September 3rd
Woke up and enjoyed the view of the courtyard from my downtown Memphis hotel room one last time. After enjoying the continental breakfast at the Sleep Inn I got packed up, patched a flat tire, and looked over my maps. I wasn't quite sure as to where I was going to spend the night but I started heading east planning to at least get outside of the city. It was a hot day but not as bad as what I have been through so far. After getting a little lost I eventually found the Shelby Farms Greenline Trail. This bicycle/hiking trail took me out of the city and to a nice park just east of Memphis. While riding on the trail I heard back from my friend Erika at the Weed Chamber of Commerce. Erika had found me a place to stay in Oakland, TN, the Church House Bed and Breakfast donated me a room for the evening. Thanks Erika and thanks James and Louise at the Church House B&B!!! After leaving Shelby Farms Park I took a couple highways towards Oakland stopping for a much needed ice cream cone at a Baskin-Robbins. It's amazing how much food you can eat on a cross country bike trip! I spent most of the day riding through the typical city suburbs full of the stores and restaurants you see in every major city. Kind of boring to me but as I got closer to Oakland I started to notice more trees and land, and really enjoyed the ride again. When I arrived in Oakland I went straight to the Church House Bed and Breakfast. I met James and Louise, the very friendly Innkeepers. We talked for a bit and they offered me an assortment of beverages and showed me my very nice room for the evening. After getting setteled in I took a walk over to the grocery store and rented a movie from the Redbox machine. My room had a flat screen TV and dvd player so I thought it would make for a good movie night. Before the movie I took a nice hot bath in the awesome giant bathtub, perfect thing for a tired biker! Watched a movie and had an incredible sleep. It was really cool to sleep in the 80 year old renovated Methodist Church. Thanks again Chucrch House B&B!!
http://www.bbonline.com/tn/oldchurchhouse/
View from my room at the Sleep Inn in downtown Memphis
Woke up and enjoyed the view of the courtyard from my downtown Memphis hotel room one last time. After enjoying the continental breakfast at the Sleep Inn I got packed up, patched a flat tire, and looked over my maps. I wasn't quite sure as to where I was going to spend the night but I started heading east planning to at least get outside of the city. It was a hot day but not as bad as what I have been through so far. After getting a little lost I eventually found the Shelby Farms Greenline Trail. This bicycle/hiking trail took me out of the city and to a nice park just east of Memphis. While riding on the trail I heard back from my friend Erika at the Weed Chamber of Commerce. Erika had found me a place to stay in Oakland, TN, the Church House Bed and Breakfast donated me a room for the evening. Thanks Erika and thanks James and Louise at the Church House B&B!!! After leaving Shelby Farms Park I took a couple highways towards Oakland stopping for a much needed ice cream cone at a Baskin-Robbins. It's amazing how much food you can eat on a cross country bike trip! I spent most of the day riding through the typical city suburbs full of the stores and restaurants you see in every major city. Kind of boring to me but as I got closer to Oakland I started to notice more trees and land, and really enjoyed the ride again. When I arrived in Oakland I went straight to the Church House Bed and Breakfast. I met James and Louise, the very friendly Innkeepers. We talked for a bit and they offered me an assortment of beverages and showed me my very nice room for the evening. After getting setteled in I took a walk over to the grocery store and rented a movie from the Redbox machine. My room had a flat screen TV and dvd player so I thought it would make for a good movie night. Before the movie I took a nice hot bath in the awesome giant bathtub, perfect thing for a tired biker! Watched a movie and had an incredible sleep. It was really cool to sleep in the 80 year old renovated Methodist Church. Thanks again Chucrch House B&B!!
http://www.bbonline.com/tn/oldchurchhouse/
Shelby Farms Greenline Trail
Thanks Church House B&B!
Inside the 80 year old Methodist Church
Very comfortable bed!
Nice bathtub to soak the weary muscles
Original stain glass windows
September 4th
Woke up early Sunday morning in the Old Church House B&B feeling well rested. Louise fed me a delicious breakfast and shared stories with me about Memphis. Louise used to be a Memphis police officer and told me about being one of the first officers at the scene when Elvis passed away. She assured me that Elvis is not still alive but I am pretty sure I saw him in Vegas earlier in the bike trip! After the awesome breakfast I relaxed at the church for a little while and then started my ride to Chickasaw State Park. It was a cloudy and humid morning but there was a chance of rain in the forecast. About halfway through the ride it started to drizzle, then turned to rain, and then poured on me! It actually was quite a blessing because it took away from the humidity and cooled me off on the many large hills I had to climb. I did notice I was starting to get a little bit of a cold the day before and as the day went on it was affecting me more and more. By the time I reached Chickasaw State Park I was soaked and tired as can be. I talked with the rangers for a bit and then headed to my campsite overlooking Lake Placid. The park was beautiful and even though I was cold, wet, and tired it was a nice place to be. After a hot shower and some dry clothes I threw on a raincoat and hiked around the woods taking in the scenery. Everything looked extra green from all of the rain and it was a really enjoyable hike. Tomorrow's forecast sounded pretty bad, extreme winds and more rain so I decided I wouldn't ride, after all tomorrow is Labor Day and I shouldn't do any hard work. I spent the night in my tent playing games on the computer and jamming out to some good tunes. I also started choosing photos to have printed on fabric and rock. More about that in the coming weeks.
Woke up early Sunday morning in the Old Church House B&B feeling well rested. Louise fed me a delicious breakfast and shared stories with me about Memphis. Louise used to be a Memphis police officer and told me about being one of the first officers at the scene when Elvis passed away. She assured me that Elvis is not still alive but I am pretty sure I saw him in Vegas earlier in the bike trip! After the awesome breakfast I relaxed at the church for a little while and then started my ride to Chickasaw State Park. It was a cloudy and humid morning but there was a chance of rain in the forecast. About halfway through the ride it started to drizzle, then turned to rain, and then poured on me! It actually was quite a blessing because it took away from the humidity and cooled me off on the many large hills I had to climb. I did notice I was starting to get a little bit of a cold the day before and as the day went on it was affecting me more and more. By the time I reached Chickasaw State Park I was soaked and tired as can be. I talked with the rangers for a bit and then headed to my campsite overlooking Lake Placid. The park was beautiful and even though I was cold, wet, and tired it was a nice place to be. After a hot shower and some dry clothes I threw on a raincoat and hiked around the woods taking in the scenery. Everything looked extra green from all of the rain and it was a really enjoyable hike. Tomorrow's forecast sounded pretty bad, extreme winds and more rain so I decided I wouldn't ride, after all tomorrow is Labor Day and I shouldn't do any hard work. I spent the night in my tent playing games on the computer and jamming out to some good tunes. I also started choosing photos to have printed on fabric and rock. More about that in the coming weeks.
Thanks again Church House Bed and Breakfast!
I love wide shoulders!
( that should be a t-shirt for a bike shop )
Bridge over Lake Placid
Lake Placid - Chickasaw State Park
September 5th
Labor Day, a day to relax, and that is what I did! Still feeling a little under the weather I spent most of the day relaxing at the campsite. I did get out for a 3 or 4 mile hike which was very enjoyable. It was extremely windy and I noticed a lot of the smaller branches falling from the trees. I also saw a very large amount of big trees that must have fallen recently as there leaves were still quite green. I wondered if it was caused from flooding, wind, or possibly disease. The trees looked healthy to me so I am guessing it was caused by the flooding earlier in the year in this area. This is just a guess of course. At a park in eastern Arkansas the Red Oak Borer Epidemic was causing trees to die and fall making it somewhat dangerous for us campers and hikers. After my hike I had a peaceful evening listening to Paul Simon's album, Songs From The Capeman, one of my favorites!
Labor Day, a day to relax, and that is what I did! Still feeling a little under the weather I spent most of the day relaxing at the campsite. I did get out for a 3 or 4 mile hike which was very enjoyable. It was extremely windy and I noticed a lot of the smaller branches falling from the trees. I also saw a very large amount of big trees that must have fallen recently as there leaves were still quite green. I wondered if it was caused from flooding, wind, or possibly disease. The trees looked healthy to me so I am guessing it was caused by the flooding earlier in the year in this area. This is just a guess of course. At a park in eastern Arkansas the Red Oak Borer Epidemic was causing trees to die and fall making it somewhat dangerous for us campers and hikers. After my hike I had a peaceful evening listening to Paul Simon's album, Songs From The Capeman, one of my favorites!
So green!
How can you pass up the Friends Trail?!
http://www.peopleforbikes.org/
Sign the Pledge, please :)
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