John Foltz
BRAT moves around from year to year. Since I did my first one in 2004, it has followed the sequence of West, Middle, East, and then repeating. This year was a "west" year. It started in Paris Landing, on the shore of Kentucky Lake and stopped in Chickasaw SP, Natchez Trace SP, Ripley, Reelfoot Lake SP (including a layover day there,) then Martin at UTM before returning to the start at Paris Landing.
Since doing this ride for several years and never encountering any seriously cool weather, my riding buddy Chris and I brought lighter gear this year. I brought a polarfleece overnight sleeping bag, the kind that would be good for kids' sleepovers. Chris actually found a bag rated for 60F. It was a hideous color, but it packed small. And besides, he was the only person who had to look at it, and his eyes were closed when he used it anyway! I didn't bring any cool-weather clothing, either, not even a pair of jeans.
We drove to Tennessee a day early, so we could ride the area. So, this report starts the day before the registration day.
Friday 9/11/09
The day before registration day. When I woke up, Chris was already tooling around on his trike. I got into my bike duds and we rode around the park, on both sides of the highway. The dining facility opened at 11:00, and we made sure we were there. The buffet was chicken, catfish, veggies in the cabbage family, cheesy potatoes, and hush puppies/cornbread. I got plenty to eat.
After lunch, we loaded up the lowracers and drove to the Land Between the Lakes for a warm-up ride from the South Welcome Center to the Golden Pond Visitor Center and back.
The hills were what I'd class as "large, rollers." For the most part the road went right up the hillsides. I used my middle ring a lot, but never touched the granny ring. In fact, I didn't touch my granny ring for the entire trip. Traffic was very light in both directions.
We stopped longer at the Visitor Center. The hills and heat had taken their toll and I was bushed. But after cooling off, I felt better. Chris fooled around with his bike a bit, then we were ready to head back south. The southbound stretch seemed easier; we rode faster and didn't make any further stops. Tailwind, perhaps?
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My rig at the South Welcome Center |
Woo hoo! Another downhill! |
After returning to camp and showering at the RV camp's facilities, we met Jim and Laurie from Iowa. They wanted BBQ for dinner and were planning on driving to Paris. I told them it was 18 miles to Paris, so they thought about it while Chris and I went to dinner. The buffet was all-you-can-eat seafood. Jim and Laurie showed up when we were about halfway done; apparently 18 miles was too far to go for dinner.
After dinner, I checked out a guy in the lobby who rehabilitated raptors. He had a barn owl, a screech owl, and another small owl of unknown make/model. The screech owl, he said, was pushed out of the nest as a baby and got a concussion. As a result, it was permanently cross-eyed. I didn't realize screech owls were so small! The other one was equally small. It had come to him via a huge tornado which had blown the bird hundreds of miles outside its normal range. Along with other injuries from the storm, it was blinded in one eye, so would not be able to hunt for itself in the wild. The barn owl was a beautiful specimen, and quite tame. It serenely allowed everyone to pet it on the head. Laurie even got to don a glove and take it off its perch.
After that excitement, it was back to camp. No lights in camp, I didn't want to start a fire, so it was into the sleeping bags early.
| Day's summary: |
| Miles = 55.0 |
| Avg Speed = 18.5 mph |
| Max Speed = 48.9 mph |
Saturday, 9/12/09
Registration Day
I slept in unti 8:30. Chris was already up. We packed our tents and moved over to the Pool Shelter, where registration would be held. Competing for parking space was a big arts and crafts show across the field toward the lake. We registered, set up our tents again, cleaned our bikes, and rode around. Weather was mostly sunny, warm, and humid.
I heard about a BBQ place down the road, so when dinner time rolled around, Jim, Laurie, Chris, and I all went together. It was a tiny place, with only 4 tables. Understandably, most of their business seemed to be take-out. It was pretty good, too. We got back just in time to get in on the rider meeting at the amphitheater. Same old stuff. I went back to my tent to get things ready for the morning.
I can't believe I didn't take any pictures today!
Mileage: 10
Sunday 9/13/09
Paris Landing to Natchez Trace State Park
First riding day. The plan was to get started at 7:30-ish and catch some breakfast on the road. Lots of people got up early and ate at the inn, then were on the road well before the supposed starting time of 7:00. Since the camp was emptying out nicely, we left around 7:00.
Today was billed as the one of the hilliest and longest days. The hills were enjoyable for me: not too big to charge up. Most of the downhills were rated at about 40 mph on the lowracer scale, so nothing too big or too steep. Breakfast was at the Midway Truck Stop, 25 miles out, on Highway 641. That was just about perfect distance; I was starting to get hungry!
After pancakes and eggs, our next stop was Bruceton at about mile 40, where we stopped for a sport drink and a snack. As per usual, a small crowd gathered around the sleek lowracers, mostly locals who had never seen anything like them. I didn't mind that it extended our break a bit; after all this is a tour. Talking to locals is fun, and anyway we don't need to get to camp too early!
Natchez State Park is pretty big, and we rode quite a ways in it before reaching our camp site. I took it as a cool-down and left the chain in the middle ring. The camp road was almost monotonous: downhill curve to the left, pavement seam, uphill curve to the right, then repeat. These hills were only rated at 30 mph on the lowracer scale. Camp was at a group lodge. Bunk houses were available for the first riders in, and I was still early enough to grab a bunk in one. Calling them 'bunk houses' is a bit of a misnomer; they were 2-bedroom houses, with full kitchens and large decks, and three bunk beds in each bedroom. Unfortunately, the only showers in the place were in the bathrooms of the bunk houses; which meant that a.) toilets were only available when nobody was taking a shower, and b.) there was a shortage of showers.
After staking claim to a bunk, I moseyed over to the park store across the road. They'd stayed open for a day past their normal closed-for-the-season date, just for us. Needless to say, their shelves were just a tad bare. A bunch of us hung out on the chairs in front and talked; empty or not, the store made a good meeting place. The clouds were moving in; so instead of being sunny, warm, and humid, it was overcast, warm, and humid.
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Looking up the road at a speed bump |
Gathering at the store |
Dinner was spaghetti. The dining hall was crowded, but there was enough room for everyone, if only barely. The food, however, was plentiful.
| Day's Summary: |
| Miles = 68 |
| Avg Speed = 19.4 mph |
| Max Speed = 44.3 mph |
Sunday's route
Monday 9/14/09
Natchez Trace State Park to Chickawaw State Park
We awoke to rain. I hate rain! I got all my stuff together and went to breakfast at the dining hall. People were packing their tents in the rain, and some of them were even leaving early. Not me; I was going to wait to see if the rain quit! It didn't, and by 7:30 I admitted defeat, pulled out my rain jacket, loaded my baggage on the truck, and took off. My camera isn't waterproof, so no pics on the road today. Several people had talked about a shortcut today. I'm not normally one to take shortcuts, but then again I don't normally ride in the rain, either. I decided to keep my options open.
It rained most of the morning. The hills didn't seem too different from yesterday afternoon; never-ending, but not very big. I had a stiff achilles tendon from yesterday, so I stayed in the middle ring and downshifted liberally. Chris wanted to go faster, so I waved him off.
I made one stop in Pinson Mound State Park. By then the rain had mostly stopped. I got a snack and some lemonade, then took off again. Next stop was lunch, in Henderson, at a Burger King. While I was stopped, I took my tools out of the bike frame and upended it. About a quart of water came out! After packing everything back in, including my rain jacket, I was ready to go.
Henderson was the decision point, and since the sky still looked threatening, I decided to take that shortcut! The map below shows the official route, but I went straight up highway 100 to Chickasaw SP. The traffic was surprisingly light, and I only had ONE car pass me in my direction. Even better, the good road let me really get the speed going, which I always enjoy.
We camped at the beach shelter, overlooking Lake Placid. At the bottom of a short 10% grade. The park was a CCC project, reclaiming the land after poor land-use policies had caused severe erosion and deforestation. The lake had a foot bridge across it, leading to the primitive campsites on the far side. Yep, that's where the showers were! Two for each sex. The wait was about a half hour, but they were warm. Come to think of it, there were no cold showers this trip. Good, because that's another thing I hate!
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You can see the lake, and the pedestrian bridge, over the tents. |
I like to take pics of the recumbents I see, and this Bacchetta caught my eye. |
After my shower, I hung up wet stuff. As we all bummed around camp, it thundered. That closed the beach. The caterer showed up, late, and set up at the far end of the parking lot from were I was. Good for me, bad for the tents down there, because the generators make noise all night. Apparently, the trucks didn't fit in the drive for the dining hall, so that meant sitting on a curb to eat dinner. Dinner was BBQ sandwiches. Before heading to dinner, I pulled in my half-dried stuff. Just about the time I got my food, it started raining. I wolfed my dinner and headed to my tent.
The weather forcast is 89% chance of rain tonight, and 80% chance tomorrow. I am not a happy camper, er, cyclist; but at least the inside of my tent is dry!
| Day's Summary: |
| Mileage = 63.1 (for me) |
| Avg Speed = 18.6 mph |
| Max Speed = 43 mph |
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Monday's route |
Tuesday 9/15/09
Chickasaw State Park to Ripley
The pancakes didn't look good to me for some reason, so I just had some sausage biscuits and scrambled eggs. Chris and I got our wires crossed this morning, and while I was in the rest room, he took off, thinking I was ahead of him. When I came out, I though he was in the rest room, so I waited and waited. By the time I finally figured out he was gone, he had a 20 minute lead on me. Cool!
Today was cloudy and threatening, but no rain. Just in case, I left the camera in my baggage. I started out easy, but as the miles rolled by and my ankle wasn't bothering me, I slowly picked up the pace. Soon, I was barreling down hills and charging up, passing other bikes in the process like they were fence posts. I tried to give them lots of room, but I think I still surprised a few of them who couldn't hear my bell until I was past them.
Apparently, one of the guys had stopped in Mercer and was telling the locals at the general store about the lowracers on the trip, when lo and behold, I came screaming by going about 35. To hear the story, their jaws dropped and all talking stopped until I was out of sight, which didn't take too long.
When I got to Brownsville, I started looking for Chris. Didn't see him, but I found a Subway, which was due to open in 15 minutes, so I parked by the road and waited. Sure enough, along came Chris about 5 minutes later. He'd stopped at some little store in town and I'd passed him while he was inside. When the Subway opened, we went in for lunch.
Our overnight in Ripley was around the water park. In a minor SNAFU, not all of the relevant local authorities learned of our stay more than a few days in advance. When it was suggested that it might have benefitted local businesses to have a van to transport cyclists around town, the mayor himself volunteered and took us around to local shopping centers, as well as gave us a tour of the major facelift the old downtown area was undergoing. I was in the first vanload to go. I don't think it was a major stimulus for businesses, but it was a fun excuse for him to get out of the office, and it was great PR.
When we got back, the water park was just opening, so I joined the fun. The main feature was a 40-foot tall water slide. I went down it at least a dozen times; which of course meant I climbed it at least a dozen times. Dark clouds threatened, but we didn't get any rain. Good thing, because even one distant peal of thunder would have shut the park.
Dinner was onsite, and provided by Mama Rafael. Tonight was build-your-own burritos. Another reason why it was a good thing there was no rain, is because there was no formal seating for dinner and no shelter. Those of us with camp chairs used them, everyone else sat in the grass or on a curb.
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A RANS Dynamik Duo tandem |
A shot of mine, with waterpark and soccer field lights in the background |
Today's mileage was close to, but not quite, a metric century; so after I ate, I got the bike back out and ran up and down Kellar Street behind the park until I passed the 62 mile mark. Then I parked it and cleaned it up for the next day's ride. While I did that, a bluegrass band got things started on a nearby stage. They performed for about an hour. By then the sun had set, so once the lights went off things quickly wound down and everyone retired to their tents.
| Day's Summary |
| Mileage = 63.7 |
| Avg Speed = 21.7 mph |
| Max Speed = 44.0 mph |
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Tuesday's Route |
Wednesday 9/16/09
Ripley to Reelfoot State Park
The clouds were dark and ominous again, but no more so than yesterday; so after a breakfast of corn flakes and orange juice, I took off, leaving my rain jacket in my baggage. My camera, too. The first part of the day wasn't bad at all.
Following the first rest stop, it started sprinkling. Within a few miles, it had turned into a steady rain. I was soaked. Finally, we came off a ridge and onto Great River Road, which is a levee. The road, as you might expect, was FLAT. There was no shelter. This, of course, is when the rain really started coming down hard. To see the road at all, I had to ride one-handed and shield my eyes with the other hand. I could barely see the road at times, and Chris and I got separated. In the worst of the rain, I kept to the wide paved shoulder; when it would let up, I would ride in the traffic lane. I consider a shoulder to be a flat-zone,especially in the rain, because any junk bounced out of the traffic lane ends up there, and bike tires are especially suseptible to punctures when they're wet.
Eventually, the rain stopped. I hooked up with another rider for a while, until suddenly my front tire exploded. It took a lot of searching, but I found a sidewall split. I sent him on; this was going to take a while. This model of tire, a Continental Sport Contact, seems to have a history of this; when they were first introduced, they came with a no-flat guarantee, so I bought 4 of them. The guarantee, it turned out, was just a publicity stunt, and with all the conditions they placed on it, I doubt they ever paid out on a single claim. Of the 4 tires I bought, this failure made a perfect 4-for-4. I was unable to boot the tire, so I flagged the next SAG patrol down. It was a motorcycle, so he called for a van. The next SAG to show up was a Jeep, but it couldn't carry my 7.5' long bike either. Then the other motorcycle showed up. As we waited for the van, several riders stopped for first aid. During the rain, several of them had gone down, either from crossing wheels with someone else or from getting their wheels caught in the transition between the shoulder and the traffic lane. So, we had a party going by the time the van finally showed up!
I took a ride to camp, and after finding my baggage and setting up my tent, I dug out my spare tire and tube and the bike was fixed in ten minutes. I parked the bike under a nearby picnic table while I cleaned myself up and got into some dry clothes. After cleaning up, we cleaned our bikes a little bit and rode down the road to find some lunch. Tiptonville was 6 miles away, but we found a restaurant about 2 miles away. I had chicken parmesan, which somehow tasted like catfish. While we were eating, it started raining again. It was another deluge! We ate slowly, watching the occasional rider struggle past; and by the time we were done, it had tapered off to a light mist.
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Covered Parking! |
A cypress tree, growing 200 yds off shore. Yep, it's shallow! |
A bit about Reelfoot Lake: It is an oxbow lake, and was purportedly formed in the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. It has a rather colorful history, and most of the shorline is now owned by the state. The lake is quite shallow, as might be guessed by the surrounding terrain. It is the only large natural lake in Tennessee, and today it is known for crappie fishing and its population of bald eagles..
After all the excitement, I took a nap until dinner. Our evening meal was onsite, courtesy of Mama Rafael: Sauerkraut and sausage. After dinner there was a presentation on bald eagles.
| Day's Summary: |
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Mileage = 54 (for me, that's 48 tour miles and 6 evening miles.) |
| Avg Speed = 17.5 mph |
| Max Speed = 40.5 mph |
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Tuesday's Route |
Thursday, 9/17/09
Reelfoot Loop
Today was a layover day. I wanted to do the loop, but not enough to risk getting soaked again. The sky looked threatening, so I rolled back over in my sleeping bag and slept in until 9:30. Chris was OK with that, too; he didn't crawl out of his tent until even later. By the time we got up and around, it didn't look too bad out anymore; so we rode into Tiptonville for lunch and supplies. We went out the other side of town far enough to see the Missippi River. The terrain was extremely flat. And I didn't think there were any flat spots in Tennessee! The river looked low in spite of all the rain we've had so far on the ride. After returning, we lined up at the camp's one lone washer/dryer. By the time our stuff made it through, it was time for dinner.
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The Tiptonville watertower can be seen from across the fields |
The mighty (low) Mississippi River |
We were on our own for dinner. Mama Rafael was serving stuff, but I was looking for a bit more high-end than your standard 'roach-coach' fare eaten while sitting on a rock. So we went back toward Tiptonville and found a slightly nicer restaurant. The food was good, but it was slow. By the time we were finished, it was getting dark. And we didn't have any lights. The trip back was scary but uneventful. Next time we go on a tour, I've got to remember to at least take a flasher with me.
For the loop riders, the route went CCW around Reelfoot Lake, stopping at the National Wildlife Refuge before going briefly into Kentucky and looping around the north end of the lake and back along the Mississippi River.
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Thursday's (optional) Route |
Friday 9/18/09
Reelfoot Lake to Martin
The alarm went off at 6:00 and I promptly reset it to 6:15. Breakfast was french toast, scrambled eggs and sausage biscuits. Chris and I got out of camp at about 7:45, so there were lots of bikes in front of us. I planned on taking it just easy enough to same my legs for tomorrow, so no extended high-speed runs today. It was a bit foggy out; not enough to make riding dangerous, just enough to keep us from seeing very far across the fields.
The first ten miles were flat, as expected. Then, at the ten-mile mark, we turned and were greeted with a nice 16% grade, straight up and over the ridge that separated the Mississippi's flood plain from the rest of the world. I hollered back at Chris, "this looks like a middle-ring hill!" I immediately shifted into first gear in my middle ring and attacked! By halfway up I was pretty sure that strategy was a mistake, but I gamely kept pumping; and ya know what? I made it! Chris, on the other hand, did not. He tried to shift into granny but it was too late. He had to stop and manually shift the front derailleur. I rode easy after the crest, but it took him a while to catch back up.
From there, we had a lot of nice little rollers as the road meandered its way toward Obion. Chris won the sign sprint. We stopped there briefly to eat a PowerBar, then kept going. At Kendon, it was my turn to win the sprint. We stopped at a gas station/quick stop and had a sports drink and another snack. Lots of riders were stopping there, so we visited for a bit before continuing on. The terrain after Kendon was great for speed: flattish with little rollers and some slightly bigger just to keep us honest. We didn't push the pace too much, just enough to keep the ride interesting.
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Riding in the morning fog |
Some small rollers east of Kendon |
By the time we got to Martin, we were just about out of bikes to pass. That's usually my cue to stop anyway, so it's good that it was at the end of the day's ride. We found our campsite, behind the UTM (University of Tennessee, Martin) Sports Building. Showers and facilities were in the Sports Building, plus one not-quite-clean small building near the practice field. Tonight presented us with a choice: pitch the tents near the baggage trucks/food/headquarters and walk 'a mile' to showers and toilets, or pitch them closer to the showers and toilets but have to cart our bags 'a mile.' We split the difference, a 'half mile' from everywhere. I pitched my tent and hung my wet stuff on a fence.
Then, at a ranger's recommendation, we rode to the old downtown area and found a Mexican restaurant. The maitre'd met us on the sidewalk with questions about our bikes. Then he showed us in and got us seated. After taking our drink order, all the other staff made their way, in ones and twos, to the sidewalk to check out the bikes. You'd think they were space UFOs! Not long after, one guy wearing a helmet came in the restaurant, found us in our cycling clothes, and started asking more questions. I've never had that happen before! Lunch was GREAT, and we rode back to camp and got showered. Chris cleaned his bike; I wiped mine down quickly and took a nap.
Tonight's dinner was a Thanksgiving dinner: turkey with all the trimmings. After dinner I wandered around and visited with my fellow BRATs. Several people asked how I was. It turned out that several people had seen me out on the levee on Wednesday, sitting on the side of the road, surrounded by SAG vehicles and several bandaged riders; so the rumor was that I'd gotten tangled up in a big crash. Wow, how easily rumors get started! No reiterate: nobody was hurt in association with my blowout on the levee; all the skinned knees happened in separate incidents, elsewhere along the route!
For those who wanted to attend, the pool was open from 4-7 and there was a volleyball match in the main gym.
| Day's Summary: |
| Mileage = 66.5 |
| Avg Speed = 18.5 mph |
| Max Speed = 38 mph |
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Friday's route |
Saturday, 9/19/09
Martin to Paris Landing
It was threatening rain this morning, so once again I left my camera in my baggage. Breakfast was biscuits, eggs, pancakes, and juice. We were on the road at 7:40 again, and as usual, we were close to the back of the pack than to the front.
We started easy, but pretty soon we were charging up every hill and blasting down the other side. It started sprinkling. The sprinkles came harder, then tapered off, then turned into a full-fledged rain storm. At least it wasn't as torrential as out on the levee. We kept riding. Finally, out in the middle of nowhere, it finally tapered off completely, the roads dried up, and we rode harder.
At the final rest stop, I quickly pulled in to replenish my hydration system. Chris kept going, so I had to really charge to catch back up. The next couple of miles were mostly downhill, and I knew Chris would be going down them as fast as he could. I hit my high speed for the trip. I finally caught him a few miles before the road we were on emptied out onto highway 79. We turned and did the final few miles to Paris Landing.
There was a big custom motorcycle meet going on at the park. As we rode through the crowds, one woman thought quickly and took our pictures. I'm sure we were much more interesting subjects than the motortrikes with rear ends that looked like Corvettes, Mustangs, etc, or the super-custom V8-powered bikes. We weren't the first to arrive, but I think we were the first ones to ride the entire way. It's for sure that noboby passed us on the road.
We'd originally planned on staying overnight, but with our early arrival and more rain threatening, we decided to just pack up and head for home. We beat the crowd to the showers across the highway at the RV campground, packed the van, and ate lunch at Dover on our way home.
| Day's summary: | |
| Mileage = 56.0 | |
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Avg Speed = 19.0 mph |
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| Max Speed = 50.4 mph |
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Saturday's route |
Summary
I'm not too much into big hills, and I really enjoyed the smaller hills featured in this year's ride. Even I could have done without that much levee, though. To be fair, it might have been an awesome lowracer proving ground if not for the rain. And speaking of rain, why did the wettest summer in Michigan's history follow me to Tennessee? There was a low pressure system parked just to the south of us all week, pumping storm after storm off the Gulf of Mexico and right into my lap! Other than the lousy weather, it was a great week. My scoring goes like this:
| Category | Score | Comments |
| Roads | 9.5 | Aside from a very few rough spots, great! |
| Scenery | 9.5 | I never get tired of riding the back roads in Tennessee. |
| Rest stops | 8 | Lots of water stops; but they didn't have cups, I don't carry a water bottle, and my hydration system is very nearly one with the bike. At Pinson Mounds, a ranger was able to scrape up ONE plastic cup for me though. There was also ONE porta-potty, which stayed on the trailer and could occasionally be seen along the route. |
| SAG | 10 | There were at least 4 vehicles on the road at all times. I even saw a ranger take care of a couple of big dogs. |
| Food | 10 | A mix of onsite and get-your-own |
| Facilities | 7 | Some good, some not. Several were on the verge of being inadequate for the number of riders |
| Weather | 3 | We did get a few dry days... |
| Composite score | 5.5 | Not Gary's fault, but the weather really was the big drag on the ride this year. Except for that, it'd rate a solid 9. |
