Natchez Trace 50th birthday bike tour - report and pics

[KathiCville]

Howdy! Some of you might remember that in early March I solicited suggestions about how to mark my 50th birthday (April 23). Great ideas flowed in, including a couple of hearty endorsements of WomanTours, a women-only bike tour outfit. I checked out the website and quickly signed up for a week-long tour of the historic Natchez Trace in Mississippi. Here's a quick report on the trip, plus a link to a photo album.

First, the link:
http://kathicville.shutterfly.com/action/ If you view the album as a slideshow, you'll be able to read short captions. Look in the right hand column and click "View as slideshow."

Next, I had an absolutely FABULOUS time!!! The trip was the perfect way to mark a major milestone. I biked 226 miles in five days---for me, an unprecedented personal best! I made a special point of cycling 50 miles on my 50th.

General highlights: Terrific companionship; just enough cycling to be challenging and rewarding without killin' myself; great food; charming accommodations; enough support and coddling by WomanTours guides Laurie and Patty to make the trip feel simultaneously luxurious and unpretentious. I shipped my bike, but half the women rented Terry's or drove and brought their own along. I flew.

A few details: There were 15 cyclists, plus Laurie and Patty. The age range was late 40s to a very spry 76. Patty and Laurie took turns each day playing sweep or driving the van/trailer as sag support. Most days they had a picnic lunch set up for us somewhere nice at about the half-way mark. Anybody who didn't want to do the day's entire distance was welcome to jump in the van. Dinners in the evening were all very good---in fact, sometimes TOO good, LOL!

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a broad, well-paved two-lane parkway overseen by the National Park Service. In the Jackson area, there was more traffic on it than I was expecting, but drivers on the whole were patient and polite. Lots of historic sites along the way. Terrain is flat to rolling. Of the 226 miles I rode, just over half were on the Trace, the rest on quiet back roads. Every day was clear, sunny, in the low 90s and pert darned humid. I was as tired from the heat as I was from the riding, I think. Some parts are well-shaded, but other stretches are pretty open.

We started in Jackson, staying two days so we could first cycle north of the city along a gorgeous reservoir and back, stay overnight, then head south the next day. Much of the first two days were spent pedaling the Trace. First day, the long ride was 49 miles.

At mid-point of Day Two we jumped off the Trace and headed west toward Vicksburg on back roads. The riding was mostly easy till we got to within 20 miles of Vicksburg. Then hills kicked in, right up to the door of our pretty B&B in downtown Vicksburg. That second day was 57 miles---definitely a challenge for me, but I made it!

Third day was theoretically an 'off' day to cycle around Vicksburg and the battlefield. Distance was only 20 miles but because the city is hilly, it felt like more. The battlefield is definitely worth the time. See the video at the Visitors Center, grab a map and set off, taking your time.

Fourth day---my birthday---we left Vicksburg and headed to the small town of Port Gibson. That day's ride was a combo of back roads and then the Trace again. We spread out among 3 B&B's in Port Gibson. The town's main street is very pretty, but there's not much going on, so a one-night stopover was perfect. I logged 50.05 miles that day in honor of the Big 5-0, the last few miles simply pedaling the streets of town checking out the antebellum houses.

Fifth day was about 50 miles, too---almost all on the Trace, as we headed south to Natchez and the end of the Trace. Quieter trafficwise than the Jackson area. Plenty of little side trips or stops to visit historic sites.

We stayed at the Eola Hotel in Natchez, a small, nice hotel in the historic downtown area. Some of us managed to squeeze in visits to three or four historic houses in Natchez before we packed up and headed back to Jackson by van late the next morning to drop people off at the airport or our first hotel.

GREAT TRIP!!! Many thanks to TE'ers like BadJuJu who had good things to say about WomanTours. I will definitely take other WT trips in the future.

[Mr. Bloom]

Cool! Did you see the civil war cannonball still in the wall at Cedar Grove?

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a broad, well-paved two-lane parkway overseen by the National Park Service.

Never drove on it! Because of the well enforced speed limit, it's only practical for touring and sightseeing. But it sounds like an ideal bicycle tour!

[KathiCville]

Howdy, Mr. Silver.......Yep, we saw the ball-in-the-wall at Cedar Grove! Great B&B---quirky, lots of charm.

As for the speed limit on the Trace, it's not as sternly-enforced as you might think, LOL! Compared to the Blue Ridge Parkway here in Virginia, where I live, the Trace definitely has faster-moving traffic, and more of it---probably because there are more entrances/exits than on the BRParkway. I'm guessing that half of the cars we encountered were locals using the Trace as a scenic connector between towns. Fortunately, the Trace is generally so wide/open/straight that cars can spot you well in advance.

[Zen]

previous to this, what was your longest one day ride?



.

[KathiCville]

Hi Zen! Sorry I'm going to miss meeting you next weekend when you ride the Tour de Madison with Jane. I registered early but have to go to family event instead...alas!

Longest day ride ever for me was 27 years ago---a mind-bending, body-sapping 70+ miles from downtown D.C. to hilly Harper's Ferry, WV. Two days later, I turned around and came back. ACKKK! I 'trained' and 'trained' for that ride, but STILL found I'd bitten off more than I could chew. The hilly terrain was my downfall. (Hence my undying admiration for those TE'ers who tackle mountains with gusto or do century rides---or the two combined, LOL!)

More recently, just prior to the Mississippi jaunt, my longest was 34 miles, plus a bunch of rides in the 20-25 mile range, in prep for the trip. I put about 600 miles under my belt from Jan 1 to April 15---all of which paid off. I was pushing my limit on the 57-mile day to Vicksburg, but got to the B&B in fine shape. That day's ride is now my longest, as far as recent history goes. And doing a total of 226 miles in five consecutive days was, for me, a true lifetime achievement!

Yesterday, I did 50 miles during the Cap2Cap in Richmond. Slow, but comfortable, and relatively easy---thanks in large part to flat terrain. Felt GREAT to be able to do 50 with only moderate effort!

[Zen]

So what was the slave cemetery like? Did the graves have any markers?

Which woman was 76?

Did they have Nutella at the rest stops?

Were both women also mechanics?

Excellent documentation and captioning!

[KathiCville]

LOL, Zen!.....

No, no Nutella, but plenty of other goodies. Snacks ran the gamut from fruits like bananas/apples/raisins, to Clif Bars, MM's, and trail mix. Patty and Laurie set up a table in the morning, so right after breakfast you nabbed your snacks before setting off.

Lunches were usually sandwich fixings, salads, cheeses, plus cookies and, yum, chocolate.......Sodas, sport drinks, water/water/water..........Dinners were at above-average restaurants--a couple of them VERY good---easy to overindulge!

The 76-year old was a gal named Bobbie from the Northern Neck of Virginia. She was one of four women on the trip from a group called the WETBI's, the full name of which escapes me. (Women's Expeditionary Something Something International). Basically a lively bunch of women who get together en masse or in small groups to try out different sports or spots---dog-sledding, kayaking, etc. I don't think any of them is particularly athletic---just game for trying new ventures. Bobbie didn't do all of the mileage, but had a ball from start to finish. I rarely saw her without a grin on her face.

The slave cemetery--as you might guess---had ONE marker, small, un-engraved. A sign gave a little history, and offered a few names of people who are believed to be buried there..........Mount Locust was interesting, in part because the NPS ranger there is a descendant of the original owners. He's been written up here and there, and if you tell him you recognize his name---Eric Chamberlain---he'll pull out some family memorabilia that he doesn't normally show visitors.

As for Patty and Laurie's mechanical skills....yep, both can probably pull apart and put together bikes in their sleep. I don't know what kind of tools they had with them in the van, but when it came to fixing and tweaking stuff, they both seemed to be right on top of things. I never worried that I was going to have a mechanical problem that couldn't be fixed quickly by one or the other.

[Meaux]

Wow! That looks amazing. My husband and father-in-law and uncle-in-law and I want to do that. Hmmmm...I'm turning 30 next summer...something to think about...

[KathiCville]

Thanks, everybody, for the birthday wishes!

Karen, I solved the roommate 'dilemma' by ante-ing up the extra $ for single supplement. Worth every penny. I'm an incredibly light sleeper, for starters, plus I absolutely treasure my solo downtime. The other cyclists were great people---I thoroughly enjoyed them---but the trip would not have been nearly as much fun (for me, mind you) if I hadn't been able to 'disappear' to my own room and be alone at the end of the day. Each day's ride left me so tired, mentally and physically, that I really needed the solo time to recover and be up and ready to enjoy the next day's jaunt. But that's me. Plenty of other folks probably find the companionship just fine, even welcome. On this trip, I was the only one who opted to pay the extra bucks for solitude.

So, if you're thinking of a trip for a special birthday down the line, and want to have a room of your own, start saving up a little extra now and treat yourself to the single supplement.

As for Patty and Laurie, no, I don't think they're related. They do have the same general tall, lanky athletic build and strength, however! It turns out that Laurie actually lives just a few miles from me here in Virginia; Patty's home is in Utah. Both lead several tours for WTours, including the six- and eight-week 'cross country' tours. Talk about seeing the country inch by inch, mile by mile, whew! I think those trips run in the 3000-mile range. Some days they log 100+ miles. And do it again the following day!

[Tuckervill]

You sound exactly like me, with the downtime! I can party for a day or two, but then I have to SLEEP, or else no one wants to be around me.

By the way, I found those foam ear plugs to be life savers for light sleeping!

Karen

[SouthernBelle]

I just happened to get this link in an email:

http://www.scenictrace.com/

[Bad JuJu]

Kathi, thanks SO MUCH for posting your report and that gorgeous slide show! Great job of documenting your trip.

I'm so glad you enjoyed your WT trip so much, and that they lived up to my recommendation. Their tours are not cheap, but at least in my experience, it was worth every dime. One of your guides, Laurie, was also a guide on my tour. Those women were so capable in every way, including providing as much or as little attention as riders indicated they needed. They were very adept at being accommodating without hovering too much. And we, too, were enormously impressed at their abilities in the loading-bikes-on-top-of-a-van department.

They also did an excellent job of encouraging us to ride to the best of our abilities without being judgmental when someone had had enough and just had to hop into the van for a ride. They are really special folks.

And the Trace looks absolutely gorgeous. I've always wanted to ride it, and your slide show has got me thinking about it again. Maybe next year....

And again, happy (belated) 50th--glad you enjoyed your celebration!