Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Day 1: 9/13/23: Athens to Natchez Trace

Bob drove from Chattanooga and spent the night with us last night.  We woke up bright and early, finished packing up our bikes, and headed out on a 6-day trip to the Land Between the Lakes.  Our departure pic below.
It was a great day for riding.  Mosty cloudy and temps in the low 80s.  We did have a slight headwind out of the NNE, but it was still a very enjoyable ride.

Pic below of our steeds hanging out at the old train depot in Elkmont.

Never trust any road that has Gap in its name.  It usually means there will be a pretty good climb involved.  Pic below of Bob nearing the top of Hoover Gap Road.  It was about a 1 mile steady climb near the 75-mile point of our ride.

We made it to the Gordon House rest area on the Natchez Trace which is close to the bike only campsite where we will be camping tonight.  At the rest area, I had my supper of cold rice and pinto beans that I brought from home (pic below).  It tasted as good as any gourmet meal.

Bob's bike developed a ticking sound during our ride today which got worse as the day went on.  When we made it to our campsite, we closely examined his bike and discovered that his rear rim had developed a crack in it that was hitting his brake pad.  Due to the danger of riding on a bike with a cracked wheel, it is game over for Bob for this trip.  Bummer.  Lisa is coming to pick him up tomorrow morning.  Pic below of the cracked rim.

Total miles today: 87.0
Total Ascent:  3406 feet

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