June 1, 2021 by arletelouise - 0 comments

Thermal Belt Rail Trail

A perfect day for a bike ride – great weather for sure – so we started mid-morning at a trailhead parking lot in front of a local school entrance.

At less busy road crossings:

We started in Forest City and rode through several small towns: Spindale, Rutherfordton, Ruth, Broad River to the end at Gilvey.

Exercise station:

Time to slow down for unpredictable summer camp trail users:

When we arrived in Gilkey at MM 0, we stopped to talk with Tim Will and RJ, local residents who are active in their community. They are also the kind of person who takes the time to have a conversation with trail users who are not locals – that’s a good thing in my book!

MM 0 – time to turn around.

On the way back I stopped at Bechtler Mint Site Historic Park. From 1831-1840, Christopher Bechtler operated the nation’s most successful private mint, turning raw gold into $3 million worth of coins and ingots.

View from the top of the hill at the park:

27 miles. Great trail, flawless asphalt and 12ft wide. Road crossings sometimes required extra attention and caution. Fantastic ride.

May 18, 2021 by arletelouise - 0 comments

Tanglefoot Trail MM 43.6-29

Today we drove to the northern trailhead in New Albany MS. We parked just off Main Street on the other side of the tracks from this engine. The Tanglefoot was named after one of the engines that ran up and down this track when it was in use in the late 1800s.

The beginning of the trail at Mile Marker 43.6 was beautiful. At the end of the ride, we got (our first) coffee at Brew Albany at the end of the ride:

At first, I wondered if this was going to be another “tunnel of trees” ride, i.e. not much to see beyond trees …

but the trail opened up to views of the countryside.

Every time I see a tractor, I think of Justin who has a few tractors and always seems to be restoring one of them. This one could use some of his TLC:

One of the small towns we rode through, Ecru. The mural depicting its history:

Mile Marker 29, our turn-around point:

And then it began to mist … rain as I got back to the starting point. 30 miles and a little bit wet. Load the bikes, lock up everything and walk back to:

A delicious ending to a great ride.

May 17, 2021 by arletelouise - 0 comments

Tanglefoot Trail MM 0-15

Yesterday we relocated to an RV park on the Natchez Trace SW of Tupelo. This morning we drove to Houston to ride the Tanglefoot Trail. Mile Marker 0:

The worst riding surface – tar and gravel over wood:

MM 9.9 at New Houlka:

Turn around at MM 15:

30 miles – it felt so good to be pedaling again.

May 8, 2021 by arletelouise - 0 comments

Longleaf Trace MM 3-18

Hurray, we got to ride today! We parked at a trailhead on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.

You never know what you’ll see on a bike trail, today a band playing great music. There was a big event today, a Farm to Fork run/walk plus 52- and 36-mile bike rides.

There were a couple of very large groups of paceline riders – high speed and all clustered together for drafting.

Piney woods on both sides of the trail for the most part:

We had lunch in Sumrall, instead of “fine dining” at Lau-tori’s (closed with a still-active website) we had to compromise with an ok hamburger from a local fast food place … it really didn’t matter, we were hungry. On the way back, the bike/ped bridge over Hwy 59: