The web site is very specific about the speed limit on the
road so I got the bike up to 50 mph and hit the cruise button. Sit back, relax
and watch the changing landscape.
I think I had the bike on cruise control for an hour without
disengaging it. The road was long slow curves, easy to take at 50, and in that
first hour we must have seen 5 cars. There
was nobody on the road. It really was
easy first part of the ride as the road had a canopy of trees and moss shading
the entire road. The only thing we had to pay attention to was the gas. We did
long sections with no turn off and there was no guarantee if you could get off
there would be gas. It was like this all the way to Jackson, MS.
North of Jackson the road changed dramatically. We went from
shade to fun sun. It was hot. There are
a lot of historical markers on the Parkway and you can pull in and read about
the spot if you want. We stopped at a
few but they were in the full sun and in full gear, it is better to keep moving. We did pass one section of trees but there
was a sign ‘Tornado – April 2011’. A tornado had run along a 10 mile stretch of
the Parkway and topped all the trees. The forest had been gutted.
Long distance riders know about dehydration. If you are not
careful you will dehydrate very quickly on a bike. South of Tupelo I recognized the signs. The
first part of the ride had been so easy I had not refilled by water supply at
the gas stop. I was starting to get sleepy and struggled to concentrate. Sure
signs it was time to stop.
We found a rest stop that was closed but had a water
fountain. Although the water was warm it did the trick. 15 minutes of drinking
and we were back on the road at full speed. It was a silly thing but I have
done enough of these long rides that I can recognize when I have made a mistake
and know how to fix it.
Just north of Tupelo is the Parkway Headquarters. We stopped
in a talked to the ranger. The ranger laughed when we told her about stage one
(Natchez to Jackson) and stage two (Jackson to Tupelo). She pointed to a
display on the wall that explained the parkway crossed three different climates.
The Jackson to Tupelo is known to be very hot – with the only real break the
tree area that was wiped out by the tornado.
The good news is stage three (Tupelo to Nashville) is considered the
best part of the entire parkway.
We pulled into the campsite, cooked some hamburgers and I
was sound asleep by 9:00. I'll write about how we got the burgers on another post. Let's just say - you have to love the South!
We have completed 300 miles of the Parkway.
As I type this the sun is coming up over the lake and it promises
to be a another good day of riding.
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