Cycle 51 Miles to Prentiss, MS

Reet hops off her bike to get a picture of a begging emu
Wednesday, April 21, early this morning we watch a 70-something RVing couple go round and round the RV Park. He's running and she's power walking for about an hour. Both have very strange arm positions; she's holding a towel like a Southern belle with a hankie and he's holding his sweat rag in a Heil Hitler position and facing all four directions. Very weird but I admire their fitness routine. They are both in good shape but are wearing short shorts on this chilly 51-degree morning. They both end up working up a sweat and using those towels.

We eat a hearty breakfast and hit the road at 10:30. It was fairly easy to lift both bikes and the rack and put them back on the truck hitch. I didn't need my stool I was going to use as a resting box. We go north on the trail at 10:50 a.m. against the wind. Only a minute or two north of Sumrall we pass two older ladies on big balloon tire bikes with no gears. More on them later but I was thinking they were just out for a couple of miles near Sumrall. A few minutes later we see a deer jump off the trail into the woods. I paced myself on the first two-mile grade this time. We took our first, and only, break between Sumrall and Bassfield at the emu farm. I took pictures through the fence and fed trail mix to this awkward looking birds. There was also a pair of llamas, or are they alpacas? I don't know how to tell the difference.

Just give me a piece of the trail mix already!

The restaurant on the trail in Bassfield is open today. We check out the hours after a short break and pictures of a church and the water tower at the Trail Head. The place is only open until 2:00. It's 12:45 now and we can't get back here from Prentiss by then so the snacks I packed will have to last 4.6 miles to Carson. We zoom past our old mark from Monday and head into new territory. At the Carson Trail Head a guy is cutting grass on a riding mower and ruins our peace and quiet. A young gal is pacing up and down on the trail in front of the restrooms carrying on a cell phone conversation and airing lots of personal issues.

Love those feet!

We hop back on our bikes and to our delight it is completely downhill from Carson to Prentiss-about six miles. My elation was curbed knowing we have to cycle back up when we turn around. s There is nothing visible to eat from the Trail Head at Prentiss so rather than adding miles to our trip we eat our PB&Js at the turn around and take a 25 minute break. If we make it back we can say we rode the entire Longleaf Trace!

Bob calls me over to get a picture of the llamas

There's nothing left to do but face the hill. It turns out not to be too bad as the grade is 1 or 2 percent. Before our first break on the way up the hill we see those two older ladies coming from the opposite direction towards us. We can't believe they almost outpaced us to make it to Prentiss from Sumrall. We don't know whether to be impressed or depressed. They couldn't have taken many breaks. Not bad for 55 to 65 year olds on those bikes. We're inspired to forge on despite the hill. We saw no one else on the trail so far until two firefighters (a guy and a gal) pass us while we take a break halfway up the hill. They came from Prentiss and we never see them again. A little dog chases us as we head up the hill. I barely have enough leg strength left to outrun that little guy.

Quaint church in Bassfield, MS

We take another rest at Carson and make it back to Ward's (a cheap local burger joint chain here) near Bassfield. An older local guy is walking in as we dismount. He's here for the 39-cent coffee mug refills. He asks Bob how far we're going. Bob says "Oh, about 50 today." His eyebrows shoot up and he yells "Miles!?" We splurge on soft serve cones and a diet Coke. Those cones for $1.29 are ten inches high! Yikes, I almost fell asleep eating that much dairy.

Last time we had our lunch at this pretty spot in Faler Park in Bassfield

We make it back quickly with the wind at our backs and downhill most of the way. Even with our stop to feed the emu (one wouldn't let the other one near the fence) we still got back in good time. Three huge dogs were running loose in a pack and gave us a scare but they didn't pursue. Whew! We get back to Sumrall by 6:05-six hours and fifteen minutes and 51.25 miles after we started. We get a newspaper and head home for leftovers. It's 6:05 p.m. and 77 degrees with 28% humidity-perfect cycling weather. The high was 78.

Proof that we made it the entire 40 miles of Longleaf Trace from Hattiesburg on one end to Prentiss on the other

Cycle 30 Miles Longleaf Trace

Saturday, April 17, I'm up at 6:45 and spend the morning reading John McEnroe's "You Cannot Be Serious." After breakfast we head to Sumrall, MS, to ride Longleaf Trace, a 10 to 14 foot wide paved trail that winds over 40 miles between Prentiss and Hattiesburg. This is Mississippi's first Rails-to-Trails effort and was dedicated in June 2004. There is also an equestrian trail adjoining the bike trail that runs for 23 miles. We start in the middle third near Sumrall where we find a cute trail head.

Bob wishes he was fishing Beaver Pond

On our first ride we go east towards Hattiesburg as it is the shorter of the two directions. There is a screened overpass over I-59 and tunnels under 38th Ave. and 7th St. Much to our surprise the first 1 and 1/2 miles are a slight incline; 1 to 2 percent grade. Wow! It has been awhile since we did anything but flat. The area is gorgeous with every hardwood tree imaginable. We'd love to ride here in the fall. Dogwood blooms are all over the ground; we just missed them. The weather is gorgeous today. We take our first break around five miles at Beaver Pond. Another couple around our age coming from the opposite direction stops for the view as we are leaving.

Lily pads cover Beaver Pond

It is odd that electric golf carts are allowed on this trail. But they must pull off and stop if anyone passes in either direction--weird. We see a collage age couple in a golf cart and their parents following in another. They obey the rules and pull over and come to a complete stop as we pass them in the other direction.

We love the snazzy cup holders on the benches at the rest stop--more on these innovative convertible bench/tables later

I love this trail as there are restrooms and water every five miles! We cycle all the way to the eastern end at Gateway Southern Miss on Ole Miss campus. We go in the bike rental place for a trail map. When we ask the old gent behind the counter where to eat in town he seems surprised to find we are on our bikes. How weird in a bike shop. He tells us to go back to the first underpass, walk up the embankment and eat the best burger in MS at Mug Shots. I told him we could smell them cooking as we cycled by.



Instead we have our PB&J and fruit at the Trail Head. They are building new dorms right next door. It is a huge complex that we saw in the newspaper to the tune of $30 million. After our snack we cycle back 15 miles for a total of 30.25 miles in 3 and 1/2 hours. It was WAY FUN having hills to go down. Of course there is some 'up' too. We see lots of people on the way back. The guys on racing bikes have a funny wave on this trail.They stick one hand down as they pass by.

At several points along the trail the trees are identified with huge signs. We have heard of many and there are also quite a few we aren't familiar with. It helps pass the time as the miles fly by.



I have to hop off on the way back to take a picture of Old Glory strung across the Trace. I little further on I hop off again to take a picture of a big cedar tree on the side of the trail that local folks have started decorating like a Christmas tree. We enjoy the nice rest stops along the way but we find that if the trash can lid has blown away that stop will be swarming with bumble bees that won't leave you alone.

One of many rest stops along the trail

We're both glad to be back to the truck. Fortunately the last part is downhill and we really get to fly into the station. We put the bikes on the truck and drive to Lau-Tori's on Hwy 42 West in Sumrall near the trail head. What a great place. It is busy and everyone here knows each other. Most have just come from a funeral and they are all going to a local baseball game this afternoon. Sumrall is in the finals of their local leagues and it's a big deal.



We have one of the specials of the day--Catfish Jolie (grilled catfish with crawfish/mushroom sauce over pasta, a salad with a heavenly thick honey mustard dressing and cornbread hush puppies. We'll be back. On the way home we get a Hattiesburg paper at Chevron. The high was 82 after a low of 60. A Cardinal 5th wheel pulls in curbside. They are from Robinson, TX, and are heading back there after spending two weeks in Florida for a high school reunion. He seemed very nice and upbeat as I chatted with him. His wife appeared to be a stroke victim who lost her speech and walks with help from him. My heart goes out to both of them.

Our lunch stop at Gateway Southern Miss in Hattiesburg

The campground beagle, who I call Hattie, is still shy and will not come up to me. A Class A from Florida pulls in streetside. I go for a walk, stretch, get cleaned up and we have our Four Bean Turkey Soup. It's 7:48 p.m. and 76 degrees with 41% humidity.





Volunteer Christmas Tree