Day 5 - Big Hill Pond State Park to West Memphis, Arkansas

At a concert at the Old Time Fiddlers Convention in Athens last night, Bob ran across Jim again. Jim is the biker we met while riding through Elkmont. Jim was reading this blog, and recognized my brother, Ricky. Turns out they were both employed at GM/Delphi at the same time and knew each other there. Small world. 

I had a mishap at my campsite today. The valve for my fuel bottle that goes to my camp stove, and is used to build up pressure broke.  I can still use it, but it is now just a little more complicated to cook. 

Highway 57 redeemed itself today. It was a great biking road, and I took it all the way to Germantown.  Here is a plaque containing historical information in Pocahontas, Tennessee.

This photo is for Lisa. She loves sunflowers and these were showing out. As usual, the photo does not do them justice. 

Okay, here's some interesting information about Grand Junction, Tennessee. Before looking at the photos, does anyone know what the town is famous for?

The town even has one of these:

After Grand Junction came La Grange, Tennessee.  It is a very quaint town. It has this home:

And the good news for all of you folks wanting to own a piece of history is that it's for sale. Below are more historical plaques around La Grange.

Here are some photos of Main Street businesses in La Grange.

A swamp beside Highway 57.

Okay, I was kind of dreading biking through the Memphis area, but I found the area to be very bike friendly. Now this is what I call a shoulder on the Main Street through Germantown. The shoulder did not always remain this wide, but there was usually enough room on the road for a cyclist to safely ride. 

In Germantown, I got on the Wolf River Greenway, rode across the Wolf River on a pedestrian bridge, and then got on The Shelby Farms Park Greenline that took me all the way downtown 

Wolf River Greenway.

Buffaloes at Shelby Farms park. 

The Greenline. 

Artwork along the Greenline. 

After I got off the Greenline, I was able to cut through Overton Park to keep off the roads. 

And when I was on the streets, most of the ones I was on had dedicated bike lanes. 

Then, I got to cross the Mississippi River on the Big River Crossing, a dedicated bike/pedestrian bridge.

A view of Memphis and the Mississippi River from the bridge. 

And lastly, Arkansas sunset. 

Totals for the day - 94.75 miles; 7 hours 36 minutes saddle time