Getting Towards Home

This is my first post about why I'm riding, and here's where to donate to Water Life Hope.  Thanks to the many of you who have donated.  And today's another chance for those of you who haven't.

End of the road, at the moment.
That's Judy in the middle.

May 9: Cape Girardeau to Collinwood, TN by bus

Cape Girardeau was terrific, mostly because of our Warm Showers host Judy.  She took us on a flood tour -- plenty of it to see, and filled us in about Cape Girardeau in general.  Her grandmother designed the big and beautiful house she lives in.  Judy's mom grew up there, and so did Judy.  Judy came back about 25 years ago and is rehabbing the place a bit at a time.  She does her own plaster work, and it is impeccable.

Even though we were happy to reach the Mississippi, we were unsure of our next steps.  Carol needed to get home more quickly than anticipated.  We were also coming up on a stretch of Adventure Cycling Association route that has a reputation for bad dogs, bad drivers and a generally bad time.  A repositioning tour seemed the best option.  So we decided to drop south a couple of hundred miles and pick up a little of the Natchez Trace before heading across Alabama.  We picked Collinwood for its (relatively) famous Welcome Center.  They offer showers and restrooms, along with a place to camp all for free.

Steve at the Alabama line

Collinwood is truly tiny but they have three restaurants in walking distance of the Welcome Center.  More precisely, it's two restaurants and a gas station with a counter.  We picked the new Mexican place and got stuff to go to match with the salad and such we had in the bus.  There was a guy there who had arrived on a Salsa.  He turned out to be a gravel racer just taking a few days to do the Trace.  On a schedule, he'd had to ride through the storms that day -- the only bicycle in sight.  There was a daughter who raced cyclocross and criterions.  We felt positively declasse.

We bedded down, happy to be in a warmer place right by the happy, familiar, safe Natchez Trace.

May 10: Collinwood, TN to Florence, AL, 32 miles.

Steve and I did the ride on the Trace, starting out from the Welcome Center and following the signs out.  The Trace looks like a nightmare road -- two lanes, no shoulder.  Its status as a national park, however, completely transforms it.  No commercial traffic is allowed, and the 50 MPH speed limit is strictly enforced.  Motorists expect to see cyclists, and there's an active driver education program that seems to help.  They always change lanes to pass.  I haven't been buzzed there once.  The Natchez Trace is a guaranteed good time.

About 20 miles down the Trace we turned off onto a four-lane highway with massive shoulders.  Then they ended.  A quick map check showed us a parallel county road.  Perfect.  We made it all the way to Florence and loaded the bikes into the bus at a bait shop.

Bob Seger's baby grand, along with
Spooner Oldham's  electric piano where he backed up Aretha.

Florence is right across the river from Muscle Shoals, home of the Swampers and the famous recording studios where Aretha Franklin and the Rolling Stones recorded.  It's a prosperous town, a bit of a shock after many of the places we've been.  We had lunch in Odette, a modern-looking high-ceilinged place with a veg-friendly menu.  Worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood.

The afternoon included a visit to FAME studios ( Florence, Alabama Music Enterprises ), gawking at the keyboard where Spooner Oldham backed up Aretha Franklin.  Golly.

May 11: Muscle Shoals, AL to Joe Wheeler State, 18 miles, 5 or so by bus.

Where Mr. Richards sat, at some length.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is where the Swampers went after they left FAME.  So it's where the 70's rock and roll happened.  It's where Keith Richards locked himself in the (only) bathroom and wrote Wild Horses.  It's where Bob Seger banged out Old-Time Rock and Roll.  It's where Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson and everyone else you can think of sang with the Swampers.  I got there early and was treated to a special walk-through.

We're inventing our own routes across Alabama, no Adventure Cycling Routes available.  So we went to the road Google recommended for leaving Muscle Shoals.  It would require a rather complete suspension of disbelief to start riding on that road.  Checking the Strava Global Heatmap, most bikers were riding a parallel road about five miles north, running along the Tennessee River.  So Carol and I headed there, riding wide roads with little traffic.  River Road itself was narrower but, like the Trace, the drivers were cautious.  And (wonder of wonders) one dog owner actually called his dogs in when they were about to make a run for us.  It was a really nice ride, despite a few spots of rain.

Steve met us right before the Wheeler Dam Bridge.  We'd seen it on Google imagery and knew it would be a very high level of difficulty for a bicycle.  So we took advantage of the bus and went across.  It was raining, with radar promising real storms.  So we've tucked into a state park, hoping it will pass.

We think we'll be coming home on Friday.  Goodness.