August 16, 2016
Day 77 Leipers Fork to Hohenwald
This has been a great day. After a very nice stay at Harriet and Rainey’s house in Leipers Fork, we made the short ride back to the Natchez Trace Parkway to continue our trip. It wasn’t too hot and it was overcast which made for good cycling.
We stopped for a break at the Water Valley Overlook.
We were sitting on a wall in the shade resting when another cyclist rode up. He asked if we had been in Dickson and Leipers Fork earlier in the week. It turns out that he had seen us (in his car, I think) leaving Dickson Monday morning, then riding along Hwy 100 at the north end of the Trace and then again in Leipers Fork in the afternoon. He assured us he wasn’t stalking us, but it was quite a coincidence! We talked about cycling and touring for a while and he left to finish his ride.
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We made another couple of stops for sightseeing and historic marker reading and were about 14 miles from our destination when we pulled into the Jackson Falls stop. There is a trail which leads to a waterfall. Just as we reached the shelter, it started to rain. We congratulated ourselves on our good timing and figured we’d wait out the passing shower. The shower escalated into a big thunderstorm with heavy rain. We (and our bikes) stayed dry and comfortable under the shelter. It rained long enough for us to play three games of Euchre (men 2, women 1).
We saw two groups of people returning to the shelter from the waterfall, soaked from the rain, but everyone was laughing and happy – it really is all about attitude! We were there at least an hour when the rain stopped and the steam began rising from the road. The sun came out and the road dried quickly, but it was hot and sticky.
By the time we reached the Fall Hollow Bed and Biscuit, we were hungry and Diet Coke deprived. Even though the restaurant is not open on Tuesday, the owner, Noel, had said he would feed us when we arrived. He made all of us a delicious smoked meatloaf dinner, accompanied by unlimited Diet Coke. Food is always better than usual when you’ve been on a long ride, but this food was really, really good. He also made us some containers of side dishes we could have for a late meal this evening and promised to leave the fountain on for more Diet Coke. After that meal, we are all looking forward to his breakfast in the morning. This is a very cyclist-friendly place. Any cyclist traveling on the Trace owes it to him or herself to plan a stay at Fall Hollow, either camping or in the B&B. It is an outstanding place and the owners, Sheri and Noel are fantastic.
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Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 3,588 miles (5,774 km)
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