Natchez Trace Tour: Getting More There

Despite its outrageous price tag, last night’s hotel was meh. Storms raged outside all last night and into the morning. I left at 8:30 with my bike sure to get a good washing.

Five mikes into the drive the interstate I was on was closed because of a crash. I followed dozens of cars as they bailed out down (off) an on-ramp.

The storm continued its rage but the road wasn’t flooded so I made good time. There were several signs of tire tracks where vehicles had left the roadway.

The highways here are in tough shape. For some reason there were cars parked every so often on the side of the road, as if the drivers had run out of gas. I’ve never seen so many tire treads littering a highway as I have these last two days.

I made it to the hotel in Ridgeland outside Jackson by 1 pm. I was allowed to check in early. My room is very nice; twice as nice as last night’s at half the price. Go figure.

I reconfigured my baggage for tomorrow’s van ride to Natchez. Then I went out to lunch at a pretty decent eatery nearby.

Back at the hotel I did some back exercises, showered, and went to the lobby to watch the UConn women trounce South Carolina.

I dropped some dirty clothes in the car and saw our group leaders in the parking lot. One was discussing the closure of a side path on the Trace nearby. I keep hearing how dangerous the road is in the immediate area and all I can think of is “Hold my beer.”

Some of the tour group are heading out for dinner at 7-ish. I’ll probably join them unless my nap gets the better of me.

It’s chilly here but by tomorrow afternoon we expect near perfect weather for riding.

I’m very happy to be out of the car.