August 15, 2016
Day 76 Dickson to Leipers Fork
We left Dickson this morning for a short 42 mile ride to Leipers Fork, a tiny town off the Natchez Creek Parkway. Assorted events ensued and we arrived at our very nice Airbnb with over 51 miles ridden.
The first segment of today's route was a 23 miles ride to reach the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. It was the hilly terrain we've been riding the last week, but nothing too steep. We reached the "world famous Loveless Café" near the north end of the Trace, ready to have a real Southern breakfast at this traditional stopping place for cyclists doing the Trace. The biscuits were as good as advertised and the rest of the breakfast was good as well.
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The Loveless has grown into a compound with several separate buildings, including a BBQ shack. It smelled really good. The guy inside was making potato salad. Viktoriya started talking to him and he told her the whole recipe. He seemed to enjoy having someone so interested in what he was doing.
Kerry asked at the Café if there were a bike shop nearby. Our waitress said the shop had just moved to larger quarters next to the new Publix. Publix?? We had to go there - a place from home! We rode over to the Publix and found that it lived up to Florida Publix standards. The employees were all warm, friendly, smiling and helpful. The store was bright and clean, of course. I asked a woman, who turned out to be a manager, if they sold individual postage stamps. She said no, only books of stamps, but she had one in her purse. She went and got the stamp for me and refused to let me pay her for it.
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We spent a little while in the store, buying a few things and all the employees we talked to wanted to hear about the trip. The woman doing the Aprons demo was particularly interested in talking to us about it. I hope I remember correctly that her name is Cathy.
It was a nice little taste of home and a reminder that Publix is the best and shopping really is a pleasure there.
After our Publix visit, we were ready to start our journey on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It runs 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, MS and we plan to ride it all. We got a big start with 15 miles today! It is a great road for cycling with very little traffic and beautiful scenery. The only wildlife we saw today were some turkeys.
We stopped and took pictures at the "Double Arch Bridge" at Birdsong Hollow. (Isn't that an appealing place name - Birdsong Hollow?)
Our lodging for tonight is an Airbnb I found in Leipers Fork. We arrived in the little town and walked around for a while, then bought some food for supper and headed out of town to the place Airbnb and Google Maps told me we would find the house. Four very hilly miles later, we were in the wrong place and I was afraid I had really messed up. I texted HELP!!! to the owner and she called me back with the correct address and directions - 3 very hilly miles back the way we came! My companions were all very forgiving and we arrived to a warm welcome from our hostess. Airbnb had given me an incorrect street address for her house. They will be hearing from me later.
The place we're staying is beautiful, though, and worth the trouble we went through to find it. We'll sleep well tonight and be ready for another day on the Trace tomorrow.
TO ALL OUR FOLLOWERS: WE WILL NOT HAVE INTERNET AGAIN UNTIL FRIDAY. NEXT POST WILL BE FRIDAY OR SATURDAY UNLESS WE FIND A PLACE WITH WIFI.
Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 3,544 miles (5,704 km)
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