Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Day 17 - Cherokee, Alabama, to Athens, Alabama

Last night, a touring cyclist named Brandon pulled into the campsite after dark. He commented he thought he would get there one hour earlier. We both agreed that accurately represents the life of a touring cyclist, it is always going to take longer than you thought to get somewhere. He is from Kansas City and is cycling the Trace southbound with the possibility of going on to New Orleans.

I rolled out of my campsite about 6:30 a.m. today. Below is a pic of the sunrise over the Tennessee River. 


I made it to Tennessee and was glad to see my home state. 


My original plan was to go to Highway 50 in Tennessee, about 32 miles from the northern terminus of the Trace. Well, as I was passing Cypress Inn, Tennessee, I had a change of plans. I decided I have seen enough of the Trace, and it is time to head home. So using the map on my phone, I charted a route to my brother and sister-in-law's house in Athens, Alabama. I camped at their house on day 2 of this trip, and the route I took today was very similar to day 3's route. As before, they fed me and let me take a good hot shower, which was in Ridgeland, MS, on Day 13. They also offered me a place to stay inside, but I opted to camp my last night on the road.

Today, I stopped by a small park in the Grassy community in Alabama to fill up my water bottle. A man was working at the park and approached me and said, "I'll bet you are from Chattanooga".  He said he met my comrade a couple of weeks ago. Bob, who toured with me the first 3 days of this trip, stopped by the park to get water on his return trip back home, and they struck up a conversation. They are both retired from TVA.  Bob told him about our trip, and that I was going further west. The worker figured when he saw my loaded bike, that I must be the other half of the Chattanooga gang.  He was right. 

My intent tomorrow is to make it home, about 135 miles. It's going to be a long day, but I'm looking forward to getting home. 

Totals for the day- 91.1 miles; 8 hours 6 minutes saddle time

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