Day 10
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Jackson, MS to Clinton, MS
14.7 miles, 1h43m, 8.6 mph
Elapsed Time: 2h56m, Max speed: 23.5mph
Total Climbing: 458ft, Max elevation: 431ft
Total mileage: 577.8
The goal today was to tool around in downtown Jackson for a while and
then ride out to the suburbs to be ready to get back on the Trace
tomorrow. This turned out to be much more difficult than I had
anticipated, so I'm glad I did it today.
The main problem is that Jackson has got to have the crappiest quality
streets of any city in America...certainly of any state capitol
(and I've been to a lot of state capitols...36, I think). So when I'm
riding I have to focus on the road to avoid potholes and ruts in the
pavement, and I have to go slow. Of course, the streets are not bicycle
friendly, although traffic was light on Sunday morning. Oh yeah,
Mississippi cars apparently do not come equipped with turn signals. At
one point, I came upon a green light as a pickup truck approached from
the other direction. I used by ESP to determine that the driver was
planning to turn left in front of me, so I started to slow. It was a
good thing because a pedestrian stepped out from behind a building and
directly in front of me. He didn't even look as my brakes squealed. He
was probably drunk or stoned, after all it was already 11am.
Anyway, before all that happened I tooled around downtown and looked at
the neat buildings..
This is the Old State House. It's supposed to be really picturesque,
but now it's under renovation.
I don't know what building this is. It sure is picturesque though.
This is the Governor's Mansion.
The governor is some guy named Haley Barbour.
This is the State House.
The First Baptist Church is across the
street from the State House. The good people of Jackson park all over
the capitol grounds on Sunday morning because it is convenient to the
church, and safe.
On the way out of downtown I came across the Greenwood Cemetery. The
historical marker said that seven Mississippi governors are buried
there. I'm a sucker for a historic cemetery, so I rode in and looked
around. It's pretty neat, there are lots of very old graves and
markers. The writer/photographer Eudora Welty is probably the most
famous person buried there. (If you don't know who she was, don't feel
bad, I didn't either).
I walked off the road to get a better look as some interesting looking
markers. As I stepped closer to get a photo, I felt my foot sink into
some soft soil. I looked down and saw that I had stepped on a fire ant
mound. D'oh! I quickly stepped back and got out of there. Amazingly I
didn't get bit, but those ants were really pissed. After that I stayed
on the road.
I almost died for this photo.
I must have really liked this place if I put two pictures in.
After the cemetery, it was just a long grind out of town through some
pretty sketchy neighborhoods.
I found this industrial decay to be surprisingly inspirational.
Those are shopping carts down under the bridge.
Eventually I got within sight of the
Holday In Express and stopped for a cold coffee at the nearby
Starbucks. Then, inside and on the Net to finalize my lodging for the
next week. It looks like I'll probably be camping tomorrow at Rocky
Springs, then into Natchez on Tuesday. From there I'll cross the river
and pick up the Mississippi River Trail. I plan to arrive in New
Orleans on Saturday, so there's not much play in the schedule.
Next
"NatchezTrace Tour 2008" Copyright © 2008 By
Bob
Clemons. All rights reserved.