Cycling Natchez Trace Part 2
Cycling Natchez Trace Part 1
I published an article in Alabama Living about my Natchez Trace bike trip: PUT 'CYCLING THE NATCHEZ TRACE' ON YOUR BUCKET LIST
land acknowledgement
The Natchez Trace is located on Natchez; Chahta Yakni (Choctaw); S’atsoyaha (Yuchi); Chikashsha Yaki (Chickasaw); Cherokee, East; Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee) ancestral lands.
Source: native-land.ca
Day 5, Monday October 12: 62 miles
Dad and I drove up near Franklin, TN, to the Northern Terminus of the Natchez Trace, mile 440, early Monday morning. I started biking by 7 and it was in the 40s. I saw my first wildlife of the trip, deer by the side of the road. I had seen other animals but they were all dead on the road :(
The first 20 or so miles were hilly and curvy so my average speed decreased and my legs paid the price. After 62 miles, Dad and I camped at Meriwether Lewis Campground, a free campsite along the trace. Lewis (of Lewis and Clark expeditions) died in the area and was buried there in 1809.
The start South from the Northern Terminus
Interesting Double Arch bridge and Fall Colors
Lewis' Monument
Day 6, Tuesday October 13: 58 miles
Another chilly morning on the trail after a night of thunderstorms. I biked into Alabama this day and then over the Tennessee River. We stayed at my Granny's house in Florence that night.
Start of the 6th day-yes that's a shirt around my head
Biked into Alabama
Tennessee River
Day 7, Wednesday October 14: 60 miles
I biked into Mississippi this day. Along the way I passed Native American mounds (see picture) and sites of villages. We stayed in Tupelo that night.
Mounds are to the left of the sign
Day 8, Thursday October 15: 40 miles
I biked the last 40 miles to get to the halfway point where I stopped last Friday. I passed an area where Hernando De Soto met Chickasaws in 1540. De Soto and his people were the first Europeans the Chickasaws ever met-interesting!
It was an easy day and I finished around noon. Finished the 440-mile Natchez Trace!
Last day on the Trace
Done!
The trip took longer than expected and was physically demanding but I am glad I took my time to enjoy the ride rather than racing through it.Here's a youtube video of clips of me biking the trace. I'm grateful for all my Dad's help along the way: driving me around, having ice and water ready for me at stops, and encouraging me to keep going when my body was not happy with me. Thanks Dad! I highly recommend anyone who has not journeyed on the Trace to check it out. After living in the Southwest for the past two years and learning about Native peoples and their culture out there I was very interested in learning more about those that lived close to where I am from. The trace was a way to connect with that history.
