Tupelo, MS to Chattanooga, TN – April 25

Actually we’re in Cleveland, Tennessee near Dayton – but we’ve just passed through Chattanooga and that seems a  lot less confusing to me!

I forgot to mention Petra’s bike conked out again early yesterday just after we got underway – same symptoms as in Texas.  I disconnected  the igniter module and reconnected it and the bike ran like a charm.  Seems the moisture from the rain causes some kind of short that gets remedied with the reconnect – for now!

We rode the Natchez Trace from Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis Presley, northeast cutting the corner of Alabama and then into Tennessee in Lawrence County, where Davey Crockett led the local militia in the early 1800’s.

We left the Natchez Trace at State Highway 64 and rode east.  Yesterday’s storms are gone but the wind was still very strong, making for difficult riding at times.

There are a remarkable number of fireworks stores in the south, each one trying to out-do the last with discounts and special offers like “buy 1 get 4 free”.  You wouldn’t think there was any money to be made given the number of stores, and some of them are enormous!
Tomorrow we’re heading to Deal’s Gap to ride the Tail of the Dragon – 318 curves in 11 miles – and then on to Knoxville.