez Trace Parkway this afternoon which was a day earlier than planned. When I started out riding today I didn’t plan to ride to the end, but that’s what happened. Essentially I combined the last two days of riding into 1 day. With Hurricane Delta coming right at us I didn’t want to leave many miles for tomorrow. My kids would shoot me if I’d let my precious wife get caught up in a hurricane over a bike ride!!
I was able to ride the first 100 miles in a little over 5 hours so that left enough time to ride the last 60 miles at a manageable pace. But the last 40 miles surprisingly had a bunch of 2-5% hills which really hurt....My wife was right there the entire way and I couldn’t have done it without her support.
It might sound eerie to some but I truly believe my incredible recently departed friend Earl Gillon was right there with me today. That wasn’t me out there doing that ride today.....I had already ridden 300 miles in 3 days and doing 160 more miles in one day just doesn’t make sense for this old fella. But it was just like he was right there with me encouraging me on just like he always did for those of us who knew
Another rider I caught up to when starting out today
Tremendous damage from a previous hurricane, went on for miles north of Jackson
Early ride selfie
Huge reservoir north of Jackson
Just 100 miles to go!
This fella had a big old time in a fire ant hill next to the road
Done!! Driving rain the last 6 miles thanks to Delta
him. I could hear him talking to me all day. Crazy I know, but it’s just the type of ride he would have loved doing.
While I was looking forward to doing this ride, I’m really surprised at how much I enjoyed the Trace. It was the safest I’ve ever felt out riding on the road. Except for early morning rush hour riding around Tupelo, traffic was pretty light. 99.9% of the vehicles moved completely into the oncoming lane when passing all four days. I even rode down the center of my lane for a lot of the ride as it was a smoother surface.
While the Trace doesn’t have the majestic views of the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was prettier than I was expecting. Most of the Parkway was tree lined on both sides which was very nice. Plus it was like taking an outdoor history class with all the historical markers along the road. I’d highly recommend the Trace to folks who’d enjoy riding all or part of it.