Day 5 - May 15, 2023. Parsons, TN - Hurricane Mills, TN

We were at a hotel last night that didn't provide breakfast, so Emily had a nice spread ready for us at 6am.  I'm not sure when the guides and cook actually get any sleep!  I pulled away from the hotel about 6:45.  Nearly tail-end today, but lots of time ahead to catch up.  


Found this bar & grill not too far from town.  "Why not?" is a bit of a joke among a group of friends.  When one throws out an idea for an outing or trip, the appropriate response is "Why not?"  Thus have evolved many of my vacations.  


The temperature to start was sub-20C, nice and cool, and a bit misty.  And - we were fortunate to ride in the shade off and on for much of the morning.  But it was humid all day so that when the temperature finally started to rise, it got unbearably hot rather quickly.    


At about 6 miles we crossed the Tennessee River again.  Beautiful to see in the early morning light.


There wasn't really much to see today.  We didn't really pass through any towns.  I think we were pretty close to the water (Tennessee River) for much of the day judging by the signs for marinas and boat storage, but we really didn't have any views.  Lots of rural properties (and more than a few bona fide junkyards).  Some dogs, but I think they were just too hot to give chase. We travelled quite a bit of road  with no visible properties abutting it.  Some fun hills, but at some point I had had enough of those too.  




 At some point just after the second SAG stop I found this big fellow in the middle of the road.  After I took his picture he scurried off into the ditch.  I'm sure he would have been schmucked by the next truck if he didn't get off the road.


Speaking of SAG stops.  Because of the anticipated heat today, they tried to SAG us every 15 miles rather than every 20.  Great idea in theory, but the group tends to get spread out and it's hard for them to support both the fast riders and the slowest ones.  I'm somewhere firmly in the middle.  Kristie was at the first SAG, and Emily & Cindi were at the second (at about 32 miles).  I didn't see either of them again for the rest of the day.  No problem; I was well provisioned.  

I saw this herd of cattle about a mile out from our destination.  I think the one in the pond had the right idea; anything to cool off!  Too bad our hotel pool is not open.


Yes, we are in Loretta Lynn country.  Popped into her kitchen for a milkshake (so good!), then a visit with the buffalo before checking into the hotel.



A thunderstorm arrived around 1:30.  Still raining an hour and half later.  Might go put my feet up for a while so we can repeat all over again tomorrow.


Hurricane Mills, Tennessee

Population not reported in Wikipedia.  The community is centered on Loretta Lynn's ranch, which features a small number of businesses and a post office.  Most or all of the community is included in the Hurricane Mills Rural Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  


Stats for the day:

Distance:  88.3 km / 54 miles

Elevation (Garmin):  1037 m up / 1030 m down.  3403' up / 3379' down

Elevation (RWGPS):  1175 m up / 1184 m down.  3854' up / 3884' down.

Weather:  18C - 35C.  And humid!  Thankfully we rode much of it in the shade.  We started shortly after 6:30am to try to beat the heat and the afternoon thunderstorm that blew in about 1:30.  I was in shortly before noon.  A beautiful day, but hot! 




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