5/30/2024-5/31/2024: Home to Natchez Trace and Return

I left home this morning with the intention of camping at Laurel Hill Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in TN, hopefully beside a lake.  I have never camped at that WMA, so the rules of camping there were unknown to me.

The route I chose was really nice on mainly low vehicular traffic rural roads.  Near the small town of Prospect TN, I ran across a group of about 7 cyclists out for a group ride.  We stopped and chatted, and they were from the Athens, Madison, and Decatur, AL areas.  They were interested in my bike loaded with gear, and asked if I was training for a longer ride.  I told them I do not use the word "training" for any of my rides because, to me, that word connotates work.  I just ride.  We bid our farewells and continued on our separate ways each enjoying nature by bicycle.

I made it to the WMA and went to VFW Lake, which is a small lake at the WMA.  There were several signs posted there that indicated no camping was allowed in that area.  It appeared the only camping in that area was for deer hunters during deer season.  I got to the lake too early to try to stealth camp, so I continued on.  

Meriwether Lewis Monument and Campground on the Natchez Trace was about 15 miles from VFW Lake.  Camping there is free.  Instead of continuing to look for a camping spot at the WMA, I decided to go to the Trace and camp at Meriwether Lewis.  Below are some pics around the monument and campground.

Total miles today: 79.7

Last night there were very few campers at the campground which made for a quiet, good night's sleep.  Today's route was a little different from yesterday's, but was still on nice rural roads.

Pic of sunrise below.

I made it home in time to clean up all my gear and put it away before going to the singing on the square in Athens.

Total miles today: 72.8

5/20/24-5/21/24: Home to Natchez Trace and Return

Weather forecast called for nice warm days today and tomorrow so I saw this as a perfect opportunity to go on a 2 day bike trip.

I left the house about 6:15 a.m. and met Mike, who rode with me about 35 miles before turning around and heading back home.

A lot of the route today was on roads I had not ridden before.  It was almost entirely back roads with plenty of forests alongside the road which allowed me to enjoy the sounds of the short-lived cicadas during the heat of the day.

The communities I went through today were Minor Hill, Ethridge, and Summertown, all of which are in Tennessee.  The dispatcher at the Minor Hill Police Department gave us each a couple of bottles of cold water. She told us she also drives the firetruck for the city.  I guess you have to wear multiple hats when you're employed by a small town city. 

I saw several horse and buggies being driven on roads and a horse pulling a hay rake in a field around Ethridge. There must be a fairly large Amish population there.  I always enjoy watching how efficient those horses are at their jobs.

I was on a gravel road about 5 miles today outside of Summertown.  There was a short section that was very rutted with some deep mud puddles. Since I was on a bicycle, I was able to avoid riding through the deepest part of the puddles.  (Pic of portion of the gravel road below - phone made pic sideways view)

I am camping at the Natchez Trace Bike Only campsite on Hwy 50.  I've camped here a few times previously.

Total miles today: 90.5

I woke up about 4 a.m. and decided to go ahead and break camp and start my return trip home. Today was another great day for bicycling and the route I took, which was different from the route I rode yesterday, was again primarily on back roads with very light vehicular traffic.

Pic below of early morning scenery.

Total miles today: 77.2

Day 7: 3/1/24: Max Meadows to Dublin, VA

Well, this is it - the finale of this tour.  The forecast is for a cold rain starting around noon, so I decided to alter my plans and ride fewer miles.  I called Lisa and we changed our meet up location from Roanoke to Dublin.  

Since the miles are significantly less today, Tony and I had breakfast and hung around his house talking bicycle stuff for a couple of hours.  We then left and he rode with me almost to Dublin before he turned around and headed home.  

Tony lives close to U.S. Bike Route 76, which is a cross country bicycle route that is ridden by numerous cyclists each year.  He told me he has had over 100 people stay at his house as Warmshowers guests over numerous years, some nights having multiple guests, due to his close proximity to that route.  We have been members of Warmshowers a little over a year, and have only had 2 requests to stay at our house, one guy from Oregon and a couple from Germany,  Unfortunately, we were not able to host them as we were in Pennsylvania both times.  Due to where we live, we were surprised that we have had any requests.

I made it to McDonald's in Dublin just before the rain started and that is where I "parked" myself all dry and warm inside for about 2 hours waiting for Lisa to arrive.  I was even able to pull all my gear off the bike and carry it inside to keep it from getting wet (pic below).

I probably used my tent the least amount on this trip than I have on any other multi-day trip.  I only camped 2 nights, and stayed indoors 4.  I may start liking this indoor lodging stuff.  However, I haven't slept in a bed the entire trip even though I had the opportunity to at all indoor overnight stays.  I used my sleeping pad and sleeping bag every night.  

Lisa made it, and I loaded my bike, gear, and myself in the van and we are all on our way to PA.

Total miles today: 24.6

Day 6: 2/29/24: Ceres to Max Meadows, VA

Happy "leap year day" or whatever it's called.

I had a tremendous nights sleep last night.  Slept soundly from about 9 p.m. to 6:30 this morning.  I woke up feeling totally refreshed.  Since I rode farther yesterday than originally planned, I would have less miles to ride today.

Knowing this was going to be a light, low mileage day, I did not leave the Hostel until about 9:15 a.m.  This allowed the temperature to rise a little before I headed out.

The ride today had some beautiful mountain views (pics below).

The weather was much better than yesterday.  It was pleasantly cool with a sunny sky.  

Tonight I am staying with a Warmshowers host, Tony, in Max Meadows, VA.  Tony saw I still use an "old school" cycling computer on my bicycle so he gave me a couple of them he no longer used because he upgraded to a Garmin with GPS technology.  The ones he gave me are an upgrade from mine because they are wireless whereas mine is wired.  It's like Christmas in February:)

Total miles today:  38.2