After a longer than expected breakfast with Don and Lillie, I finally got going at about 9.00 am, chastising myself for not getting away earlier, but at the same time having thoroughly enjoyed the time we had spent chatting around the breakfast table.
After short ride through some beautiful countryside, we entered Little Rock through the back door, having steered away from the busier roads into the Arkansas capital…
They spoke of the additions they had built onto the house since they had bought it many years ago, and how Don had made all the renovations himself. Don told me about the years he had spent on the road, driving big rigs across the country and into Canada, and this was after he retired from law enforcement !!
I told them about the reasons for my decision to ride my bike around the world; the things I had discovered about myself in the process, and the things I had learned by observing the people and cultures I had come into contact with…
The hours sped by, needless to say…
I left their home after a fond farewell, and stayed on the quieter country roads until I reached Little Rock, before getting on the Interstate that would take me right across Arkansas and into Tennessee…
Today there would be no stopping to enjoy the sights, just a long hard grind to get as far as my aching back and shoulders would take me.
Earlier, I had slowly risen from a deep sleep, feeling as though I had been run over by a bus…
I had asked Don to wake me when he got up, which just happened to be at 5.24 am !!
I knew what lay ahead of us and was as mentally prepared as I could be to make the long hard rides in the next two days.
The plan was to get from Alexander in Arkansas to Louisville in Kentucky… A 860 km “pipe-opener” for the massive ride I would need to make the following day !!
I had planned what music to listen to that I knew would keep me awake, and set out to the hard-driving beat of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”… I figured that was as good as any to get the adrenaline pumping…
Shining back at me from the silver side of a truck, was the determined Gypsy Biker…
I had broken the day’s ride into three separate stints, the first to Memphis on the Tennessee border; the second to Nashville; and the third to Louisville in Kentucky, a total of 850 km… I figured if I could get that done today, considering my late start, I would be able to do an even longer run tomorrow…
From here on it was Interstate all the way, and Memphis was our next target.
I rode the 230 km to Memphis in good time, and cruised across the Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi and into town just after 11.00 am…
The Memphis skyline as we cross the Mississippi.
The Pyramid Arena is the 6th largest pyramid in the world, and has hosted bands such as The Rolling Stones, R.E.M., Aerosmith and Bob Dylan.
“I knew it !! Was he hiding in the Jungle Room…??”
I had originally planned to stay over in Memphis because I wanted to visit Graceland, home of the legendary Elvis Presley, but that plan had long ago been laid to rest when we were delayed in New Orleans with a broken drive shaft…
As we cruised past downtown Memphis, I managed to fiddle about with my I-Pod and find the Dir Straits song that I was looking for, turned up the volume and shouted the lyrics into the clear blue morning…
“Calling Elvis, is anybody home,
Calling Elvis, I’m here all alone,
Did he leave the building, can he get to a phone…
Tell him I was calling, just to wish him well,
Let me leave my number, at Heartbreak Hotel,
Oh Love me Tender, Baby don’t be cruel,
Return to sender, treat me like a fool…
Why don’t you go get him, I’m his biggest fan,
You gotta tell him, he’s still the man…
Long distance Baby, I’m so far from home,
Don’t you think maybe, you can put him on…”
I smiled to myself as the song finished with the usual Mark Knopfler flourish, and remembered how much my daughters used to love that song, and sang it in the King’s deep voice too…
Long ago times… Happy times…
Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee and the largest city on the Mississippi River. The city was the birthplace of many music genres, including Gospel, Rock and Roll and Memphis Blues.
Musicians such as Elvis, Roy Orbison, Otis Redding, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Booker T and B.B. King all got their careers started here.
Almost missed the Tennessee sign suspended in the steel girders of the bridge.
There has to be a catch of some kind…
After seeing these signs, I finally made the call…
Our next target was Nashville, 350 km up the I-40, and with thunder clouds building up ahead, I knew that sooner or later we would be riding in the wet…
To while away the boredom, I decided to make a call which I had been itching to, ever since I saw the first road-sign encouraging folks to call for “Travel Info”…
When I stopped to refuel in Mason I made the call…
I waited for the recorded voice to go through all the usual options of weather, traffic etc, and finally punched the number which would connect me with a human. Speaking in my best Pakistani accent, I politely inquired about travel information to Outer Mongolia…
“Which state is that in, sir ?” asked the lady on the other end of the line…
“Well it’s not a state you know… It’s a country, Madam…!!” I replied.
After a long silence she told me she needed more information as she was not picking up anything on her data base…
I kept the poor woman busy for about five minutes before telling her that I had changed my mind and decided to go to Disney World instead…
Just to through another spanner in the works, the rain came down on the way to Nashville…
“Taylor…? Are you in there…? Will they never, ever, ever, ever let you out…??”
By the time we reached Nashville, I was beginning to feel the strain… I had been in the saddle for over 6 hours and still had another 300 km to go before I got to Louisville. I refueled again, having ridden the last three hours without stopping, and took a longer than usual break…
Gritting my teeth, I set my sights on Louisville.
I began looking for places south of Louisville to spend the night, punching possibilities into the GPS to see how far I thought I could ride before my back went into spasms that would make it impossible to continue…
In the end, all this was wasted, as after walking about and doing some stretching, I felt a lot better, and decided to go back to my original plan of getting to Louisville before dark.
We crossed into Kentucky a short while later, and as the temperature cooled, the heat became less of an issue and I was able to ride in relative comfort for another few hours.
We got to the outskirts of Louisville just before darkness set in and I checked into the first Motel 6 I found on I-65, had a shower and then had a quick dinner and a few beers with a young guy who had checked in at the same time as me.
We were both tired from our exertions of the day, (he had been water-skiing with friends) and soon after paying the bill, we headed back to the motel, said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
By the time we crossed into Kentucky, my back and shoulders had long since given up any chance of an early night…
Before I fell asleep, I briefly considered the task that lay ahead the next day. I had made a promise to visit a good friend of David and Mimi’s, who owned a reptile park south-east of where I now lay. This was in the opposite direction to where I should have been riding to, but a promise is a promise, and as I drifted into an exhausted sleep, I accepted the fact that tomorrow was going to be one of those “come hell or high water” days…
©GBWT 2013
Man – you really should have visited Graceland. An hour would have been worthwhile! Anyhow, it may be something to do in the future.
And the GB continues…. Graceland would have been blast, maybe you would have seen the King himself, next time!!!!
Slow down and smell the roses, it feels like you back in Africa, just screaming ahead and forgetting that you need to enjoy the ride!!!!
As always
BIG kisses
K