Day 1 | Nashville to Jack's Branch, 66 miles

Ok, here we go!  I woke this morning at 5:00a.m., excited and ready to go, couldn't sleep anymore.  Heading to Loveless Cafe for a big  send off breakfast.

Who knew Loveless doesn't open till 7:00 a.m.??  Sorry so hungry for breakfast that I forgot to take a picture, but it was BIG and GOOD.  And so I am off..

The morning started a little foggy, and a cool 69.  Nice riding weather...till later.

Hwy 96 Bridge

After a nice climb to get up to the Trace, a few miles down is the beautiful expansion bridge over Hwy 96 in Franklin.  As you can see it is a LONG way down.  It amazes me how low the railings are.  Stay closer to the double yellow line than the white line.

The day was mostly overcast, although around mile 30 it started to sprinkle and then it got a little heavier and then it was raining.  Took a little break at Jackson Falls.

Jackson Falls

I rode several miles with a tour group from Black Bear Adventures, before we ended up stopping at Jackson Falls for 30 or so minutes and let the rain pass and had some very good snacks that they shared.  What a bunch of great guys, especially the owner/guide, Paul.  Will definitely look at some of their tours for the future.

Black Bear Adventures

After the rain passed I had about 30 more miles to go.  Nice ride, just stayed behind the rain, so the only water was from the wet road.

57 miles in, and only 9 more for the day.  Ended up doing 66 total today.  Feel great and then we drove to Summertown and had a great late lunch.

A Brisket and smoked sausage sandwich, with a couple of hot peppers.  MMMMMmmmmmm good.