Today we hit our most miles - 71.5. And we did it in a fairly short time compared to our other rides. Before the trip we expected to be doing a lot more 70 mile days but because the terrain has been so rough we have had lower averages. We were pretty proud when we hit this record, one day closer to our goal! This drink has been my favorite discovery on this trip. I drink these things constantly, super hydrating + all natural ❤️ After a good day pumping, we treated ourselves to some solid Mexican food next door to our hotel. We've been eating a lot of fajitas cause you can always count on there being a Mexican restaurant even in the tiniest towns. Sooooo I guess the only pictures I took that day were of food+drink. What else do you expect from a 70+ day?!
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Tupelo was a huge milemarker for us, because the Adventure Cycling maps that we're following breaks this route (Great Rivers South) into 3 segments, and Tupelo is the beginning of the 3rd and final segment! It's a bigger city than all the small towns we've been going through, so that also had it's perks. We had breakfast by Tishomingo State Park at the little cafe Jekyll & Hyde, enjoyed more of the Natchez Trace along with all its history, and then we had fun exchanging stories with our Warm Showers host, Rufus! Thank you so much for your hospitality, and for your adorable front porch swing that I relaxed on!
It was a beautiful ride into Tishomingo State Park today. That is, after the thunderstorm that we were not surprised by. So we found a cool old church to hang out beneath, dad took a nap then we were on our way. The Natchez Trace doesn't have frequent on ramps and off ramps, so we decided to adventure down a steep hill to get to the trail for the campground. It's one thing to hike down, another to also carry your bike with 40 lbs of gear on it! But the camping was worth it, very lovely scenery.
We have been looking forward to this mile marker our whole trip, even before the trip, actually! We have heard from other cyclists who have done this route that the Natchez Trace Trail is one of the best segments, the most scenic and smooth. With all the hills in Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee, we were motivated to press on knowing that we were about to hit the Natchez. This first day was a bit more hilly than expected, but nothing compared to what we’ve had. Along the way, we visited the Meriwether Lewis monument and also spent about 30 minutes hunkered under a tarp in the woods waiting out a storm. As we neared our destination Collinwood, I got off my bike to get the blood back flowing into my extremities (probably dehydration + being chilled in the rain), and that’s when a pickup truck stopped and a woman asked if I was okay. She said she never does that but saw I was alone (dad is always far ahead of me), and she offered me a ride into Collinwood. “You’re at the bottom of what we call the 5 mile hill,” she convinced me. I tossed my bike in, hopped in, and off we went. I told her we’ll stumble across my dad soon. When I spotted him I rolled down the window, “Hi Dad! I’m in the truck! Wanna ride?” He laughed. Jodi is the name of this angel, and she proceeded to show us around Collinwood and then connected us to the 355 Motel where we ended up staying. It was a super cute place! We enjoyed a meal with Jodi & her son at the Mexican restaurant across the street and then relaxed at the 355.
57 miles today. Not too exciting, just another day of hills, heat + dogs. We keep stopping random places just to find shade, rehydrate, and this time, do some bike repairs. Our most common experience with dogs has been negative - them attacking us - but these ones were pretty friendly as soon as we got off our bikes and fed them. Then, the best part of our day, was the spontaneous decision to take a dip in this little stream! It was SO refreshing! Icy cold mountain water feels amazing on a 95 degree day of biking. We made it to Duck River in the town of Shady Grove, without plans of where to stay. We rolled up to a convenience store right as they were closing and asked about lodging in the area. They said there was nothing, “but there’s a church. Ya’ll could stay in the church. Just go ask Tucker, and I’ll call Liz.” Then a tall gentleman escorted us to Mr. Tucker who lives next to the church. “I go by Cowboy, been called that for the last 15 years.” We met Mr. Tucker and they let us into the 200 year old church.
So to be honest, I don't have anything positive to say about today. Had a couple mental breakdowns, couldn't breathe at times, cried, pretty much sweated blood, and I got mad at some hills and took my anger out on them. When a dog chased us I screamed to its owner, who appeared to be doing nothing about it, "call your dog!!!" and then I was like, 'Wow, that felt good!' So on the next hill that we biked halfway up & had to walk the rest (which felt like all day), I asked Dad, "Wanna scream with me?" he grinned, "Sure!" So we did. In the middle of the woods at the top of our lungs. It felt amazing. This type of feat is not for the faint of heart. It's a major mental + physical battlefield. Here's a bit more about today from my dad:
We thought the hills were behind us, but Tennessee is proving to be just as hilly as Missouri and Kentucky. Or maybe it’s just the Adventure Cycling route we’re following. I’m starting to think that world-wide network of cycling enthusiasts purposely picks the hilliest routes just to humble new riders. Well it’s working! The hills are the most challenging part of our tour - physically and mentally. The worst kind are the hills that curve toward the top, out of view, so you can’t see that it’s really a set of three hills one on top another. It’s so deceiving and cruel! We finally made it to Waverly after 47 miles of grueling, cruel hills. Looking at the map, it’s more of the same tomorrow. Today was BEAUTIFUL! We were finally in a national park! We had been told that the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) was a super rugged part of the tour, and that we would be without access to food or beverages for 2 days, and that we would camp in the woods. I was kind of picturing the Boundary Waters of MN. So when we left Grand Rivers this morning, we went to Village Market and stocked up on amenities for survival. And I did a bit of yoga. By an herb garden and a gorgeous tree! These small things start my morning right. The scenery was refreshing. We hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes (MN), so to finally be in the LBL was a taste of home. Even the place we stopped for lunch, Golden Pond Planetarium, felt like northern MN with all the pine trees. We biked the full length of the LBL in one day, so even though it was true that there were no food places along the way, we made it back to civilization at the end. And enjoyed this breathtaking sunset from our lodging.
So we had another fun adventure today - we escaped a tornado! But first, we took a ferry. We left Cave-in-Rock in the morning and crossed the Ohio River, entering Kentucky. Then of course it started raining. As you have probably noticed by now, we've sought shelter under really random places, even people's porches, without knowing if they're home or not. This was a tiny cabin on the river we did just that... We pressed on until we reached a place to eat lunch. And now, the story continues from my Dad:
After resting at Smithland, we knew the weather up ahead was going to be rainy, so we reserved a motel 6 outside of Grand Rivers. We had only gone about 4 miles since Smithland, and only had 4 to go, when a motorist rolled down his window and said there’s a severe storm coming our way. The sky was starting to blacken but I thought, hey we’ve done this before, we can probably outride it and reach our destination for the night. That was about the time Mariah got a NWS warning on her phone indicating a tornado warning was issued for the area, and everyone should seek shelter. Are you kidding me?! Well, about every third vehicle in these spots is a pickup truck, so we flagged the next one down and asked if he could give us a ride to the hotel just up the road. The kind man, named Scott, looked like he was in a hurry and a little reluctant, but didn’t want to leave us there unprotected. He and his wife were racing to his mom’s house to avoid the possible tornado and she lived only about a mile away. No sooner did we get us and the bikes in the back of the pick up, that the skies unleashed and and started blasting us with wind and rain. There was no way we could have made it to the hotel, even driving, so Scott raced towards his mom’s house and there we were, meeting kind, helpful strangers once again. We waited out the most severe parts of the storm in their garage and then Scott offered to drive us the rest of the short distance to the motel. Once again, we washed and dried our clothing and gear and took warm showers. I can see a pattern forming: Rain, wash, dry, repeat. Yuk. It was sunny when we left the church in Vienna this morning, & about 10 miles in we watched dark clouds roll in. It was beautiful, and as it started raining I took in all the fresh smells. You learn to find the beauty in every small thing when you’re living on a bike. When we hit hills it was down pouring, so we veered off & found ourselves under the overhang of an antique store. A man’s voice from the inside welcomed, “Come on in, come on in!” Two burly, middle aged men had their feet kicked back, just shootin’ the breeze. “Where ya’ll from?” “Minneapolis. But we started in St. Louis, heading to the Gulf of Mexico.” He chuckled, “I wouldn’t even want to drive to the gulf in my truck!” I started strolling around the antiques and listened as the men continued their rainy-Saturday chat. “Maybe I could bike when I get my new stomach,” one said to the other. “Well we have one of those things that helps hold your fat in-" “A girdle.” “Yeah, you just need one of them.” I couldn’t help but smile. We decided to face the downpour again because the little town of Golconda was only 2 miles up ahead. As we entered town, a man in a truck called to us, “If you just go 2 blocks more you’ll be at the Diver Down. Best food in town. Seafood, steak, & there’s a place in the back you can bring your bikes under cover.” So we followed. At this point the storm was monstrous, whipping winds, thunder + lightning, & rain pellets that stung when we biked fast. The Diver Down excited me with all its brightly painted walls and hippie decor. After drying off my hair with paper towels in their teal bathroom, we ordered a heavy protein meal. Whenever we walk into these small town diners, everyone looks up at us and I can feel that they know we’re not from around here. Maybe the biker clothes and gear is a dead giveaway that we’re travelers, but I feel like I have a sign on my forehead that reads “boujee city girl.” Don’t get me wrong, I love the great outdoors - camping and all. But there is a certain sub-culture of North America that I am experiencing here that’s challenging my stereotypes. I’m referring to the culture where country music plays in every store, where restaurants cook their chicken in a microwave (that happened), and where grown men run antique stores. Everyone has been super friendly during this whole trip, hospitable, helpful and kind. Of course I can’t help but wonder how this same tour would be experienced as a non-white person - but regardless, this is why I challenge people to have cross-cultural experiences... once they are your own personal experiences, your mind opens up.
We finally made it to our destination: Cave-in-Rock. It's a really cool cave you can explore - when it's not flooded! So this year wasn't a great time to see it, but instead we enjoyed our fresh-fish dinner on a cute patio with live music! And our cabin had a beautiful view, right on the Ohio River. Nice way to end another tough day of hills. We woke up on the 6th day with a new bout of energy. Thanks to people praying for my health I felt well enough to get back in the saddle. That day we biked from Anna, IL to Vienna, IL. We mostly took The Tunnel Trail and the highways that run parallel to it. The only pictures I took that day were from the shelters that we took cover under during the frequent rain showers. Once, a random person’s garage overhang, and another, from a carwash. Yes, a carwash. We contacted a Warmshowers host in Simpson, and even though his place wasn’t available he told us he’s the pastor of a Baptist church in Vienna, and he could have someone open it up for it! It was amazing, because the church is also an emergency shelter, so they had showers, cots, and a full blown kitchen! Shout out to Tom & Jonathan, thank you so much!
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