Day 21: 5/15/21: Burns, TN to Athens, AL

I set out this morning knowing I would have my nice comfortable bed to sleep in tonight, but also knowing I was going to put in a lot of miles to get there. The day started with about a 10-mile ride to Cindy's Cafe for breakfast.

I really didn't ride through any large incorporated cities today, but I went through a couple of very small unincorporated communities that had some interesting old buildings along the main road.

The first was Water Valley (pics below).

Then there was Campbellsville (pics below).

It was a beautiful day for biking, and Middle Tennessee has some very nice roads and scenery to enjoy (pics below).

This group 6 cyclists passed me in their pace line on one of the roads.  They had a good pace going, and the conversation with them consisted only of hello while they were passing. That's them in the distance.  I was too slow with the camera to get a closer shot.

On another road, another cyclist passed me on a triathlon bicycle.  He did slow down for a few minutes and rode and chatted with me before we said our farewells and he rode off.  He competes in triathlons, so his pace was also quite quicker than mine.  Still on this trip, the turtle on the Rock Island Spur Trail has been the only thing I have passed.

I saw this interesting yard decoration (?) near Prospect, TN.  It made me pose the question to myself, "Which came first, the tree or the truck?"

If you can't tell from the photo, the truck bed completely surrounds the tree, which goes through the bed into the ground.

Eventually, I made it to the best view of the day...

HOME!!!!

I found this trip to be challenging.  The cooler weather was nice on most days, but there were a couple of days when that cooler weather combined with rain and wind pretty much demoralized me.  Then there were the Missouri Ozarks which was a very strenuous portion of the trip.  

On any bicycle trip like this, where you are exposed to the elements and terrain continuously, there are going to be days that wear you down, but if you hang in, it will get better.  The challenges make you enjoy and appreciate the better days.  I've always said, "My worst day on a bike is better than my best day in a car."

Total miles today: 111.8

Total trip miles: 1799.0

Day 20: 5/14/21: Dover to Burns, TN

Today was a light pedaling day getting ready for my final push home tomorrow.

The first town I went through was Erin.  I ate breakfast there at Nan's Diner.  It was a hangout for older locals. I knew I made a good choice to eat there when I saw their decorations.

A few pics around the town of Erin.

Saw these guys just outside Erin.  I'm assuming they are alpacas.

The next town was Vanleer (pics below).

Below are some pics of the Tennessee countryside I rode thru today.

By the driveway of a home in Charlotte, TN, the homeowner reminds everyone of this valuable lesson...

...you just have to suck it up and move on. :)

I made it to Montgomery Bell State Park, which will be my final campsite on this trip.  The campground is full, and I was fortunate to reserve the last available site last night.

The wi-fi at the campground is not working, and a couple of sisters from Florida who are camping at the campground overheard me asking park staff about the wi-fi.  They allowed me to connect to their internet hotspot in order to download the pictures for my blog.

Also, the camper across the road from me gave me some lettuce and Muenster cheese to put on my tomato sandwich for supper.  That really helped enhance the taste of the sandwich.

Total miles today: 64.1

Day 19: 5/13/21: Marion, KY to Dover, TN

I had breakfast this morning at 88 Dip in Marion.  It is the local morning hangout for older men.  According to one of those men, the sign (pic below) has been on the restaurant since 1952.  He also said the restaurant is named after the Oldsmobile 88 automobile because the owner of the restaurant also owned the Olds dealership next door.

This chicken taunted me going up a hill in rural Kentucky.  It got right in front of me on the road and commenced to start pulling away from me in spite of my best efforts to get closer to take a better photo.  I must say, it had a good stride with a smooth gait.  It continued to run in front of me for about 10 yards before deciding to duck into a yard.  Good simple, clean entertainment for me.

About 50 miles of my day today was spent riding on the National Scenic Byway through the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky and Tennessee.  The land lies between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.

Remnants of an old furnace in the recreation area.

I met Richard (pic below) just prior to getting to Tennessee.  He is riding from the Gulf Coast to his home in central Illinois.  He has an RV as his support vehicle that carries his gear.

Hello...

Some information near the campground.

I camped at Piney Campground in the southern end of the recreation area.  Below are pics of my campsite and the sunset over Kentucky Lake.

Other than my set-up, I think this was the coolest rig in the campground.  The little egg.

Sunset over Kentucky Lake.

Total miles today: 86.3