The ride started where we ended the day before at Colbert Ferry where the temperature was 69 degrees. The winds were out of the south at 5 mph with gusts up to 12 mph. After the first 8 miles I felt good and my average was over 16 mph, and then I got to my first challenging hill. It lasted about a 1/2 mile and brought my average down to about 14.3 mph. The first SAG stop was about 19 miles into the ride and Julia was waiting there as she had shuttled to that location. Just a few hundred yards before the SAG stop was the Mississippi state line. Once I got to the SAG stop, Julia headed out about 15 minutes ahead of me. I never did catch her until she waited for me about 15 miles later. From that point on we stayed together. By now the temperature was up to 76 degrees and the wind was now 8mph from the south with gusts of 17mph. Once again, it required pedaling to go down hill very fast. There weren’t many photo opportunities between the first and second SAG stops. Shortly after the second SAG stop we came upon a field of cotton. The fields almost looked like they were covered in snow. After that, once again there weren’t many places to take photos. When we ended the ride at the Visitor Center, it was 83 degrees, overcast with winds from the south at 9mph. I was just shy of 62 miles for the day. We are spending the night near Tupelo, MS with dinner at Red Lobster. Steak and lobster with delicious desserts to close out the night. All day long I could not get the song Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison out of my head. I played the song in our room, shared it with a friend, and talked about it at dinner. It’s been a long time since I’ve listed to Van Morrison - I guess it’s time to go into the vault.
While waiting for the shuttle in the morning, Nancy (the blue arrow points to her) led an impromptu stretching group. It has grown in size each day.
An interesting sign just outside of the hotel we stayed on Tuesday night.
The parkway at the beginning of the day.
Approaching the first SAG stop.
Just before the first SAG stop we crossed into our third state: Mississippi.
The first SAG stop of the day was at Bear Creek Mound.
The second SAG stop was at Pharr Mounds. A mound can be seen in the background. The mounds were built and used about 1-200 AD by a tribe of nomadic Indian hunters and gatherers.
One large cotton field was along the Trace today.
Cotton plants up close.
One cotton cluster up close.
Dogwood Valley.
The ride today ended at the Visitor Center near Tupelo, MS. I am always happy to see the sign approaching the end of the ride.