riding the Mississioppi

[marni]

The Natchez trace is a gorgeous road. Smooth as silk paving, tall trees on either side, very little traffic, really lovely except for the soul sucking 1-3% incline which looks flat which runs the whole 64 miles of what we rode yesterday with the exceptions of a few nice and unexpected downhills. I kept wanting to get off the bike and see if my tires were flat! And those trees, tall and beautiful as they are , channel the gentlest breeze so nicely into a headwind.

In spite of milder temperatures, and cloud cover for most of the morning, it was a challenging ride because after we got off of the Trace, the next 20 miles were constant rollers of 4-6% . After our last SAG spot and the "historic cross roads country store" for which read a small building with lots of beer, pool tables, comfort version Harley Davidsons and a full front porch full of good old guys (and one or two gals) sitting and sipping and talking. I would have loved a beer, but at 20 miles still to go, opted for wisdom and treated myself to ice water instead. The youngest of our riders, an ash pale blonde, very scandanavian looking, and incredibly youthful looking from Wisconsin rode up and the good old boys were all lining up to get their picture taken with her.

Loathe to leave but hot, sunburned, saddle sore and tired, we were ready to hit the hotel which is probably why the last 20 miles seemed worse the first 64.

It's the breaks and the people and incidents like this that make this sort of long ride fun.

Below is a photo of some of the ladies riding the trace. I will try more photos later.