Cranksgiving in Baton Rouge

Just a quick note tonight, the laptop isn't working with the Internet here, so were writing this on a phone...
We just want to say how much we miss everyone whom we haven't seen in a long while, old friends, hometowns, and our folks. Be that as it may, we have found so Many kind people in our travels, that it isn't so bad. So for our néw friends, Brian, John, Lauren, Morgan, Kory, Dina, and our hosts here in Batin Rouge, thanks, alot.
Love, peace, and chain grease,
Michael, Alex, and Matt

We made it!

Today after a quick but climactic ten miles we completed the Natchez Trace. We ended up first heading to the visitor center to see if we could finagle some free camping around town, but without any leads and having a sense of accomplishment we decided to bunker down at the days in. Tonight we plan on taking to the streets in downtown Natchez to celebrate, hoping to find good times and others to share them with. There aren't a lot of new pictures to post but here are some that we may have skipped over.
















The Trace truly was an amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone. Now onto New Orleans!

Day 42 - Old Friends/New Friends

Hey suckers. We've been having a blast between updates and finally have a chance to post another. Prepare for a PHOTO BOMB!

Since we last checked in, we've traveled another 200+ miles down the trace. We are currently near Port Gibson, MS, at mile marker 55 on the trace. One more day of riding and we will be in Natchez, MS, where the trail terminates, forced back into the fierce world of highways and subdivisions.



What you've missed:
Last week we spent a few days panhandling in Tupelo, earning enough money for food and buffets, before heading down the road. Thanks to the cool kids at 212 Cafe for the sandwich and phone numbers. Best cafe in town.



A few days ago, just outside of Houston, Matt Moll met a preacher at Wal-Mart. Tom Skelton was kind enough to offer not only food, but church service and a warm bed to these weary travelers. Matt felt like adventuring, Alex and Mike wanted company, so we went separate ways for a day, and each had a blast.


On Sunday morning Mike and Alex attended service with Tom, then retreated to his house for lunch. Tom is an ex-marine/security professional/karate instructor, and he had more than enough stories to keep us entertained for the evening. Meanwhile, Matt had made it to the next campsite down the road and conveniently ran into our old friend Brian, whom we met days earlier at a previous campsite. Matt and Brian shared a meal while Mike and Alex shared a bed (not really). The next morning, Tom was traveling to Jackson, MS, so we loaded up our bikes, met with Matt further down the road, and cruised into Jackson early in the afternoon. Thanks a million for everything, Tom.


We ran into Brian again, at a Wendy's in Jackson, while we were hatching our plan for the evening. We chatted a bit, then the three cyclists rented a cheap hotel room for the night (since camping was less than available). We donned our speedos, took a dip in the freezing outdoor pool, then consumed pizza and beer that evening.

Continental breakfast then back to the trace. 45 miles down the road, we made it to Rocky Springs. We had been there for less than an hour before we were sharing drinks with our new friend, John from Canada. John is a retired english teacher, traveling to Texas/Mexico for the winter in his RV.


We shared food, stories, and wine that evening, eventually meeting up (again) with Brian and his friendly pitbull Gypsy. Paul, another Canadian traveler, has joined our crew as well, bringing with him a friendly black lab named Muddy. We've spent a few days in Rocky Springs, hanging out and hiking with our little commune, and today we ventured into town to do some blogging and research. Tomorrow we will be heading to Natchez, the last stop on the trace, before trekking to New Orleans.




It's been quite a trip so far, and we're looking forward to meeting new friends and re-uniting with old friends. Thank you everyone.

Day #? - Where ARE we?

Hey y'all. It's been a while since we've been able to update, so we thought we'd get you caught up real quick. Don't have a clue what day we're on, all we know is it's been more than a month and nearly 900 miles since we left Chicago. We're currently in Tishomingo, Mississippi and loving the Natchez Trace. We've traveled about 140 miles so far down the Trace, with another 300 to go.



The first three days on the Trace were hard. Everyone had partied hard in Nashville and now we all had head colds. To make matters worse, it rained for 2 days straight, and we stayed holed up at a rest area for a few days to nurse our health and wait out the weather. When we finally got moving again, we met the coldest nights we've had yet, with temperatures dropping down to 28 degrees at night. We had to sleep in a bathroom one night, just to keep warm. We met a cool guy named Brian, who drove us to a Chinese buffet. He is traveling as well, in a van with his dog, going West just like us.





Eventually we got to do some legit camping and hung out at Colbert Ferry for a few days because we enjoyed the scenery and our cozy little camp. Lots of scenic views, the Tennessee River, and some Indian Mounds are a few things we've encountered. There was a very special wall we saw. One man built it by hand as a memorial to his Indian Grandmother, who was forced to walk the trail of tears and came back. He placed a new stone for every step she took. Very moving.



We've been riding slowly, meeting people and taking in all the sights the Trace has to offer. Now we've stopped in Tishomingo to pick up supplies, panhandle for donuts, and blog. We crossed two state lines to get here, and have averaged a new state every week since we left. The weather is warming up and stays around 65-70 during the days. The south is going to be awesome.





Enjoy the pics, and keep in touch.

hitting the trace

hi everyone, were starting the Natchez Trace today, so we'll be away from the internet for a long while. we might be able to get a chance here and that to hop on, but thats highley unlikley. So if all y'all dont here from us in a while thats it, but hopefully well have some awesome stories when we get to New Orleans! Wish us luck!