Natchez Trace ride

[Rusty Click]

My friend Ed and I decided to stretch out of our S24O comfort zone, and planned to ride the Natchez Trace, end to end.  We were camping, but had another friend willing to drive a support van for us, which ultimately turned our ride from an ordeal, into a positive learning experience.

We had weather delays, and ambitious mileage goals that caused us to shorten up to 300 out of 444 possible miles.  We learned a great deal about camping, cooking,  packing, and realistic miles per day, when on non rail-trail road rides.  Thank goodness for our support!

We met many wonderful people, including an Australian couple, and one of their friends, who were on day 45 of an LA to New Orleans, up the Underground Railroad route to Niagra Falls, and then down the GAP trail, ride to Washington Dulles airport.

My Hillborne rode great, but suffered a fractured rear rim, that wasn't discovered till I returned home!  Glad it didn't fail dramatically during the ride.

Here (hopefully) are some pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcpgh/

Cheers,

Rusty

[René Sterental]

I'd be interested to hear more about what you learned, and why was it almost an ordeal.

 

René

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[Ron Mc]

Congratulations - what a great tide - thanks for the photos

[Deacon Patrick]

Grand adventure! Fantastic! Multiday touring is a whole different beastie than S24Os, that's for sure. We're doing a family destination camping/running/biking trip next week, which is another way to go too. Between locations I'll do an equivilant of a sag wagon day, then get picked up after they do the museums (which I can't do anyway for my bludgeoned brain) and go on to our next destination camp. A great way to travel with people of highly varied capabilities (kids, in this case), as it has something for everyone.

Are you glad you went?

With abandon,

Patrick

[Dale Click]

Absolutely!

We've done Inn to Inn type rides before, DC-PGH, out and back to Cumberland MD, etc., but this was my first primarily camping trip.  We learned quit a bit, and are thankful for it.

Next up,  the Katy Trail!

Rusty

clic...@gmail.com

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[mikel...@juno.com]

ive dont the Natchez, C & O towpath, and the Katy in that order. all great trips but prefer the car-free dirt roads best

mike goldman
warwick,r.i.
____________________________________________________________
How to Sleep Like a Rock
Obey this one natural trick to fall asleep and stay asleep all night.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/517afb4aa6a437b4a205cst04duc

[Dale Click]

Rene,

We had originally planned 6 riding days, which in hindsight, was overly ambitious.  There was supposed to be a 100 plus mile day, a couple of 70's, etc.  Add in the weather, and we would never have made any of our planned camping arrangements.  I think the pressure of trying to 'make the mileage', and get to planned campsites, would have cut into the enjoyment of the ride.  And that's what it's supposed to be about, right?  So with the luxury of the support van, we immediately dumped the 'got to get there' attitude, and enjoyed the beautiful Natchez Trace.

Many of our fellow campers were a joy to meet, and talk to, and planned AM departure times quickly vanished with the good conversation, and the extra cup of coffee and ginger snaps!   The vast majority of the drivers along the Trace were very courteous too.  Always a plus.

We learned to set reasonable daily distances to allow time to set up, not be rushed in our  personal preparation, and cooking.   Regarding cooking, I learned to love the new Trangia stove, and it's ease of use and versatility.  I made eggs, heated water for coffee, pasta dinners, and had planned on some breakfast oatmeal with honey until the raccoons got into the food(another lesson learned)!  Also, we learned to allow time to sightsee, and enjoy the company along the way.   We found out too, about advertised camp sites, like those listed on NPS maps,  vs available sites, like KOA"s and parks in nearby towns.  Also, that there's little privacy in a campsite if you're there with other people around.

A great experience, and I plan on enjoying more trips like this.

Rusty

clic...@gmail.com

Pittsburgh, PA

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[Deacon Patrick]

Ahhhhh. Yes, when I've done tours I've never pre-planned where I will camp, instead just seeing where the day takes me (or us, when I was with others). That's easier done in the forest where you can camp anywhere you set up a tent, so long as you have water.

The Katy Trail looks like a great next trip. Enjoy!

[René Sterental]

Thank you! Excellent lessons!

I have a dream of one day doing one of these, hopefully with my son. Still far from ready for it, both mentally and physically. One of my goals this year is to get started on making that dream a reality, so I'm going on RBWs S24O tomorrow and feel both anxious and excited about it. Unfortunately, my son has Water Polo games and won't be able to join me. 

I'm hoping I'll be able to do another one soon, and this time I'll bring him along. Let's see how I survive the climbing tomorrow... :-)

René

[PATRICK MOORE]

Rusty: great photos and story. One day i will do a multi day tour,
though it will have to wait until I get money to latch on to a guided
one. Thank God I just signed a resume writing contract for a prime so
who knows, perhaps at summer's end ....

http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
patric...@resumespecialties.com

Albuquerque, NM