Trans-Am Trail - Days 1 to 3 - Jellico, Tennessee to Selmer, Tennessee
Days 1 to 3 - The start of the trail in Jellico, Tennessee to Selmer, Tennessee
The eager beavers amongst you will have
noticed the distinct lack of daily posts on this trip. There's a
pretty good reason for that, as the riding days are quite long (the
shortest so far over 8 hours in the saddle) and whilst the scenery is
beautiful I think I'd struggle to write more than a few words each
day. It's simply that the days consist of riding, which is what I
love doing more than anything else (well, almost anything), but it is
a somewhat solitary pursuit.
I think it best to try and show the
ride in pictures and write up the story every 3 or 4 days. So please
don't worry if you don't find a post every day. I'm just having too
much of a good time to sit down and write about it!
I'm writing this in Selmer, Tennessee
having ridden over 600 miles of the trail over the past 3 days. Our
days start pretty much the same as they did on the Trans-Americas
ride (Alaska to Argentina), with an early start, usually around 8am.
I won't bore you with details of breakfast, but will state on record
that I have finally managed to order a breakfast in America without
being asked a single question. If you think that sounds easy, try it
next time you're over here...
Our first day on the trail was Friday
(I had to check, today is Sunday!), and took us on a meandering route
round the back roads from the start at Jellico to Sparta. Just
outside of town the route leaves the highway an enters a gravel road.
Now the last time I rode on gravel was in Argentina shortly after I
had my big off and I had a cracked rib, the shimmying on the gravel
causing me a fair amount of discomfort. I was therefore less than
confident that I wouldn't end up on my arse within the first mile or
so. But I didn't and soon my confidence returned.
The route for the rest of the day was
mostly on tarmac (sealed) roads passing through beautiful open green
countryside dotted with the sort of smallholding Tracy and I can only
dream of in the UK. Especially as it was already rather hot, the
temperature up around 27degrees C. Whilst this wasn't the sort of
riding we expected - most of this section has been paved since Sam
did the original route when the roads were still gravel - it was
easy going and I was once again reminded of why I love riding my
bike. There were some more interesting sections too, including some
gentle mud roads through hot humid woods, where we would pull over in
the shade to guzzle water and chat a while...
We arrived at Sparta in the late
afternoon and quickly found a motel for the night, before heading out
to eat at a Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet (no beer still), then we
grabbed a couple of bottles of beer and took them back to the motel.
Yesterday (Saturday) we once again
started early on the ride to Columbia (TN, not South America,
unfortunately, especially as Harold is married to a Columbian!).
Before long we noticed that part of the route was closed - a big
sign proclaiming that the road across the dam was closed. Not that we
were going to let that stop us...
We rode round the barrier and through
the forest until...
we had to turn round and head back out,
not only did this barrier go all the way across the trail, but there
was a padlocked gate on the far side of the dam... Damn!
The rest of the days riding was
probably 90% tarmac, once again taking us through some stunning
scenery. That was, until we couldn't see it any more as it got dark
and started to rain very heavily. And thunder and lightning too.
Needless to say that at first we thought it was a shower, until we
were quite damp and realised it wasn't, so put our waterproofs on a
little late. It did clear up just before we arrived in Columbia so we
dried out a little before finding our motel. At least it had
freshened the air for a little while, until the heat came back and
the humidity increased again!
Dinner was in a Mexican restaurant a
few blocks from the hotel, but thankfully it served beer, although as
we'd had to ride there I restricted my intake to just the one before
getting some more from the garage next to the motel.
At this point I should point out that
all this reference to beer isn't because we've been drinking heavily
every night. In fact, Harold and I have shared a 6-pack of bottled
Yuengling each night, which is just 3 small bottles for me. Almost a
dry day. No, the constant reference to beer is because I'm typing
this in the motel having arrived an hour ago, and still haven't had
my thirst quenched. And won't have until after we've eaten as there's
nowhere to eat nearby so I have to ride to dinner. Life is tough
sometimes!
Today, though, has been one of the best
riding days I've ever had. The weather has been glorious, gradually
getting hotter the nearer we got to Selmer, where we're staying. The
first part of the morning was a repeat of yesterday, riding on
single-track tarmac roads through the countryside. At one point we
even passed through an Amish settlement and when we pulled over when
we saw a traditional horse and carriage coming towards us. The horse
seemed freaked by the motorbikes, and I'm not too sure what the Amish
folk in the carriage made of us either (and as they shun all things
modern, they are unlikely to read this and leave a comment explaining
their thoughts either!).
The ride then changed completely, as we
turned off the tarmac and onto some excellent trails at long last.
Here the trail was once again in excellent condition, hard packed mud
with a light coating of gravel, and my confidence came back fully as
I began enjoying myself once more. I rather liked this sign that
someone had turned into the Joker's face...
The trail wasn't without its
challenges, though. We had been warned about the creek crossings as
they have a reputation for being slippery. So when I encountered the
first one whilst leading I pulled over to the side and bravely let
Aaron go first. After all, he's been riding since he was a kid (I
didn't start until I was 29) and has ridden not only the
Trans-Americas with me, but also London-Bejing. If anyone could ride
across, he could...
At first I thought he'd just been a bit
ham-fisted with the throttle until I tried to walk into the creek to
help him pick his bike up and nearly went for a swim. The bottom was
coated with a thick layer of algae, and was like an ice rink, only
slippier. And I'm not exaggerating! Eventually we got his bike
upright and walked it across to the other side, then we walked the
other 2 bikes across, with one person steering and pushing and the
other 2 holding the sides. It was that bad...
Here's a link to a short bit of video of us getting Harold's bike across - having found the least slippery path across!
A little while later we came across
another one, and once again I pulled to the side and this time we
walked across first. It was slippery, but not as bad as the first
crossing, so we took it in turns to ride across, Aaron naturally
going first and paddling through. We all got across without incident,
so now we knew what to do when we found another one. As it was, the
remaining crossings were not rock-bottomed, so didn't have the algae
growth and we rode through them without any trouble.
The rest of the ride to Selmer was a
mix of tarmac and dirt. At one point we saw a diversion sign and a
"Road Closed" sign on the trail. Naturally we chose to ignore
this. And the one that said "Road Closed 2000ft" and "Road
Closed 1500ft" and "Road Closed 1000ft" and "Road Closed
500ft".... and "Road Closed".
Nothing stopped us this time!
So now you're up to date with what's
been happening on the trail. And I'm still thirsty!
