“That’s all I got to say about that…” Forrest Gump
Days 22-24: Monday – Wednesday (11/16-11/18) After Chattanooga, the riding seemed a bit – anticlimatic. Other than some busy roads in and around cities, and especially riding into Knoxville, we rode through more beautiful countryside in the Tennessee River valley. Up and over countless ridges, through some lovely valleys, along rivers, creeks and lakes. It made us want to keep on riding forever. Then the reality of short, cool days, long colder nights led us to realize we were ready to be done. We decided to forego camping the last two nights and just enjoy the ride. And so we did…
Routefinding via Google Maps. We nicknamed the voice “Miss Bossy Pants”. An invaluable tool…mostly. 
Interesting views along the road. 
Sharon stopped to pick up a quarter…we are on a fixed income. 
Sunny lunch spot out of the wind. 
Tennessee River. 
Typical, lovely back road. 
Spooky Old Tree
And so it was, that after 24 days on the road, we closed the circle and arrived back at Knoxville. Along the way we’d spent time spent in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee again. Along the way we covered just under 700 human powered miles. It was almost everything we’d hoped it would.
Some Observations about life on the road (again)….
1. Bicycle touring is awesome! We loved it back then, and after a long hiatus, turns out we love it still. We will ride again….
2. In the spirit of the upcoming Thanksgiving celebration, we are both extremely grateful to be physically able to handle the demands of biking with loaded bicycles over some fairly difficult terrain – day after day. As the years have piled up, and body parts start to wear out, this is not something we take for granted.
3. Many people have commented on this, and we both heartily agree. We are so unbelievably blessed that we both share a passion for adventure.
4. The timing of this trip was somewhat dictated by other events. Somehow, we hadn’t really considered the reality of touring in late October-November. Most days it was dark and cold by 6pm. It was dark and cold until 7am. Even with good books, cards, and downloaded movies, that’s a long time to be tent bound. We could easily have continued on the road but for the long nights.
5. We both LOVED biking in the south and east. The secondary roads are amazing. The terrain is challenging and rewarding. The vast majority of drivers were beyond considerate. Ideal biking.
6. We anticipated some difficulty in finding camping spots. Turned to be more difficult than we imagined. Lots of private property with some ominous warning signs. Still, with some creativity and some generous folks, it is possible.
7. I’m way too judgmental. We had a few negative experiences with aggressively unpleasant folks, which in turn can lead to generalizing and stupid assumptions. On more than one occasion, someone I had prejudged to be a dumb, inbred hillbilly hick turned out to be a kind, thoughtful, enouraging individual. Lesson learned (again).
8. Let go of guilt. For us bike touring means camping. And because we are uber cheap, our default is to free camp. It just about killed us to spend $20 or $30 to stay in a campground. We both felt like we were betraying our cheap, hardcore bicycling ethic by staying in hotels as often as we did (11 nights) Granted, we hadn’t anticipated the bad weather from TWO hurricanes…and we had planned to spend three nights in Charelston, but still… In the end, we were at peace with our decisions. The goal, after all, was to enjoy ourselves. That meant letting go of the self-imposed guilt.
9. With the exception of bringing along a solar charger, we had the gear dialed in. Other than some minor tweaks, it was gratifying to have the bikes and gear figured out so we could just enjoy the biking.
10. We really enjoy meeting people. It is part of what makes bicycle touring such a great way to travel. Loaded bikes are a natural conversation starter, and lead to some amazing connections.
Local biker in Townsend, TN 
Rachel had done a major solo bike ride and was super excited to meet us and help any way she could. 
This couple saved us from deadly traffic and ferried us to the top of tha Smokie mts. 
Warm shower Jaime let us camp on his deck…and take a shower…and gave us excellent back roads suggestions. 
Pastor at Crossroads Baptist church let us camp behind their offices. 
Luke and Katie from Chattanooga. Super cool couple 
Warmshower Susie and husband Glen let us park at their house for 3 1/2 weeks
11. What’s next? We’re always looking for the next adventure. Given the Covid landscape, it still seems highly unlikely that our great Arctic bike adventure will be possible next summer. Our experience with this trip has led us to consider biking around the western U.S. for three, or four, or five months?? And if the border to Canada were to re-open??? Who knows. We do know that as long as we’re able, we’ll be doing much of our traveling via two wheels.
For now, its back to Flagstaff, get some things situated around the house, and get ready for whatever is next. Thanks for joining us virtually on this journey. I’m curious to hear what you think of this slightly different “diary” updates. Until next time…seize the carp!
I’m somewhere between awesome! and uhg! Thanks so much for sharing your trip and thank God for having found a companion that also enjoys biking. For me and Deb it’s Legos. Yes, Legos. What can I say.