Wild West Tour lll: Day 21

Day 21

6-10-14

Florence AL to Tupelo MS

It rained most of the night with a great lightning show. The rain was still coming down in the morning. There was not even a discussion we all knew we planned to ride. After being fooled yesterday it was not going to happen again.

Before leaving the hotel one of the guest there asked Tim about our journey. When he told them we were going to Tupelo that day he asked if we were bicycle Storm Chasers!

We left the hotel in a light rain that slowly became steadier as the sky darkened. Knowing a major downpour was eminent we rode down the next driveway we saw. Without asking anyone we rode under the carport and held up next to a red Ford Thunderbird as the sky opened up.

We waited until the worse was over and hit the road only to be scrambling for cover 20 minutes later. This time it was the overhang at one of the many churches we passed. We are deep in the Bible belt seeing more churches than houses on some roads.

The rain again slowed and then finally stopped about half way through our 90 mile ride. Our ride today as yesterday was along the Natchez Trace Parkway. It is a perfect cycling road. No big climbs, a smooth surface and almost no traffic. Even when it was raining it was great riding.

When we pulled into Tupelo we immediately saw the damage the April 2014 tornado had caused. Houses and buildings demolished, trees with the top third twisted off. Hard to imagine how much horsepower it would take to do all of that destruction.

It looked like the hotel we were staying at was one of the few buildings in the area not damaged by the storm. There were buildings missing roofs and others with sides blown away all around the hotel.

This again reinforces what we already knew “Don’t fool with Mother Nature” especially when on a bicycle.

It looks like the big climbing days are behind us for a while.

Check out the YouTube video of the Natchez Trace Parkway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTWP40KLBfI