I woke up to a beautiful morning in Lynchburg TN. After breakfast I rode downtown and talked with some of the souvenir shop owners as they were setting up for the day.
I was originally planning to head South thru Alabama to get back home to Tallahassee, but alas, I'm out of travel time. I gotta go back to work on Thursday, in two days. So I called Bev last night to arrange a ride back to Tallahassee.
Bev said that she prefers driving up thru Georgia towards Chattanooga, so I headed East out of Lynchburg towards Monteagle TN, with the plan that we would meet somewhere along the way.
I selected Hwy 50 out of Lynchburg, and it was a perfect choice. It's a beautiful little backroad thru the hills and farms, and the sky was a little overcast with temperature in the 70's. I bet I only saw 15 cars in the 15 miles to Winchester, and not one dang chicken truck.
I had a nice fried chicken and corn puffs lunch at a gas station outside of Winchester, and Bev called to let me know she was headed into Chattanooga. I let her know that I had a sudden change of plans, and I had decided that I wasn't going home after all, I was going to keep riding my bicycle around the country forever ... but she reminded that I have a family, a wife, kids, and a job. Ahhh, reality !!
So we decided to meet on the I-24 exit North of Monteagle. That way, I could ride around the humongous mountain going into Monteagle. I was hoping to get into Monteagle to visit Pigeon Forge George, a motorcycle buddy who has the Laurel Trails Campground there - but I guess I'll have to wait until the next trip.
Heading out of Winchester, Hwy 50 was like an Interstate Highway with big 10 foot shoulders. I was booking along at 15 mph with a tailwind. Not much traffic and pretty farms. I made one last stop in a corn field, my final one for the year.
When I reached I-24 I stopped in a very nice Stuckey's, one of the old original ones. I bought Gatorade and a 6-pack of PBR and called Bev. She was 3 miles from the exit, perfect timing !!
So it was a sad ending to my tour, but a happy reunion with Bevie. I asked Bev if she wanted to visit Chattanooga and stay overnight, but she said she'd just as soon head back home. So I took a baby-wipe bath in the Stuckey's bathroom, changed, and we hit the road back to Tallahassee.
We made it back at 11:30 pm, too late for me to update the last day on my blog, so I'm writing this on Wednesday morning. It ended up being an 868 mile road trip in the mighty Element yesterday for Bev - what a girl !
I am so happy to have been able to take this tour and I'd like to thank my loving family and all my wonderful friends for their support. Writing a blog can be a chore sometimes, but I loved doing it. I think it helps me to reflect on the days journey, and helps me remember the small details that make a trip so much fun.
That's all go now - Aloha, Best Wishes, Peace, Love, Happiness and Good Health to you all !!
