Tuesday Day 31 - Lynchburg TN to Pelham TN - 39 miles

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 !!

Monday Day 30 - Henry Horton State Park TN to Lynchburg TN - 40 miles

It was overcast this morning when I awoke. I was hoping to get an early start, but I forgot to set my alarm and it was warm and cozy in my sleeping roll. Sometime during the night I was visited by some furry creature who ate up my whole bag of cheese puffs !!

I rode around the Horton State Park on the way out, stopping at the ruins of an old saw mill. I was wondering who Henry Horton was. Turns out he was a lawyer and he married the daughter of the couple who owned the old sawmill. He went into politics and was Govenor of Tennessee from 1927-1933.

I headed out of the park, east on Hwy 270 into a headwind. I was hoping to find a diner for breakfast, but no luck.

By the time I turned south on Hwy 41A - 16, I had started to see a LOT of chicken-hauling tractor trailers, the kind with open cages stacked about 20 high. After one of these pass you, either coming or going, it takes about two minutes of breathing chicken poop before the air clears. I bet I had 30 of these rigs pass me on the road today. A lady told me there's a big Tyson chicken processing plant nearby in Shelbyville, so these trucks are always running around up here.

I stopped at an Arby's restaurant in Shelbyville for a quick early lunch ( no chicken ! ). It was a little after 11:00 and I was hoping to get to the Jack Daniels Distillery by noon or 1:00.

On the way out of Shelbyville, the sky started getting darker and darker. Time to find a barn to hide in, for the second time on this trip ! I found a nice semi-abandoned shed with a bunch of broken down riding mowers.

There was a little thunder and lightening, and lots of rain, but it wasn't near as bad as the last storm I sat out on the way to Louisiana MO.

That reminds me of a funny story. After the big Louisiana MO storm last week, I pedaled into a gas station to get some Gatorade and peanuts. I was talking to a farmer in overalls, and he was asking me the usual questions, where you from, where you going, etc. As he was leaving, he said to me: "Your Momma didn't raise an idiot, just a darn fool!" I sure couldn't argue with him about that !!

Today's rain started to let up after about 30 minutes, so I put on my rain jacket, turned on my blinkey lights, and headed south towards Lynchburg on Hwy 82. First my clear sunglasses broke, then it started raining harder, and then I couldn't see because the rain was washing the sunscreen into my eyes.

I had to stop several times to wipe off my forehead and eyes with Mr. Chuckles, since I didn't have any rag or handkerchief. The road started getting narrow and curvy and hilly, with only a small speed bump shoulder. I should have taken shelter someplace, but there were no stores or barns to be found. Besides, I was on a mission, to make it to Jack Daniels before the tours end at 4:00.

It was a long, tough ride, but I made it to the distillery at 2:30 and I took the 3:00 tour. They put on a fun tour and I highly recommend stopping by if you are in the area. Just remember to bring a small bottle of No. 7 in case you want a taste afterwards.

After the tour, I got to go into the special "Tennessee Squire" room to hang out, and they gave me and Mr. Chuckles a special gift set of commemorative glasses.

As a Tennessee Squire, I own a square foot ( or inch? ) of land somewhere in the hollow, so I asked them if it was alright if I camped out on my land tonight. They laughed and said the land they gave away to the Squires is so steep you can't even walk on it.

So I headed south, and checked into the Lynchburg Motel, with a bunch of other soaking wet bikers ( the Harley type ).

Tomorrow is going to be a sad day. I'm heading west to meet up with my ride back to Tallahassee. Boo Hoo, why can't I just keep on riding on and on and on ...

Oh yeah, now I remember, I gotta work to save up for the NEXT big trip !

Sunday Day 29 - Dickson TN to Henry Horton State Park TN - 64 miles

Today's roads have been great - nice and wide shoulders, very scenic, and the weather has been perfect. There have been a few hills. One hill heading into Columbia was over a mile long, i was chugging away in granny gear the whole way.

I started the day off with a big buffet breakfast at the Farmers Family Restaurant, right next door to the Motel 6 I stayed at. They had a Senior Special, the full buffet with omelette bar and coffee for $5.99. What a deal ! The western omelette they made for me at Familys was the best I've had since the omelette bar on the old Carnival cruise ships that my sister Sandy worked on. Of course the Carnival omelets were free, and were served in exotic lands, so they were even better.

There has been lots to see today. I stopped at a giant crop of yellow wild flowers, I took some photos looking down on a river with people camping on the bank, and I pulled off onto the Natchez Trace, and I rode a few miles down the parkway.

I ran into some cyclists out of Nashville and we rode to a little store called Fly Grocery. It was a hoot, real old-timey with lots of locals hanging out. One fellow I was talking with was so local I could barely understand what he was saying. They had some neat bicycle yard art there, too.

I rode to Columbia TN, about 37 miles and stopped at a McDonalds to eat a late lunch. I downloaded most of today's blog while sitting around for an hour or so. I posted a photo of Diane, my number 1 fan at the McDonalds I stopped at. She asked me a million questions about my bike trip, and then told my story to all the other McDonalds staff. I felt like a real celebrity ! But I still didn't get a free cookie ...

I rode another 25 miles to Henry Horton State Park. It ended up being a very tough ride. I think I sat so long at the McDonalds that my body and legs just shut down for the day. I ended up spinning in low gears to get to the park.

I set up camp in the tent section. Again I'm the only camper there. A few trailers and motorhomes are in other sections of the park, but for the most part it is deserted. After setting up my tent I rode my bike around. This is a very nice place. It has a hotel, cabins, lots of pavilions, a big swimming pool, and a golf course. There was a big church group having a cookout, and a family reunion, too.

I rode back to my camp, met with the ranger, and paid my $11 fee. I cooked macaroni marigna and took a long hot shower.

Only a few more days to go !!