Less than a week after finishing the TNGA, I thought it’d be a good idea to ride 260 miles from Nashville to Oxford via the Natchez Trace. The idea came about when I was trying to figure out the most cost effective way to move the contents of my storage unit in Oxford to my apartment in Nashville. Uhaul charges by the mile, so driving round-trip (my original plan) would be the most expensive option. A one-way trip would be a little over half the cost, so how do I get myself to Oxford? I could’ve rented a car, but those companies charge a heavy fee for one-way trips. It wouldn’t save much over driving the Uhaul both ways. I could ride to Oxford, but I only had my mountain bikes at the time. If I’d had my gravel setup for the single speed, I might’ve considered it. The third option was to drive my car to Oxford, drive a Uhaul back, then ride my road bike back to Oxford to get my car, and that’s what Pete and I did.
The ride started off easy. We had planned to roll at 6am, but it was closer to 7am. The first 20 miles cut through downtown, then took some quiet roads to the northern terminus of the Trace. The first part of the Trace was awesome; we saw more cyclists than cars. The road wandered through rolling green hills mile after mile with almost no traffic. After 55 miles we stopped at a Dollar General to refuel; I noticed a cut in the sidewall of my tire with the tube just barely bulging out. When the heck did that happen? I put a dollar bill in there to contain the tube, fairly confident that it would hold; still 205 miles to go.
More rolling green hills awaited us. This section of the Trace contains a lot of false flats – they look flat, but you’re only going 13 mph and feel like you're dragging a boat anchor. Then you’ll be going “down”, cruising at 26 mph, but it still appears flat or nearly so. My GPS showed 1.5 – 2% grades.
At mile 110 we stopped in Collinwood, TN for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. A burrito grande really hit the spot. The next section drops in elevation a good bit which brought our average speed up; still we weren’t really making good time. I calculated our ETA every couple hours, and it kept getting pushed back – 10pm, 11pm, 1am. Maybe getting a hotel in Tupelo wasn’t such a bad idea. It’s not like there was anything other than my car waiting in Oxford; we had to sleep somewhere. On a particularly steep downhill, I thought my tire was getting a bit squirrelly; no, we were just cruising at 42 mph. That's all.
At mile 145 we stopped at a gas station; dark clouds loomed ahead. Soon after, the rain started as a drizzle and turned into a steady pour. We were still three hours from Tupelo. The sun went down. The rain continued. Pete got a flat. Ugh. Unlike the TNGA, there was no bailout option. No one was watching a tracker; no one would come get us if we couldn’t go on. We just had to push through it. At one point I glanced at my GPS to see 197 miles; I thought, "Holy shit that's a long way!" As we neared Tupelo, the rain finally let up. I think we checked into a hotel around 9:30pm; I made a beer run, showered, ordered pizza. A change of clothes would’ve been nice, but those were waiting in my car. We clocked 210 miles for the day, the farthest I’ve ever ridden but not the longest.
The next day went smoothly, other than being a bit sore. Just another 60 miles to Oxford on much more interesting roads. We made a victory lap around The Square, changed clothes, went to the coffee shop, book store, etc. before making the drive back.
Lessons learned:
While road touring is much easier on the body overall, the pain is more concentrated. My road bike saddle is fine for a few hours but gets really uncomfortable after that. My hands and feet weren’t ready for this kind of mileage either.
Always have a solid plan B and a plan C. Know where the hotels are and how to get there. Bring camping gear and extra clothes if civilization is too far off. This is especially important when your destination may be unattainable. Ideally, have someone available to pick you up if you can’t go on.
I probably won't buy those tires again. The hole in the sidewall looks more like an abrasion rather than a cut, probably happened in the back of the Uhaul. Still, the durability seems to be lacking.
While the Natchez Trace is a beautiful, low traffic road, it gets incredibly boring after several hours. I’ve thought about using it in future trips, but now I may reconsider.
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