Mile Zero - Natchez, Mississippi

October 27, 28, & 29
Kosciusko to Ridgeland, MS 62.2 miles
Ridgeland, MS to Rocky Springs Campground, 52.9 miles
Rocky Springs Campground to Natchez, MS, 60.8 miles

The ride from Kosciusko to Ridgeland was all downhill and nice and flat.  We encountered a group riding  the Trace from Nashville to Natchez.  The tour group they are with is called cycleoflifeadventures.com and it looks like a really great company if you are looking to ride with support.  Elli was driving the 12 passenger van and stopped along the way to set up a snack stop and later a very delicious lunch spread.  The luggage was all in the van and the riders were on super fast road bikes.  They were flying along the parkway.  They would do the entire route in seven days.  Elli recommended a newer hotel in Ridgeland and since the ground is still saturated from the rains, we will stay there.  It's cool to have some new people to swap stories with.

Dennis and Elli own the Cycle of Life Adventures company and they invite us to share lunch with their group.  The vibe is very relaxed and supportive.  Most riders are in their 50's and 60's and have some bicycle touring experience.  They cover about 65 - 75 miles a day.  (road bikes/no gear - nice!)

The riding is swift and the roadway is smooth and flat.  It is a perfect temperature and the miles really roll by.  The tree species are slowly changing and there is a lot of southern pine and gum.  The Magnolia State has plenty of stately magnolia trees in its forests.  Spanish moss is dripping from the live oaks and some trees' bark support verdant fern forests.

There is a beautiful cypress swamp in the park and we do the little loop trail hike.  The reflections are striking even under the partly cloudy sky.  

Spanish exlorers first described el lagarto meaning "the lizard" when they encountered alligators in these swamps.  We didn't see any gators - just turtles.  

The next day we enjoy a very tasty hotel breakfast in Ridgeland before heading out for a day of riding.  Everything we have read says to wait until after rush hour to ride on the Trace around the city of Jackson.  We leave around 9:00 am right before the "cycle-of-lifers" head out.  The traffic is steady, but not too bad.
 About 15 miles in, we decide to get off the parkway and explore the tiny town of Clinton.  I say tiny town, but it is actually the tenth largest city in Mississippi with a population of about 25,000.  And, it has two bakeries!

There is a railroad station which is no longer operational.  Back in the 1830's it was very important in transporting thousands and thousands of bales of cotton from the surrounding counties to a port on the Mississippi River.  All that cotton - picked by slaves under the blazing sun.  All that cotton enriching just a few land owners and financing the extravagant antebellum mansions of Natchez.

  I can't stop thinking about a book I recently read, The Warmth of Other Suns:  The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.  I imagine a young woman wearing her best dress over layers of other clothing and carrying a satchel filled with everything she will take with her to her new life in the north.  She will leave family and home from Clinton's railroad platform and journey away from Jim Crow to an unknown city like Detroit or Chicago or Philadelphia.  In the north, at least racism isn't codified. 

Colorful bikes are painted by different groups and on display all over Clinton.

yikes! learn more about these ants here

The above photo shows one of thousands of ant mounds we saw along the roadside.  You do not want to disturb these guys.  There are so many mounds that it can be tricky to pull off the road on a bike and not hit one.  According to the Park Service, these ants kill off ground dwelling birds and even newborn deer.  They can survive flooding and hurricanes by clinging together and forming a living raft.  Once the ant raft hits a tree or rock the ants leave the water and form a new colony.  They are survivors!

Here the Old Trace is really sunken.  The sandy soil gave way over the years and it is about 15' deep.  We hear an ovenbird singing while we are walking here.  I am hoping those ants don't find her nest next spring.

It is beautiful and sunny for about twenty minutes more after taking this photo.

The skies are getting cloudy, the air is cooler and rain is coming.  Our plan to stay at the Natchez State Park 10 miles north of Natchez is scrapped. We decide to ride all the way  into the city and find a hotel for the night.  The State Park only has eight tent sites and I am guessing they aren't the prime locale in the park.  Tenting in a flash flood seems like a terrible last night for our trip.

We finally see mile marker 1.  In one mile the Parkway ends, and two miles later we are in the city of Natchez. After so many days on the Trace and a little over a month on the road it feels inconceivable that my day won't be structured around riding my bike.   We are going to end our ride here and rent a car to travel to New Orleans and then back home to Ohio.  The car rental price in Natchez is literally half the cost of a rental from New Orleans.  Really.  And, flying with the bikes is a pain.  Decision made.

We made it!  That's the Mississippi River behind us.  The rain begins just as we reach Natchez, but it can't dampen our spirits.  We have pedaled about 1475 miles since leaving our home in Rootstown, Ohio.  

Three days with respectable mileage:

Highest average speed of the trip - an all downhill day