Saturday, April 8, 2010
The route today was perhaps the most scenic and amazing ride thus far on the trip. Unfortunately for me, I was in the van during the day. Today was my support day (again – it seems like they occur quite frequently), so I only got to appreciate the route from the passenger seat of a cargo van. Sad. But Jeff and I made sure we stopped at as many scenic locations along the way that we could.
We were in lead van and had to mark the route, so we had to make sure we stayed in front of all of the riders. Whenever we came upon a scenic stop, we would park the van, run down to the waterfall (or whatever else we were looking at), hang out for a few minutes, run back up the trail, jump in to the van, and peel out. 
It was adventurous. We had fun.
We took the riders up to Nashville on the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a scenic byway that is part of the federal parks system. The Parkway starts down in southern Mississippi and travels all the way up to Nashville. It was amazing.
The roads were lined with trees and there were gorgeous overlooks throughout the route. It was so incredibly peaceful. I’m pretty sure we saw more bikers on the road than cars. So jealous. So incredibly envious that I did not get to ride today. 
We are staying at the First Baptist Church right in the heart of downtown Nashville. We only had to walk down a few blocks to hang out for the evening. I have to admit that the major cities in Tennessee (or at least the ones which we have visited) are amazing. There is live music in literally every single bar and restaurant. And for the most part, the music is really good. I guess you have to be pretty good to perform in Nashville, also known as “Music City.” We went to a honky-tonk place to start out the evening. And, although I don’t really like country/folk music (I’m pretty sure I made this darn clear in a previous blog entry), it was a lot of fun. Honky-tonk is much more entertaining. It’s got a great beat. The bar also had writing all over the walls and ceilings. I felt the need to add a permanent memento to the collection.
We went to a couple of other places that evening. We ended up at a bar called Big Shotz very close down to the river district. Apparently it had been flooded out but had just reopened. I was surprised by how well the city seemed to be recovering from the flood. Although some areas closest to the river are still closed and cleaning up from damages, many places are already open again for business. Big Shotz was one of these places. The clientele was incredibly interesting. The music was entertaining (live rock band – I was pretty happy!). And the drinks were cheap. Good times.
End of the thirty-eighth day. And it was musical.
The route today was perhaps the most scenic and amazing ride thus far on the trip. Unfortunately for me, I was in the van during the day. Today was my support day (again – it seems like they occur quite frequently), so I only got to appreciate the route from the passenger seat of a cargo van. Sad. But Jeff and I made sure we stopped at as many scenic locations along the way that we could.
We were in lead van and had to mark the route, so we had to make sure we stayed in front of all of the riders. Whenever we came upon a scenic stop, we would park the van, run down to the waterfall (or whatever else we were looking at), hang out for a few minutes, run back up the trail, jump in to the van, and peel out. It was adventurous. We had fun.We took the riders up to Nashville on the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a scenic byway that is part of the federal parks system. The Parkway starts down in southern Mississippi and travels all the way up to Nashville. It was amazing.
The roads were lined with trees and there were gorgeous overlooks throughout the route. It was so incredibly peaceful. I’m pretty sure we saw more bikers on the road than cars. So jealous. So incredibly envious that I did not get to ride today. We are staying at the First Baptist Church right in the heart of downtown Nashville. We only had to walk down a few blocks to hang out for the evening. I have to admit that the major cities in Tennessee (or at least the ones which we have visited) are amazing. There is live music in literally every single bar and restaurant. And for the most part, the music is really good. I guess you have to be pretty good to perform in Nashville, also known as “Music City.” We went to a honky-tonk place to start out the evening. And, although I don’t really like country/folk music (I’m pretty sure I made this darn clear in a previous blog entry), it was a lot of fun. Honky-tonk is much more entertaining. It’s got a great beat. The bar also had writing all over the walls and ceilings. I felt the need to add a permanent memento to the collection.
We went to a couple of other places that evening. We ended up at a bar called Big Shotz very close down to the river district. Apparently it had been flooded out but had just reopened. I was surprised by how well the city seemed to be recovering from the flood. Although some areas closest to the river are still closed and cleaning up from damages, many places are already open again for business. Big Shotz was one of these places. The clientele was incredibly interesting. The music was entertaining (live rock band – I was pretty happy!). And the drinks were cheap. Good times.
End of the thirty-eighth day. And it was musical.
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