The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

The Natchez Trace

April 11th to April 21st

Ride Director: Barb Rudolph
Ride Co-Director: Glenn Rudolph
Ride Driver: Chuck Feerick
Report by: Aaron Rosenthal

“Cycling through 10,000 years of history… on a 444 mile designated bike route!” This is the
quote on the front of the colorful Natchez Trace cycling jersey and aptly summarizes what the
Natchez Trace offers cyclists. Starting just south of Nashville, TN, traversing the NW corner of
Alabama, and finishing in the historic town of Natchez, MS on the Mississippi River, this
wonderfully historic route should be a bucket list item for any adventurous cyclist. The route is
entirely paved and in overall excellent condition due to no commercial traffic allowed, and a
maximum speed of 50 mph. No wonder it is declared a National Scenic Byway, an All-American
Road, and became a unit of the National Park System in 1938. The parkway was completed in
2005, and information panels all along the Trace tell of the route’s history as a transportation
corridor by native Americans for thousands of years. Numerous burial and ceremonial mounds
as well as over 300 archeological sites provide a sense of wonder as to how these ancient
peoples lived. In the 18 th and 19 th centuries the Trace was used by boatmen to return home
after selling their goods in New Orleans, and Natchez as the Mississippi’s current was too strong
to return by the river. The Trace was also used during the slave trade to transport slaves to
Natchez which was the second largest slave market in the south. John Adams designated the
Trace as a postal route in 1800 and Andrew Jackson utilized the Trace during the war of 1812.
The Meriwether Lewis death and burial site commemorates his life and death in 1809. One
cannot read and learn about the Trail of Tears, which crosses the Trace 4 times, and the forced
relocation of the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations (amongst others) to Oklahoma without being
affected.

This BAC trip was exceptionally well planned and organized. Because there is only one lodging
facility directly on the Trace in French Camp, MS, participants had to ride between 2 to 15 miles
off the Trace to access communities with appropriate accommodations. While this increased
the total riding distance by roughly 100 miles, it also provided wonderful experiences to see
these small communities in all 3 states and engage with locals. Future participants of this ride
should take note of the “2D” rating and the days that exceed the average elevation rating of
“2”. The climbs on the parkway are not overly steep or long, but the combination of longer
daily distances and elevation gain should not be dismissed by those who don’t like to climb.