A A

Part 2 of 4263 Miles

Part 2 of 4263 Miles

Sunday afternoon, my cousin Tom and his wife came over and we all went over to my niece's home for a visit with relatives there. Later that evening we went over to Wegmans for Dinner, by far the largest supermarket that I have ever been in, it even has a large restaurant.

Monday, June 11th, I woke to a sunny day and spent the morning cleaning up the bike, working on a loose headlight connection and getting stuff in order. I went out to a nice lunch with Paul a local family restaurant and as the weather forecast was predicting more rain over the next couple of days, I decided to leave Syracuse a day earlier than planned and head on down through the Finger Lakes in to Pennsylvania. Hoping that the weather would be a bit better there. I was on the road by 2pm in the afternoon, with good weather for a change. Riding through Seneca Falls then south along Cayuga Lake, one of the larger Finger Lakes, to Ithaca NY, home of Cornell University. After a light lunch I rode on through Elmira and across the border into northern Pennsylvania onto Route 549 and one of the most outrageously beautiful rides of the trip; 40 miles through hill and farm country with forests, hills, pastures, farms, cattle, and horses along the well maintained, winding road with hardly any other traffic.. As I rode into Madison, PA it began raining hard again, so I stopped at the Madison Inn in downtown Madison where I spent the next two days watching the rain come down. It seemed as if the rain would never stop.

The good thing was that the Weather Channel was forecasting clear weather well into the next week. I've had my share of wet weather on this trip. But it looked like it was going to change for the better. Riding in the rain is all part of the motorcycle touring experience. There is just no way around it. So you get good rain gear and live with it. Once, stopped under and overpass because it was raining too hard to ride in, I was sitting on the bike, watching the cars as they sped on by. The drivers all warm and cozy inside their vehicles and probably pitying me for having to sit in the only dry spot around or more likely wondering what kind of an idiot would be out on a bike in rain like this. All of a sudden I realized that I was exactly right where I wanted to be, that there was no way that I would have changed places with any of them. Which makes riding in the rain, while not exactly the most enjoyable aspect of motorcycling, at least tolerable. Even when it comes down buckets or I get holed up in a motel for a couple of days.

Finally riding out of Madison, into a very chilly but sunny morning, heading west on Route 6 across the top of Pennsylvania, it was a fine winding rode through the hills and farm country. I stopped at a local diner in the small town of Galets for a light breakfast and some coffee and had a nice chat with the owner about my long ride. Another 100 miles or so on Route 6 and just past Smethport I turned southwest onto State Road 66 through the Allegheny National Park and after another delightful 100 or so of winding, mountain miles I was back on the slab again, onto Interstate 80 for a quick ride into Youngstown, Ohio. Where I picked up the Route 7, which runs south along the Ohio border, following the wide, Ohio River. The Ohio River still has a lot of boat traffic with barges pushing all sorts of stuff up and down the river. The Ohio is one of the great rivers in the US and has been used since the early 1700's for travel, trade and commerce. There a six dams and locks along the length of the river to help keep the depths constant. Back in the day before the dams, riverboat captains were required to memorize every foot of the river in order to avoid the many hazards and sandbars that existed. The river finally turns westward at the bottom of the state. At Newport I crossed the river over into West Virginia and road along the south side of the river on Route 2 hoping to find either a campground or a small motel as the sun was setting and it had been a long day on the bike. It was almost dark when I finally rode to the junction of Route 2 and Interstate 77 and found a room at a Travel Lodge.

The next morning I tried to see if the GPS was fixable, but apparently it had been shorted out during all of the rain. So I wandered over to the a gas station that was next door to the motel and was able to pick up maps for West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. I would miss having the GPS but at least with the paper maps I would not get lost, Yeah right! Riding I-77 into West Virginia was a treat. It is always amazes me how nice some of our interstate highways are.I-77 rolled through the West Virginia mountains all the way to Charleston, where I picked up I-64 west out of Charleston, I stopped at a nice looking rest area and took a half hour snooze beneath a big shade tree, Waking I felt much more alert and rode I-64 all the way into Kentucky and I-75. The Last time I was on I-75 was near Naples Florida! South on I-75 to Exit 41 before it goes into Tennessee; I got onto State Road 80 West to Somerset Kentucky and stopped at a Best Western Motel for the night. It had been mostly an Interstate day, but good roads and I was looking forward to the back roads of Tennessee.

From Somerset, I rode west on the Cumberland Parkway. Another fine 4 lane road that runs through the gentle hills, across the bottom of Kentucky, I had not seen a drop of rain since Madison and was enjoying the fine weather. At Columbia I got off of the Parkway and turned south on Route 66 again to the Kentucky/Tennessee border where Route 66 becomes Route 53, A winding road into the Tennessee back country. Riding along, I noticed a highway sign that said 53N. Hmmm, I thought I was supposed to be on 53. I had not noticed any splits in the road or any unusual turns. In Tennessee, the Highway signs are far and few between, so I kept pressing on. The traffic got thinner and thinner and soon it was just me, the bike and the narrow two lane road, meandering somewhat in a southerly direction through central Tennessee. I had no idea where I was. Figuring that, eventually, this little road would lead to something bigger: another highway, store or even a house, I kept pressing on. As I still had better than a half a tank of gas I was not too worried running out of gas.....yet. Finally I reached a cross road and a small gas station/convenience store and the very nice owner there got me back on the correct route. Actually I was not that far off but somehow had taken a side road from 53 that led into the Tennessee hills. Back onto 53 and headed south along the winding Cumberland River, I eventually arrived at Smithboro where I stopped for gas and lunch. At Smithboro. I got onto Route 96 heading due west, arriving in Murfeesboro during rush hour and the worst traffic of the entire trip. Now, admittedly, I was there right about the time everyone else was driving home but Murfeesboro is not exactly a huge city. It does seem to have just one main street running through it though and everyone wanted to get on it at the same time. Back to Back, Bumper to Bumper in 90+ degree heat for 45 minutes. Not exactly a fun ride. Finally out of the city I pulled off at a McD's and had a large iced coffee before moving on.

Arriving in Franklin Tennessee, I stopped at the Best Western near downtown, unpacked the bike and walked around the town. Franklin Tennessee has a lot of interesting history. It lies about 25 miles south of Nashville and many of the country singer stars make it their home now. It was founded in 1799 and during the civil war it was the site of the Battle of Franklin, resulting over 10,000 field casualties and turning over forty buildings into hospitals.

I stopped in Franklin for a couple of reasons. The first being that it was the town that my old boss, Todd, grew up in and I promised him I would take a picture of his old house and stop by the café that he used to hang out at. The other is that it is almost at the very beginning of the Natchez Trace which I would be riding on for the next few days.

I walked around downtown Franklin, a nice town with lots of interesting shops. I did find the café: Merrides Breadbasket. It seems to be more of a coffeehouse now. I had a nice chat with a couple behind the counter, they seemed very interested in my trip and when they found out why I was there, they gave a cup of coffee “on the house.” I had a bit more trouble finding Todd’s house. I had the address, but without the GPS, finding it was a bit more difficult. After asking for directions a couple of times, I did find it though. . He lived on Adams and street I rode past the house a few times looking for a place to park but as there was no street parking, I decided to just ride up on the sidewalk, and I did: I parked the bike right in front of his house, walked across the street and took a picture. Walking back to the bike an elderly lady all of about 5' tall and 80 lbs. came out of a house a few doors down. Shaking her finger at me she said, “You can't park your motorcycle there.” I explained why I did it and all and she calmed down, saying “Well, I suppose that is OK then.” Back to the Best Western, I got a bite to eat in the attached restaurant and to bed early.

I was on the road early, out to the Loveless Café, which is a restaurant, souvenir shop, gas station sitting right at the northern end of the Natchez Trace. I was planning on a breakfast there but could not get a seat. The place was packed. Walking over to the souvenir shop, I bought a few postcards and commented to the cashier about how many people there were there. She told me that it was like this from spring right through the fall. A popular place.

I had been thinking about riding the Natchez Trace ever since I first heard about it many years ago. But never found the time or was in the right place to do it.

The Trace runs 444 miles from Natchez, MS to Just south of Franklin TN. It was a trail used for centuries by Native Americans traveling, and for many years it was the only reliable land link between the eastern States and the trading ports of Mississippi and Louisiana. It is now a National Park. Besides its history, there are many things to do along the trace, hiking, camping, boating, swimming in the many lakes, etc. However, it is mostly know for the road that traverses the entire length of the park and what a fine road it is! Only two lanes wide but meticulously maintained and in most places the wide shoulders along the road are kept mowed and trimmed. It’s almost like driving down the middle of the fairway of a beautiful golf course. The thing is that it is pretty much the same from beginning to end. After the first 100 miles or so, despite its beauty, I found boredom creeping in. I did stop at quite a few of the many places to pull off and read about the history of the Trace. I stopped at Merriweathers Grave and at some of the original buildings and I took a walk along the original trace. After about 150 miles I was nearing Tupelo, MS and decided to make it an early day so stopped for the night there….Birthplace of Elvis Presley. The Best Western Motel that I stopped at was brand new and one of their “deluxe” motels, more of a hotel really with rooms going at $150/night and up but as they were still having a grand opening. I got a room on the top floor with a view for half price. Granite countertops in the bathroom, big screen HD TV, Deep cushy carpeting and a most comfy bed! For 75 bucks. Sweet!

Up early, after a quick breakfast, I was back on the Trace headed Southwest. As the Natchez Trace had been the same boring but picturesque ride since I got on it, rather than ride it all the way to Natchez, Mississippi, I decided to get off at Jackson. Another 180 miles down the road. I stopped at a scenic turnoff after a couple of hours and met a couple riding a Goldwing, Gwen and Michael were from New Zealand and they were traveling by bike for several months through the USA. Arriving in Los Angeles, They bought the Goldwing from a dealer there who said that he would buy it back from them when they were done with their tour. And here I thought that I was riding quite a long ways! There is a large reservoir that runs along the Natchez Trace north of Jackson and I had planned on stopping at a campground near the Jackson end of the reservoir. However, when I reached the other end of the reservoir a sign advised me that the Trace was closed where I wanted to be and a detour over to Interstate 55 would take me back to the Trace on the other side of Jackson. As I had already decided not to continue on the Trace, I got out my Mississippi map and tried to figure out a way around or through Jackson.

Riding through a large city on a motorcycle is not one of my favorite things to do but sometimes it just cannot be avoided. It appeared that the best way to do it would be to stay on I-55 till it connected to I-20 on the south side of Jackson. Getting through Jackson on the interstate was a bit tense. Nobody seemed to want to let me change any lanes even though I had my turn signal on and was making hand signals. I was mighty glad just too finally get off of I-20 onto Route 49 heading south towards Biloxi and the Gulf Coast. After the beautifully maintained road of the Natchez Trace, RT49 was somewhat of a shock. It was so bad. The road was covered with tar strips and cracks in the pavement and it was like that all the way to Hattiesburg. Just past Hattiesburg, where I stopped for the night, Route 49 continues straight south to the Gulf or I could have taken Route 98 over to Alabama and Mobile. It would have been a faster ride home that way. But then what was the hurry? I really wanted to ride Route 90 along the ocean and take the ferry across Mobile Bay in to Florida. I did not even have to flip a coin, I headed south on Route 49 to Biloxi. Route 49 ends at the Gulf of Mexico there I turned east onto Route 90, pulling into the first parking lot by the gulf and just sat there on the bike for a bit. It was good to be back near the water and the smells of the ocean. As I sat there another fellow rode up and stopped next to me on his Harley. He said what I was thinking, “it’s good to be back by the Gulf again.” Turns out he was riding back from St Louis. I told him that I was heading home after almost 4000 miles on the road. He took US Hwy90 back towards New Orleans. After stopping for breakfast at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi, I headed east on US Hwy 90 towards Alabama, Florida and Home.

Riding along the coast, there was till lots of evidence of hurricane Katrina. When it came through it demolished most all of the property along the waterfront. Other than the casino's along the coast, not much has been replaced. Through the towns of Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula and Moss Point I rode into Alabama and onto the small State Road 188 and 193 riding south east to Dauphin Island at the southwestern tip of Mobile Bay. I took the ferry across the bay to Fort Morgan. An interesting ride of several miles across open water that winds between several large oil rigs. Once off the ferry it is a relatively short ride to the Florida border and Pensacola. I stopped in Pensacola Beach for some really fine fried oysters and a late lunch then rode into Pensacola to find Route 98 which would take me back along the Florida coast. However, riding into the city, I promptly got completely turned around and had no idea where I was again! Next trip out I will have either this GPS fixed or will spend the bucks for a new one.

Frustrated at my inability to find my way around Pensacola, I finally saw an Interstate sign for I-10. Aha! I-10, that would take me almost to my front door. So following the signs, I was soon on the Interstate again riding east. I spent my last night on the road at a small motel near Crestview, FL. It had one of the most uncomfortable motel beds that I have ever slept in. As a consequence, I got little sleep that night and got on the road the next morning tired, with 300+ miles to go to get home, I was not about to stop for another night so I loaded up on a couple of cups of coffee, hoping that the caffeine would keep me going.

Of course it did not and within a hundred miles I was feeling sleepy on the bike. At the next rest stop I pulled in and stopped over by the picnic area. Parking the bike next to a covered table, I climbed up on the cement table, used my jacket as a pillow and fell asleep. I must have been out for a good hour of more 'cause when I woke up I felt ever so much more awake. Some folks seem to be able to keep on going with caffeine or energy drinks, but I have found that the only way for me to stay alert when I get tired is to get some down time. I was back on the bike and soon I was riding through Tallahassee, Madison, Live Oak and Lake City. As I rode into Jacksonville I checked the odometer on the bike, a little more than 4200 miles in a bit over three weeks.

Make sure you read Part 1

This article is placed on site by kind permission of, Phil Hughes, Jacksonville, FL June 2012

Catch up with Phil on his site: http://motorcyclejourney.weebly.com/