October 7, 2022
Day 16 - Waverly, TN (Imperial Lodge) to Dover, TN (Dover Inn)
Perfect Day On The Tennessee Roller Coaster
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Statistics, Useful & Otherwise;
Elevation Gained Today; 3,309 ft Cumulative; 29,249 ft
Roadkill Seen Today; possum(1), squirrel(3), armadillo(2)
Cumulative; Hawk (2), Raccoon(2), Possum (12), mouse (1), Squirrel (8), Armadillo (5), bird (1), Coyote (1), unknown (2)
Found Money Today; $0.00 Cumulative; $0.33
Lodging Cost Today; $89.44 Cumulative; $1240.63
Bad Drivers Today; 0 Cumulative; 9
Dog Chases Today; 1 Cumulative; 11
Confederate Flags Today; 1 Cumulative; 3 (plus 30 little flags decorating confederate soldiers graves on the Natchez Trace)
Average Speed Today; 8.7 mph Cumulative; 10.16 mph
Summary of Today's Ride; It doesn't get any better than this as long as you can handle the mental grind of constant hills.
The waitress at the Rusty Rooster this morning called me "sweetheart," saying "sit wherever you want sweetheart." Then when she brought my coffee she said "here you go baby." Since she calls everyone by these terms of endearment, I wonder what she calls her boyfriend/husband? I wonder funny things in the mornings before coffee. Like, why do people buy blue jeans that are already "pre-torn" so that they have holes in the legs. Most of my jeans get torn from usage, I don't need to pay to have them already torn.
Almost everyone in the diner is overweight except the waitresses who are constantly hustling to and fro. Being a waitress at the Rusty Rooster is an aerobic job. A gentleman points through the window at my bicycle lights that are still illuminated in the early morning dusk. I explain that they are smart lights and will go off soon, but thank him for telling me. A construction crew at a nearby table is speaking Spanish. They are the only patrons of the diner who aren't overweight. I'm counting myself in the overweight category too, but I'm not as overweight as the diners here at the Rusty Rooster.
I read other journals when doing research for this route (there aren't many other journals, this isn't a popular route). One journal noted that today would be a hard day, calling it a "rigorous climbing day." It was only going to be a bit over 40 miles, but there were no services expected. So I figured I needed to eat well and I ordered a french toast, eggs, and sausage. When the food came it was ridiculously sized; no wonder all the diner patrons are overweight. I enjoyed it, but saved a sausage patty and 1 piece of french toast to be my lunch somewhere along the way.
I felt like I was way too relaxed considering the hilly route expected today. I was slow to get rolling today and enjoyed sipping coffee till about 06:45, then I headed out. Today will be the start of an 8-day run, and this one includes Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri hills as well as some steep climbs along the river bluffs in southern Illinois. I'll get going when I get going. But for now I want coffee.
I like to spin easy for a few miles as I'm warming up before I start working hard. But today I hit a steep climb immediately upon leaving town. And that set the tone for the day; climb and descend, wash, rinse, and repeat. Other than the last mile to the motel, the entire ride today was on low-traffic rural roads shaded by dense forests on either side. It was absolutely wonderful. Squirrels were scurrying about and gathering nuts and several times deer bounced along near me. And there probably wasn't more than a dozen vehicles on most of the route.
Below is a picture of what my ride looked like. Seriously, almost the entire distance was like this. Leaves were laying on the roadway because there was not enough traffic to keep them blown off, and they made little crunching noises under my tires. A leaf fell and hit just right so that it got stuck on my tiny rear view mirror attached to my helmet.
This cemetery has a plaque indicating it has been in existence since 1817. So there are some extremely dead people planted there. It reminded me of cemeteries I had seen in Kentucky when I rode the Transam route, in that they are built on a hillside. When everything is hilly, then cemeteries get built on hills just like everything else. I'm not far from Kentucky you know.
As I neared the intersection with Highway 147 I came upon the "Bottoms Up" bar and grill. There wasn't anything happening at the time, but it has that sort of roadhouse look to it that makes me think it could be hopping on occasion.
As if I needed a reminder that we are all only here for a brief moment in time, I rolled up on this forgotten home site.
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What stories does it have to tell? Was a family raised there? Was there once joy and the happiness of children playing here? Why has it been left to rot away and eventually be consumed by nature such that no one will ever know it was there?
And that's the story of this entire town that once existed and is now nothing but a paragraph of history.
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Other communities have sprung up to replace those lost and forgotten. Below, a small community meets monthly to discuss community issues and enjoy fellowship with their neighbors; a capital idea!
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I spotted another Confederate Flag today. I don't look hard for these, so far the few I have seen have all been out front on the road I was traveling. It's interesting that some folks fly them adjacent to a U.S. flag; obviously those 2 flags were enemies during the Civil War. In the photo below, the Confederate flag is flying slightly higher than the U.S. flag; that should never happen. Flag etiquette is discussed here --> Flag Etiquette
The leaves are starting to turn. Folks here say they don't expect a colorful fall because they have had so little rain recently.
Nearing the end of today's journey, my route traveled along a portion of old Highway 76. No one was on this route except me; the new highway is nearby and that's where all the traffic travels. On the old highway I rolled up on this historical plaque.
My home for tonight is the Dover Inn. It's situated less than 1/4 mile from the start of the Trace Road that I'll ride tomorrow. The Dover Inn is a little dated and simple, but my room is clean and I have everything I need, so all is well. BTW, the official name of the Trace Road is "Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway." More info on it and the LBL can be found here --> Land Between The Lakes
Dinner tonight was a "Hungry Man" frozen entree from the Piggly Wiggly located directly across the highway. There will be no services from the time I roll out of Dover tomorrow morn until I reach Grand Rivers tomorrow afternoon, so I also bought some "Body Armor" drink and a banana for lunch tomorrow somewhere in the Land Between the Lakes (LBL as it's known in these parts). I'll probably also pick up a sandwich as I'm leaving in the morning. Tomorrow I have just a little more climbing to do than I had today, but it's stretched out over 7 additional miles so it shouldn't be too bad. I'm really not too sure of that logic, but it's comforting so I'm going with it.
I anticipate another great ride tomorrow, albeit another hilly one. There's no shortage of rocky hills in Tennessee. I hope you have some gentle hills in your life so you can enjoy the ride down the other side. In anticipation of those hills tomorrow, I best get some shut-eye now...
Today's ride: 44 miles (71 km)
Total: 814 miles (1,310 km)
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https://landbetweenthelakes.us/visit/visitor-center/
2 years ago