Today's ride had nearly 50 miles of riding on the Natchez Trace Parkway. I cannot imagine that the riding will get any better than this. The road was as smooth as glass the entire way with no road debris at all and very little traffic. The entire Parkway is 444 miles and is used as a bicycle tour for its entire length. I would return to do the whole thing at some point, although the logistics would be more difficult as there is no commercial operations on its length. The scenery was spectacular. The Old Natchez Trace was a trail used by Indian tribes and connected the Mississsippi, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers. It was later used by early European explorers in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In some places, their wagons and carts formed a depression in the ground up to 20 feet deep. Many travelers would travel south on the Mississippi River and return overland via the Trace. There were several signboards explaining the history of the Trace and some of its features. A couple of photos show these explanations.
It was a shame to leave the parkway. We had light traffic to start and then very heavy traffic into Vicksburg. Some drivers were quite impatient. After walking through a detour, I saw the house that had a dream view. It was on the corner at the end of the detour. Two sides were all glass and framed a magnificent view of the river.
Day's stats: 91.9 miles, 15.9 mph, 2635 feet climbing.
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