The day after our long ride on the Tanglefoot Trail, we wanted to do a short recovery ride. Turns out that there was an access point to the Natchez Trace Parkway around four miles from where we were staying in tiny Houston, Mississippi. So, on our second full day, we pedaled over to the Trace on another beautiful (shorts weather!) morning. The Trace had light traffic even for a weekend (would likely be much lighter on a weekday) and a lower speed limit than most highways. It's flat to lightly rolling in the part of MS we rode in, perfect for a ride. I thought the name of this rest area along the Trace was interesting so had to turn in to see what it was all about. Next up: We move east into Alabama and Barry meets up with an old friendl
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After leaving the big city of Little Rock, we landed in the small, rural town of Houston, Mississippi for a couple of days of recharging -- and cycling of course! We stayed at a small "mom and pop" motel that was highly ranked on Tripadvisor. Not fancy but clean, and a good place to relax. We liked that they'd kept their vintage sign even after adding a more modern one. I think the "free wi-fi in rooms" was a later addition to the sign, don't you? On our first full day in Houston, we rode the entire Tanglefoot Trail. This paved trail is Mississippi's longest rail-trail, so that's what brought us to this area. The start of the trail was just a short 1.5 mile ride from the motel. We finally had shorts weather again -- gotta love the south in October! The trail took us through or near several small towns, including Pontotoc. When we started seeing kudzu growing all over everywhere, we really knew we were back in the southeast! The trail runs from Houston at its southern terminus to the small city of New Albany at its northern end for a total of 43.5 miles one way. New Albany's downtown is absolutely charming. We'd read about this amazing bakery in New Albany called Sugaree's, and it wildly exceeded our high expectations. We've been to a lot of bakeries over the past year, and this one certainly ranks up in the top couple we've had the pleasure of visiting. In addition to standard cases, they also have a frozen case with cake, gelato, and the most amazing ice cream sandwiches. Oh my! It was incredibly hard to choose, but here are the other goodies we ended up with. Sugaree's had the most beautiful outside decor. There was a sign up proclaiming them the winner of the downtown beautification project. We could certainly see why! Also on the main street, I discovered this charming Italian eatery. I love anything with a Boston Terrier logo! Here's Barry at the final trail mile marker as we turned around to head back to Houston. Half-way done! Loved this fall decor with a bike theme in someone's yard. Very creative! At 90 miles total, this was my longest ride of the year. It was a long but fun day. Barry did some extra (of course) to get in his 11th century (100+ miles) this year. Whatta guy!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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