09 Natchez Trace Day 1A

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I just decided the week before that I was going to take the opportunity that Easter brought and use 4 days to get to Vicksburg Military Park then ride the Natchez Trace. It was funny that the trip originally started as just heading to Eureka Springs, AR for a couple days, but the weather wasn’t forecasted to be that great there. And I wanted some warm weather. Farther south it was looking better, when I saw Vicksburg on the map I knew that is where I needed to head. Then Vicksburg is just a short distance from the southern end of the Natchez Trace… The plan was to get to Vicksburg on Thursday. Friday morning I would spend a couple hours at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Then head south to the Natchez MS and start up the trace. There would be some stops, like The Old Country Store, known for its great chicken. Friday night would be spent somewhere around Tupelo MS. Saturday I would finish the trace and head toward home, spending the night around Paducah, KY. Sunday, Easter I would complete the route home.

I had wanted to ride the trace for several years. I wanted to ride the whole thing from the origin to the end. I had been on parts of it here or there as I was able to when heading through, but I wanted to ride all of it in one trip.

Two weeks before Easter I decide to take the plunge and buy the J&M 2003 CB radio which is made for motorcycles. It has an input for music. I got the complete system; CB, mounting bracket, power harness, antenna, helmet speakers & mic and the connecting cable from The Cycle Accessory Store (www.cycleaccessorystore.com). They sell it in a bundle, not only on Ebay but also on their website. I wasn’t prepared for it to ship to my house so soon. It arrived on Monday, it was impossible to not try and install it. One of the cardinal rules in long distance riding is to not put new farkles on right before a trip. Oh, well. I was in the middle of the mess on Wednesday morning, so I talked to my boss and asked for the afternoon off so I could get this done. No problem. With that extra time I decided that then I could get the radio installed and head out Wednesday evening, even if I only make it a hundred miles, it will be beneficial because of the cold and rain that was forcast along ¾ of my route for Thursday. I was not looking forward to taking off in the morning if it was going to be 42F and raining. If I could ride for an hour or more on Wednesday then I would not have to start so early on Thursday. The later the warmer.

It was 6:30 PM before I started out of town. I had to stop at Best Buy and get a new antenna for the Sirius Radio I have mounted on the bike. I had tried getting it activated several times during the day but each time it failed, finally one of the techs at the 1-800 number told me the antenna was bad. $42 later I had a new antenna but not the time for yet another call to the Sirius customer service line. Why is it that when you call customer service phone lines anymore, you have to go through 15 minutes of automated questions and options to get to talk to a live person, then when you are finally connected they know nothing of you. All that time getting your account number, name, address, problem, equipment serial number is just lost. Why can’t they transfer that info when they transfer you to the live representative?

The bike thermometer said 93F when it was sitting in my back yard in the sun. It was 73F as I was riding out of town. It continued to drop as I continued to ride. I stopped a couple times to add more layers. But when I installed the insulated liner in my jacket, put on the chin/throat insulator and put on the riding pants over my blue jeans I decided that next time I am cold I will stop for the night. I rode until I got cold and then I found a motel. If I was going to get cold tonight, then I should have just saved the hotel bill and started tomorrow. I ended up in Lamar MO at the Blue Top Inn (N37 29.211 W94 17.914). $45.25 a night. As soon as I get checked in I make my last phone call to Sirius Radio and I actually do get hooked up and Effie is tucked up under a roof. It was 10PM when I had my gear all unpacked and closed my motel door.

Ride was 130.8 miles for the day.
Effie’s odometer read 108896 miles.

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Photos

Effie at the Blue Top Inn
Sitting on the sidewalk right outside my window. Effie is under cover.