April 9 to 13
- dgcoffey
- Apr 13
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 30
April 8, 2025. Talladega to Oneonta
Morning stated cold (~45*) and clear. I knew the ride would be rolling hills but mama mia, I was not expecting them to be so numerous and punishing. The route was all county roads so not much traffic but since the road and traffic was favorable, the Bicycle Gods decided to make the hills steep and have the wind blow directly into my face. Such is life.
Susan reached out to the Oneonta fire department yesterday and connected. Joh Ledbetter, one of their key guys was her contact and he connected with chief Tyler Seehusen. The chief would have been happy to put us up but they didn't have room at the station,so he called the city manager and they decided to host us at the local Days Inn. People are amazingly thoughtful, helpful and gracious everywhere we ride. We are so Lucky.
Thanks for making that happen Susie baby.
April 9, 2025. Oneonta to Falkville
There was a short ridiculously steep hill going out of town. There were lots of rolling hills with some super steep ones and a lot of wind. All in all, we had a good 45.8 mile ride with good weather. Susan arranged an AirBnB for us in Hartselle, a few miles from Falkville. We had a great stay.
{LG comments} It was a good day for Don not so much for me. He rode 45.8 miles and it was a great ride. The weather was perfect. On the other hand for me these roads are crazy. One leads into another and the numbers change. I was lost most of the day. My phone was of no help. I did hook up with Don throughout the day and all was good. By the end of the ride, we did have a wonderful burger at Bobby’s restaurant met some nice people there. We are at the airbnb and it's a nice place with nice hosts. Dinner at a steakhouse and Walmart to replenish supplies, retired and ready to hit the hay.
April10, 2025. Hartselle to Leighton, drive to Florence for a Warm Showers stay.
Took off from the iron man Statue and rode 52.3 miles to just north of Leighton. Larry and I rode together from Moulton and it was a nice but we had a lot of headwind. It started raining just as we ended the ride. We are at a warm shower host tonight in Florence and can stay for 2 days if this storm is bad, As it turned out there was a strong wind and rain storm and the power went out just as started a load of laundry. We ended up staying for 2 nights.
{LG comments} Today, Don started at the Iron Man statue and rode the Iron Man road for many Miles. I moved the Van to the end point and started riding back to meet up with Don about 22 miles away. The roads here are crazy. The route names and numbers change whenever they want to. We met and started riding Northwest. We rode some gravel roads and finally made it to the Van. Don headed out again to get the 50 miles under his belt. I tracked him down on the road before it started to rain. We got to the warm shower host without any issues and met. Kevin, a really nice guy. We can stay here as long as we want. Nice house. The power went out is a storm blue through. Don't know how long it will be without power.
April 11, 2025. Florence area
We woke up and still had no power. Most of the city of Florence was out of power due to the storm. Larry made like MacGyver and got the laundry done. We decided to ride The Natchez Trace Parkway. I knew it was a great bike ride but Holy Moly was it spectacular. Did a 30 mile easy day then back to Florence for another night at Kevin’s House.
{LG comments} laundry day. Oh, wait. No power. No power. No problem. We have a jackery. I started the laundry at 100% and after running the washing machine with 2 rinse cycles the jackery was at 78%. I now need to find a laundromat that has power. Most of the city of Florence is without electricity. I might have to drive over the river into Sheffield to find one. I found a laundromat down the street and dried the clothes. We then drove to the Natchez. Trace Parkway, a beautiful road. We will ride more of this road tomorrow. we had dinner at yum, which was delicious. Kevin offered to charge the jackery. He brought it back 95% charged. What a nice guy.
April 12, 2025. Florence Area then drive to Lexington TN
We met Clark and MaryEileen, Kevin’s neighbors this morning as we packed the car. We rode Natchez Trace Parkway again, this time southbound from mile marker 301. We rode 26 miles south over the Tennessee River and a few miles into Mississippi. I can’t say enough good about the Natchez Trace Parkway as a bike ride. It runs 444 miles from Natchez MS north to Nashville, TN. It doesn’t allow commercial vehicles it is only lightly used by cars. The result is a beautiful road through forests and farmlands with hardly any traffic.
{LG comments} Another great day to ride today. We left Florence and Kevin to ride the Natchez Trace Parkway again this time we went South from route 20, a great ride. No trucks, no traffic. This country is beautiful. We rode 26 miles into Mississippi back to the Van for a 52 mile ride. We then drove 1.5 hours to get the Lexington, TN to the roadway Inn, not a bad place. Dinner was at the grill and chill DQ for less than $8.
April 13, 2025 Lexington to Dresden TN
What a great ride today. Started at the hotel at 8:30 and headed into town to take route 20N. The weather was cool and clear and bound to warm up to the low 70’s. Of the 52.8 miles I rode today, I had about 48 miles with the biggest smoothest shoulder to ride on I have ever seen. Also, the hills we far more moderate than any in the last several days, just long lazy shallow ones, Also, I had a moderate to crazy strong tailwind all day. Also, Larry showed up like a concierge 8 miles into the ride with a box of a dozen donuts with 1 gigantic warm cinnamon bun for me. He told me there was a donut shop down the street from the hotel that was named, “Best Donuts.” so he had to stop. He said “they can’t lie in TN so he knew the donuts had to be the best. Obviously. I rode the 52.8 miles at an average speed of 13.8, wicked good for me. We are now plugged in to a Days Inn in Martin, TN.
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