Day 7: Crossville, TN to Sparta, TN

Tues. 9/4/07
33.62 mi
1,448 ft cumulative climb
3:28 hrs ride time
9.6 mph avg
95 F

I'm still on Hwy 70 heading towards Nashville and decided to spend the night in Sparta. I was feeling kinda sore this morning and my body was telling me to rest. Traffic is still light. This is turning out to be a pretty good route.

The most interesting thing I saw today was a squirrel that appeared to be flattened in the road and then I saw it move. It seemed to be fine and looking for something till a car came by, then it would flatten itself out again. I stopped to take a picture when I realized I might be increasing the chances of it getting run over. Me being on the side of the road and it in the center, cars might vier to the center to avoid me. So, as soon as I took a picture and the cars cleared, I rode to the middle of the road to scare it off the road in case it was too scared to move. It just flattened itself out and moved over slightly when I nudged it with my foot. I decided to ride off to the side of the road and leave it there. It immediately went back to looking for something, till cars came by again then it would flatten itself again near the middle of the road. I couldn't tell what it was looking for. What a dangerous way to live. I don't have the ability to upload images tonight. I'll add the picture later.

The temperature peaked at 107 F, but because of low humidity, it was very tolerable. The cold is still bothering me. I hope a short day will help.

Sparta is very Spartan like. Of the three hotels I could find, only one looked decent, The Royal Inn and it was over priced. The other two looked like they should be torn down.

This evening, while in the lobby to use the computer (Win98), I met a motorcyclist who was English. He came over here to ride the Trans America Trail. I assumed he was talking about the same one I was familiar with and I said I might ride north from Little Rock to ride a section too. Pretty soon it became apparent he and I were talking about two different trails. I'm familiar with the one mapped by the Adventure Cycling Association. He described a trail of dirt roads made up of public lands connected coast to coast. Visit transamtrail.com to learn more about the motorcycle route.

Just looking back while taking a break

Just a ranch

The same ranch. These cows were near the fence when I stopped and bolted to where they are now before I could get the camera out and take this shot. I was surprised by how fast they can move.

The Squirrel. This is the only photo I took.

A video I found of a squirrel showing the same kind of behavior.

An overlook just past where I saw the squirrel. This was the most scenic view of today's ride.