December 30, 2010

December 30, 2010

“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride”. – John F. Kennedy

Today was a leisurely day in Port Gibson. We did a 33-mile loop, partly on the Trace and partly in the Mississippi countryside.

The main point of interest was Windsor Ruins. The remaining 23 magnificent Corinthian columns are all that is left of what was once the grandest home in Mississippi. It was built in the 1850s, survived the Civil War, but burned in an accidental fire in 1890. 

The countryside around Windsor Ruins is very dramatic, with deep gullies and ravines and everything covered in kudzu. Miranda spotted a dead deer with its eyes picked out by crows.

Back in Port Gibson, we ate Chinese food and rode around looking at the historic buildings on Church Street. Miranda took a picture of the most famous building in town, a Presbyterian church whose steeple is topped by a finger pointing to the sky.

MB liked seeing the commemorative plaque for the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a troupe of early twentieth century African-American singers headquartered at Port Gibson, whose members once included Ma Rainey.

While we did not ride every mile on the Natchez Trace Parkway, in five-and-a-half days we did ride a total of 455 miles, which is longer than the entire 440-mile distance of the Parkway. Now we’re taking a limousine (driven by Joey Richardson who runs our B&B) to Jackson Airport where we’ll pick up a minivan to drive our triplet bike back to Nashville. (Dad thinks that the limo ride is Miranda’s favorite part of the journey.) At Nashville we will collect our car, see a few friends, and take in the New Years Eve show at the Grand Ole Opry.

From this trip, we’ve learned the following things:

1.     How to pack light and live simply.

2.     How to find resourceful ways to stay warm in cold weather.

3.     How to find nutritious food in rural areas.

4.     How to keep our spirits up in the face of bad weather, strong winds, long distances, and steep hills

5.     That we really, really like home-cooked biscuits.

We want to thank everyone who supported our ride by donating money and cheering us on. Thanks too to Randy at Natchez Trace Travel for helping us before and during the journey, the staff of Bikes Not Bombs for sending us t-shirts, and everyone at all the B&Bs we stayed in for giving us such a warm welcome. Happy New Year to us all!

Our reflections at Cypress Swamp

Our sign that Lukas made for the trailer

A beaver bit this tree

Miranda and dad under a waterfall

A baby horse at Willowbrook Farm

December 29, 2010

December 29, 2010

“The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart”. – Iris Murdoch

We started at Willowbrook Farm outside of Canton MS and we ended up in Tuscan Columns B&B in Port Gibson MS. Altogether we rode about 85 miles – a new record for MB and Miranda. (And it’s also the longest Daddy has ever ridden in one day on the triplet.)

Took the longer route back to the Trace to avoid the rough road and bothersome dog we’d encountered on the night before. Rode along Ross Barnett Reservoir and saw many blue herons, egrets, hawks and turkey vultures. As we neared Jackson MS we took a detour onto a cycle path to avoid the heavy commuter traffic. While we were on the path, we went to a Natchez Trace information center where we learned more about the Trace and bought hats.  

Many of today’s stops were about Indians. We saw mounds where they buried their dead and their belongings. We also learned that in some tribes, if a high-ranking person died, his slaves would be killed along with him. The most impressive mound we saw was Magnum Mound near Port Gibson.

Somewhere around the site of the Battle of Raymond, we had our first sighting of Spanish moss. It is grey and from a distance (it hangs from trees along the Trace) it looks like cobwebs or witches’ hair.  

We had lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) at the city of Clinton visitors center, where we sat out front in rocking chairs. (It was finally warm enough for eating outside, and for all of us to begin shedding layers of cycling clothes.)

Lots of animals today: Miranda spotted another armadillo; we saw five deer (only two of them dead); MB saw something she thinks was a muskrat; and near the Ross Barnett Reservoir we watched the flight of a beautiful black hawk with a grey mask.

We made a quick detour driving past the site of the ghost town of Rocky Springs. We also saw Owens Creek waterfall – once a torrent, now a trickle.

By now, having passed the state capitol of Jackson, we were in the Mississippi Delta and saw lots of swamps on either side of us as we rode.

Right before Port Gibson, as the sun was setting, we reached the Sunken Trace, where the Old Trace (the original frontier) road has sunken 10-12 feet into the ground. We may return tomorrow to take pictures.

Now we’re staying at Tuscan Columns, a B&B in an antebellum manor house. We’ve had pizza and chicken wings for dinner and are feeling very satisfied to have completed today’s long journey.