I'd Rather Be Cycling: Day 2: 4/19/21: Mousetail Landing State Park to Gooch Boat Ramp

During my ride today, I passed by this old dog trot house. I just wonder how many children were raised in that small home. It was definitely a different world back then than today.

Old barn across the street from the house.

Had a peaceful night's sleep last night. The campground was almost empty. Woke up this morning to a thick fog which made for interesting biking. You have to be super vigilant of approaching cars in heavy fog. Below is a pic of the Tennessee River near Mousetail Landing. I promise the river is down there somewhere.

The terrain between the park and Parsons, TN, is very hilly, with some fairly long ups an downs. As I was about midway up one climb, I heard what sounded like a train horn, but there were no train tracks around me. I then realized it was a dump truck loaded with gravel coming down the hill behind me. I took the horn blowing as a message to me that he was picking up speed coming down the hill to have enough "oompf" to make it up the hill I was on, and that we would both be cresting the top of the hill at about the same time with no way of knowing if a vehicle would be coming in the other direction. There was no shoulder on the road, but was about a 2 foot space between the road and a guardrail. I heeded his warning and pulled over and hugged the guardrail as he passed. This would have been my action even if he had not blown his horn, but the warning was appreciated.

Made it to Parsons, TN, and refueled and recharged everything at Hardee's while finishing yesterday's blog post.

I found myself on gravel roads again today. I am starting to appreciate gravel riding as long as the surface is smooth, which these were.

Another perk of biking back roads is the constant fan base along the way. It is common to have these cheering you on along the way.

I spent several miles riding in the Natchez Trace State Forest, which was as nice or nicer than riding on the parkway. It was great being able to listen to the birds singing during this segment. I believe maybe 2 vehicles passed during about a 7 mile section.

Went through the towns of Parsons, Clarksburg, Huntingdon, McKenzie, and Dresden. I walked into a grocery store in Dresden wearing a mask, and several people in the store gave me a strange look. Not a single person inside the store had a mask in. I caved to peer pressure and took mine off. It seems no one in this area wears a mask even though there are signs indicating they are required. However, none of the McDonald's I've been to has their dining room open.

Few pics of downtown Huntingdon.