Finish NTP at Route 100 Near Nashville, TN: MP 442

We did 39 miles this final day to the finish.

The photo shows the Northern Terminus ending point at 422 miles.

We awoke for the final day with Dr. Weaver somewhat overconfident since we only had 39 miles to go of our 442 mile trip. This would be our shortest day of the trip and with Dick a great cyclist it seemed in the bag for him. I reminded him that I had done many 26 mile marathons and that 20 miles was the half way mark. He didn't understand the message, but soon would!

During the night we had a Tornado Watch and might have actually heard a Tornado as the distinct sound of a train nearby (no railroad in the area) was heard. My tent was flapping like a bird in the wind as lightning flashed only a second ahead of its sound! We are each using one of my Buffington Tent designs which takes less than two minutes to erect and weighs just over two pounds. It rained buckets but we remained dry and the tents withstood the pounding. There was no hail. We did have a backup in that we were camped at the fire ring area near the trailer home of the Belcher's at TraceHaven.net . The Belcher's had left open a shed for us to bailout to in case the weather was beyond the capabilities of the tent. We stayed with the tents which passed a severe test this night!

It was overcast as we left and the Belcher's told us of another impending storm including a Tornado Watch at about noon. Well, Dr. Weaver took off and I thought I may never see him again and as noon passed the sky looked ominous and I was looking for a shelter in the woods when I saw him waiting on a cement arch bridge overpass. We stopped and changed into warmer clothes and full rain gear as the rains started and climbed down under the bridge. Just a few minutes earlier a siren began to blow what we suspected was a Tornado Alert signal and blew for 30 minutes. We hunkered down under the bridge where the cement abutment had almost a room the size of a double bed. It looked like a perfect residence for two homeless guys like us and we settled in. The wind blew at least 50 mph, hail fell, rain came down in buckets, and a few trees fell. Fifty or seventy feet below us we could see pickup trucks driving too fast under the overpass and we suspected they were volunteer fireman racing to tornado rescue. We later learned we were correct in this assessment and that someone died in a Tornado just 7.6 miles from our hiding place. While hiding out under this bridge some 600 miles from Pensacola we heard another biker call and invited him into our shelter. It was Tony Stanfill from...Pensacola!

In about an hour the storm passed and the sun came out and the temperature came up fifteen degrees to about 60. It felt good and Dick's overconfidence returned!

We resumed our pedaling and soon were at the 436 mile mark just 6 miles from the finish and we felt it time to call our friends Harry and Jo Coltharp for our pickup at the end. After the call and arrangements to meet at the end in 45 minutes, we resumed the pedaling. In 50 yards I had a front tire flat--the first flat on the whole trip. It took half an hour to change to a new tube what with removing four pannier bags, the tire pump, the mirror, the GPS, the map holder, and the wheel. I replaced the tube and Dick blew it up with his CO2 injector. We reassembled the bike and resumed the trip. In fifty yards (yes, fifty yards) I had another flat--same tire. And now we had no new tube. But of course my mentor had a patch kit. Just as I pulled off up pulled Tony Stanfill in his pickup truck and he helped change this one. We put my packs in his truck so we didn't have to put all the stuff back on the bike and this time we were off pedaling within 20 minutes. BUT I had a metallic noise coming from somewhere in the drive train which I could not identify after stopping four times to investigate. Four or five day cyclists who knew we were finishing the whole parkway began to congratulate us all shouting how easy the next several miles would be and that there was a major downhill for two miles at the end. Well this got Dick's blood boiling and he took off to see just how fast his recumbent bike would go down the final hill. It turns out he did more than 40 mph. I was sure my bike was going to explode or implode and I would be sliding on my face as I couldn't find the source of the metallic groans coming from the bowels of my bike. Like a person about to lose continence of both urine and stool, I proceeded slowly never over 20 mph to the end. The bike held up and I later found the kickstand was loose and rubbing the spokes of the back wheel. There never was any chance of a sudden seize-up and sudden sliding wreck.

We ultimately arrived safely at the Northern Terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway at about 4 PM to a thunderous greeting from both Tony Stanfill and Harry Coltharp, our total fan club.

At the end Harry and Tony met us and we went back to the Northern Terminus of the Nachez Trace Parkway for pictures. We then went with Harry to lunch at the Loveless Cafe and ate the required Biscuits and Gravy. Several days worth of calorie deficiency were made up in that place.

The final day was our most problematic and adventurous of the whole adventure. It was a wonderful ride and I am very thankful that Dick Weaver was my partner for the ride. He is a very knowledgeable and competent bike rider and has great patience with a neophyte and slow rider like like me. He was up and rearing to go each morning ready at least an hour ahead of me. Together we pedaled 442 official miles and about 20 or 30 off parkway miles.

It was very reassuring to know we had Jo and Harry Coltharp available for our pickup at the end. With Tornados all around we had piece of mind knowing a ride was available.

To Trace Haven Cabins and Camping at MP 403

This was a 59 mile day.

To Cypress Creek at MP 344

This was a 60 mile day.

It was 38 degrees and shown in the left photo was the only warm spot. The right photo shows a $2.00 sandwich with two slices of ham and three different cheeses bought at a store half mile off the NTP. The store sells beer, cigarettes, cheese, and lottery tickets.

To Donovan Slough at MP 283

From MP 230 to 284 a total of 64 miles.

The photo shows Gary somewhat depleted and resting along the ride. Dick was very patient! The second photo shows Dick in the ride we got 16 miles north so we could ride back to our motel reservation in tupelo.

To Town of Houston, MS, MP 230

Motel in Houston, MS. 50 mile day

To French Camp MP 180

57 Miles today

The photo shows the French Camp Academy B & B log cabins.

NTP To Ratliff Ferry Mile Post 123

Today we rode 69 miles to a private campground. The camping facility was flat and there was a shower room in fair shape. Near our site was a bath house that was the most filthy I have ever seen. The sink was half full of water and some of it was undoubtedly urine. The store was closed but they left us in only to say, "of course there is no food, the store is closed!" Then the restaurant manager said, "you only missed the restaurant by a minute." Where do these people learn interpersonal relationships? It is so much easier to say, "Sorry, we're closed."

Off Course on the Natchez Trace Parkway; Mile Post 0 to 54 miles

My bike mentor Richard Weaver, MD, and I rode the Natchez Trace Parkway (NTP) officially 422 miles from Natchez, Mississippi, to near Nashville, Tennessee. The parkway is a national Park much like the Blueridge Parkway. There are no commercial vehicles allowed and no commercial hauling. The roadway is a smooth paved two lane road with no paved shoulders but near lawn quality shoulders and the most polite drivers I have ever seen. There are no stop signs and very limited access other than interstate style interchanges. The path has historic significance that is well documented on line. It is a marvelous bike riding area and much literature is available on line and several bike guide books are available.

We loaded our bikes in my Dodge 1500 Quad Cab Pickup truck and drove 334 miles from Pensacola, FL, to Natchez, MS to the home of Dr. Joel and Kathy Guyer. The Guyer's are old friends from my running days where Joel was actually competitive in our 50 mile races. Kathy also ran a few ultramarathons herself being an excellent athlete. They still go out at 4 AM each day before Kathy goes to work! Joel, like me is retired (Ph. D. school psychologist) and just loafs around all day. They were gracious hosts and Dick and I and Joel (the non-workers) stayed up too late drinking wine and telling old running war stories. Joel and Kathy are quite knowledgable about the Natchez Trace Parkway having cycled much of it so advice was flowing. Of all the wives in ultrarunning, Kathy and my wife Millie attended all the races with us. Many of the wives over the years refused to go back to race after race, but not these two. It's probably because Joel and I treat them so well! It was great of the Guyer's to put us up just five miles from the start and to store our truck for the week.

We drove the truck over to the start and Joel was to come pick it up later. However, as we geared up I found my helmet chin strap broken and had to go into town and buy a new helmet. This delayed us so much that Joel arrived for the truck before we departed. So we had an unruly crowd of spectators (Joel) to see us off and prove we actually pedaled. On day one we rode to Rocky Springs Campground seeing one deer and several turkeys (not us!) and Dick saw an Owl. The campsite was a free campground surrounded by large motorhomes and trailers mostly Canadian.