Day 1: Home to Hytop, Alabama, 5/21/19

I left home a little after 6:00 a.m. to begin my trip, and the temperature was near perfect.  I rode on the Tennessee Riverwalk to get through Chattanooga. Below is a pic of me and the Heron (my bike) resting.

Below are various pics I took along the Tennessee Riverwalk this morning as I was leaving Chattanooga.

One of the boardwalks

Tennessee River and Lookout Mountain

A Heron taking a break

Amnicola Marsh

Walnut Street Bridge

Stringers Ridge with Lookout Mountain behind it

The temperature today quickly warmed up as the day progressed.  Lucky for me, most of the route today had quite a bit of shade from trees that helped keep me from baking in the sun all day. 

At Stevenson, Alabama, I always make a stop at Bruce's Foodland to stock up on bananas. Today was my lucky day because they were giving out samples of the ribs they sell in their deli. They gave me a rib bone that had quite a bit of meat on it. I don't know if I was just hungry or if it was really good, but that rib tasted delicious. It was very tender and the meat just fell off the bone. It's amazing how good almost all food tastes when I'm on a bicycle tour. 

There was a "local" at Bruce's who was inquisitive about my loaded bicycle and my trip. I told him I was planning to ride to Banff, Canada.  He stated he was familiar with that area because he had done some "rodeoing" in Montana. I told him I was hoping to make it there in 30 days. He did not think that would be possible because it took him 4 days to drive to Montana.  This guy was really great to have a conversation with. He even passed on his free rib sample and offered to let me have his.

There was a nice breeze blowing through the pavilion at Hytop City Park so I hung around the park a couple of hours to kill some time before going to my campsite.

Tonight I will be camping at the Walls of Jericho Trailhead near Hytop, Alabama. Below is a pic of my campsite.

Total miles for the day:  93.4