The Singing Cyclist

Monday, May 28, 2012

Today was Memorial Day in the United States.

I dedicated today's ride to my friend Chris Petty who died last weekend in the Turtle Crawl Triathlon in Jekyll Island, GA. Chris was taken from us far too soon and I regret that I didn't get the opportunity to spend more time with him, because he was, honestly, one of the finest people I have ever known.

Today's ride began at Buzzard's Roost Spring just west of Muscle Shoals, AL at mile marker 320.3 on the Trace. The day didn't seem quite right starting out because we were down a man with Richard still in Russellville trying to find a wheel to borrow or a spoke with which to repair his wheel. The plan was for him to spend the day finding a way for him to continue with us while Renee and I charged on with the journey. Richard would meet up with us in our overnight destination of Tupelo, MS - if he was able to get back up and running.

We had been told that the climb up Buzzard's Roost would be tough but that once we completed it, we'd be in for relatively flat terrain. Well whoever said that Mississippi is flat... LIED!  It seemed like it was uphill all the way from Buzzard's Roost, AL to Tupelo, MS.  We climbed more today than any other day of the trip thus far.

We stopped at the Pharr Indian Mounds (33.6 miles into our ride) for lunch where Ann made us peanut butter and jelly burritos (and mine had banana). It's truly amazing what the human body can do as long as you keep it fed and watered. Once we were tanked up on fluids and full from lunch, we headed out for Tupelo - 20.7 miles away.

The Natchez Trace Welcome Center in Tupelo, MS was our next stop. The visitor center was very nice and provided a much needed respite from the heat and a chance to pick up a few souvenirs. 

Today was to be an 80 mile day. 80 miles is a long way on a bike. It happens to be further than I've ever ridden in a single day. Add into that the terrain that we'd been dealing with and the hottest temps of the season and it starts to seem pretty intense. Renee and I pushed though some very hilly country between Buzzard's Roost and Tupelo, but once we got to Tupelo, things began to flatten out.

The last stop before the end of our ride was at a small market and gas station on Pontocola Rd at mile marker 251.6. The market was recently opened and had exactly what we needed - cold drinks and some shade. As I pulled up to the market a woman was walking up calling to a dog. She carried on about the dog, and bought it a bottle of water because she felt the dog looked hot. She purchased a bottle of Dasani water for the dog and poured the cold water into a cup for the dog to lap up. The dog took advantage of the water and evidently the temperature of the water didn't agree with the puppy's stomach.

We ended the day near Van Vleet, MS - at a rest stop on the Trace called the "Chickasaw Agency". Since there was no where anywhere near Van Vleet to stay, we backtracked up the Trace in the car to Tupelo to stay at the Baymont Inn and Suites - a small chain, but very nicely maintained and clean.

We had dinner at the Fireplace Grill in downtown Tupelo and then journeyed over to the Elvis Presley birthplace.

We had heard from Richard that he was able to borrow a wheel from his sister and that she met him at the AL/GA state line on I-20 to give it to him. Richard met up with us at the hotel in Tupelo after our little excursion. The hotel didn't have a guest laundry, so I managed to locate a coin laundry where I washed our cycling clothes. After Ann picked me up at the coin laundry, we went back to the hotel and picked up Richard.

Since we needed to leave Richard's truck in Tupelo - so he would be able to ride with us - we had reached out on Facebook for some help. One of our church friends had a neighbor who's parents live in Tupelo. As it turned out the family lived less than 3 minutes away from our hotel and were very kind to let us park the truck at their home until the end of our ride. Edwin and Twana were absolutely lovely people and we enjoyed meeting them as we dropped off the car. 

All in all, many adventures today. Kinda makes life interesting.

Stats for the day:
81.32 miles (new personal best)
14.7 mph average
37.9 mph max
5:28'52 time in the saddle

Today was an "interesting" day to say the least. 

The riding was fantastic - everything else left quite a bit to be desired.

First an explanation about the title of this post. Saturday's ride ended at the Meriwether Lewis Campground. The southbound approach to the campground from the Trace is about a mile... pretty much all uphill. Not exactly what you want to be doing at the end of a long day of riding - but such is life. As we were approaching the campground, there is a large sign that proclaims: "Meriwether Lewis Death and Burial Site". In our state of exhaustion, Richard misread the sign and initially thought that the sign said: "Death and Burritos" - which quite frankly sounded better to all of us than "Death and Burial Site". So it only seemed appropriate that we would begin day two with comments about Death and Burritos - and considering the day we ended up having today, I thought it only appropriate to end the day with a ceremonial gift to Richard from Taco Bell as we headed home from the end of Day 2. 

The place we stayed in Linden, TN was called the Commodore Inn - named in tribute to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the War of 1812 and the name sake of the county in which we stayed - Perry County. We also learned that evidently Tennessee sent allot of boys to the War of 1812 and there are a large number of things in the area named in tribute to things that occurred in that war. Memorial Day weekend means picnics and music - which for Linden, TN means a music festival in the town square... which happened to be directly across the street from our hotel. The bands kept things rockin' in Linden till just about midnight. Not exactly what you want after a long day of riding and an evening of all you can eat Catfish at the Amber Falls Winery CajunFest.
 
While at the winery for the CajunFest on Saturday afternoon/evening, we mistakenly laid down our good camera and left it behind. Ann had to backtrack to the winery after dropping us off, but she did manage to retrieve it. Just goes to show that there are some honest people left in this world.

I lost the keys to the Van while we were packing it which made us about an hour and a half late starting our ride. We weren't actually rolling out of Meriwether Lewis Campground until nearly 8:30am - which given the heat we are dealing with is kind of a big deal.

Renee and I were ready to roll a little ahead of Richard and so he pushed us to go on ahead and that he would catch up with us down the road. Unfortunately, Richard took a bad turn coming out of the park which ended up adding 12 miles to his ride today.

We missed connections with our SAG vehicle which resulted in a low water situation that had us concerned.

Richard worked so hard to catch up to us that he made up the 12 miles in about 3 hours. This really cooked him, but he recovered during a pit stop after he caught us.

Less than 3 miles from the end of our ride, Richard popped a spoke and had to call it quits for the day. Finding a bike shop capable of fixing his wheel on Memorial Day will cost him a full day of riding with us.

The high point of the day was dropping by Glen Clemmons home on County Road 5, just off AL 20 - less than a mile from the Trace. Glen loaned us his back porch, gave us ice and good company. We were able to rest and recharge and complete the rest of the ride in much better spirits.

We ended the day at Highway 72 at the Buzzard's Roost Spring rest stop.

No bike shops open on Memorial day anywhere in North Alabama capable of repairing a broken spoke.

Had my first "Sonic" experience - loved the Cherry Limeade - the onion rings we a little rough.

We met some interesting people along the way.
We caught up with Mizou on his recumbent special who we had run into at Lieper's Fork the day before.

The "crew" from North Carolina with Jim and Chris the doctors. Jim just had knee surgery 3 weeks ago and is riding from Nashville to Tupeo - the rest of the group is riding all the way to Natchez.

The father and sons carrying everything plus the kitchen sink on mountain bikes with kid trailers hauling all their stuff.

Stats for today:
69.6 miles for the day
130.26 miles total
320.3 miles to go
Average for days 1 & 2 combined: 14.8
Total time in the saddle: 8:46'07 (for both days)
Temperature ranged from 77 to 100 degrees Farenheit

That 'step' was this morning. In the parking lot of The Loveless Cafe outside Nashville, TN. It was a beautiful morning. We left the hotel in Cool Springs in time to be at The Loveless before they opened at 7.  We had planned to be "wheels down" and rolling by 8. After a wonderful country breakfast and pictures, we probably rolled out of the parking lot around 8:15. 

Renee and I have ridden together for years now and we know just about everything about each other's riding style. But this is the first time either of us had ridden with my nephew Richard. Any time you ride with someone new, there is always a "break-in" period. Richard was no different. It takes time to figure out how your companion calls hazards, how they like to pass, how chatty the person is on the bike, what kind of pace they ride, etc... There's just allot of stuff to riding in a group -at least if you're going to do it safe and smart.

The section of the trace we road today was pretty hilly. Long ascents -although - for the most part - not too steep.  There were 3 category 5 climbs today. For those of you not familiar, categorized climbs in cycling take into account a number of factors including length, amount of climb, road surface, number of level sections during the climb, etc... Cat 1 are the hardest and Cat 5 are the easiest - although the FTC that they are categorized means they aren't "easy".

As I said, we left the Loveless around 8:15 and rode the long entrance ramp to the bridge that marks the start of the parkway. As we entered the parkway, air temp was about 76 degrees Fahrenheit. 

One thing you have to understand about The Trace is that the entire length of it is a National Park. It is patrolled by Federal Park Rangers. It is closed to commercial traffic and the speed limit is often 40 mph and never over 55. Consequently it is primarily used by motorcycles, bicycles and the occasional car that probably isn't in a hurry to get where they are going. The Trace is extremely popular with bicyclists and today was no exception. We encountered numerous cyclists going in both directions. Our first stop was at Lieper's Fork (a Shell station/Country Store), 15 miles into the ride, where we ran into a man who could only be described as "Country" sitting on the porch in a rocking chair with two knives, whittling on a tree branch.

Ann caught up to us as we were leaving Lieper's Fork, and so we pulled in briefly a few miles down the road at Garrison Creek to check in and allow Renee to grab her little wallet she carries on the bike which she had left in one of her larger bags. 

Our next stop would be Garrison House, where there was a large event commemorating the beginning of the War of 1812 going on.  we ran into several interesting characters here that were participating in the re-enactment. We rested a little and re-filled water bottles before heading out again. 

I don't recall the exact locations, but we encountered two long steep descents today both of which resulted in speeds in excess of 40 mph - what a BLAST!

We ended the riding today at the Meriwether Lewis historic site and campground - the site of our last stop. At the end of the ride we had ridden 60.25 miles. The air temp was 95 degrees Fahrenheit and the minivan than I so loath to ride in was the most beautiful vehicle I think I may have even seen. 

What does tomorrow hold? More of the same, but there should be less climbing and we are starting earlier so we should have cooler temps for more of the ride.  Today the heat didn't really become intense until after noon and tomorrow we should be off the trace by noon at the latest. 

And so begins my odyssey.

On Saturday I will leave Nashville, TN on my bicycle to follow the Natchez Trace Parkway all the way to Natchez, Mississippi. I'll be riding with my nephew Richard and my friend Renee. My wife Ann will be accompanying us in a van providing what cyclists refer to as SAG - which stands for Support And Gear. Basically, Ann will drop us off in the mornings and pick us up in the afternoons on the "short" days (60-70 miles). On our longer days (80-100 miles) she'll meet us with lunch.

The mileage has been carefully calculated and takes the elevation changes into account. Plans are for us to tackle the 444 miles of the Trace over the next 6 days.

Last weekend I took a training ride on Saturday to assess my preparation. I rode 64 miles with the intent of not really riding for distance, rather focussing on time in saddle and the rate that my legs were spinning.  Cyclists refer to this as cadence and it is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). The ideal cadence that cyclists strive for is 90. Over the course of the 4 hours I spent training, I maintained a cadence between 85 and 95. That's exactly where I feel I need to be.

On Sunday I went out for a short spin of about 13 miles. It had been a while since I had done much hill work, so I set a course that would carry me over Black Jack mountain in East Cobb county - twice. That little ride went exceedingly well and let me with confidence that I'll be able to rise to the requirements I'll face on the Trace.

Following the Sunday training ride, I took the family for dinner. During the meal, my father called me to let me know that a childhood friend of mine had died suddenly participating in a triathlon the previous day. My friend is a man named Chris Petty. His parents had been friends of my parents from before either of us was born and Chris and I had grown up together in the church, attending Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and youth group events together my entire life. Chris was like a close cousin to me and his parents, like surrogate parents of my own. To say I was crushed would be an understatement. My stomach literally ached for Chris' wife Lisa, his parents and his bother Tony and his family. Chris was a humble man with a quiet confidence in his faith in God. He was a great friend, a loving son and husband and a gifted manager who managed payroll globally for The Coca Cola Company. Chris had been in the swim leg of the Turtle Crawl triathlon at Jekyll Island.  The sea was angry that day churned up by a tropical storm in the Atlantic. The race start had been delayed a couple of times but had finally gotten underway. Chris' wife Lisa had completed her swim and was on to the bike. About 250 yards into a 400 yard swim, Chris was fighting a rip tide and needed assistance. He raised his arm in a symbol of distress along with several other swimmers. When the rescue boat got to him he yelled to them to help the others first. When the boat returned to Chris they found him face down in about 8 feet of water and were unable to revive him. Chris was pronounced dead at the Brunswick Medical Center around noon.

This past fall, I was participating in the MS Cox Atlanta Ride. A charity bicycle ride For the Multiple Sclerosis society of Georgia. I ride with a small team of riders but our team partners with several others to reduce costs. One of the teams we partner with is team Coca Cola. As such, our team tent was adjacent to the team Coke tent. We arrived in Calaway Gardens the afternoon before the event start. One of the first people I ran into was my childhood buddy, Chris and his wife Lisa. Over the course of the weekend I ended up peddling over 30 miles with Chris, catching up and sharing the experience together. Chris was a great guy. He was the definition of a friend, always more concerned for you than for himself. The following photo is from that weekend:

Cox MS Atlanta 150 - Photo courtesy Kent Ruby

So tomorrow is Saturday. We are in Russellville, Alabama right now, dropping off my kids with my wife's parents and preparing to head north to Nashville. Richard followed us over in his truck and we are combining supplies and checking gear. I'm excited to get started, hopeful that I'll have enough in the tank to finish and reflective as I remember my friend Chris.

Come along with me on this odyssey. I plan to blog every evening. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated as I trek down the road.

I am dedicating this ride to Chris and I'll be asking you to donate in his memory to a charity that means so much to both of us... The MS Society of Georgia.

I don't know about you, but I use Excel for many different purposes - including tracking projects.

The following are photographers whose work I really admire and that I don't want to forget about. Feel free to check out their work - they are amazing: