The Hard Way: Our Ride from Nashville to St. Louis

Cortney and I have been taking this trip one pedal at a time. When we started in Washington, we focused on being in the moment and getting to Oregon. When we hit Oregon, it was all about making it to California. At that time, the thought of riding from Nashville to St. Louis was so far off the radar, it was impossible to wrap our heads around. That short-term planning approach worked out fine for most of the trip, so we figured we’d deal with it when we got there.

We underestimated how challenging this part would be.

Everyone faces adversities whether they’re cyclotouring or not. But this stretch has been particularly tough for us. For starters, the ride from Nashville to St. Louis isn’t an established Adventure Cycling route. So if you want to find any cycling blogs, forums, or intel, good luck. Long story short, there were just a metric-ton of unknowns. This cycling route presented many challenges that we’ve experienced before, it’s just that they all happened at once on this stretch. Here are a few of the places and the hurdles we encountered—and overcame—along the way.

Crazy aggressive motorists
Clarksville, TN
We’ve experienced countless other sidewalk-less towns. Areas where drivers have never seen a cyclist or a pedestrian. Places where the roads don’t have shoulders and where people yell, “Get a car!” when you’re crossing the street. (That happened to us in Tupelo, MS.) Clarksville, TN, with all its charm and history was one of those places. We were honked at more times than we can count. There was no shoulder, and the motorist didn’t care and even seemed to show animosity, riding crazy close, oblivious. To play it safe, we rode as smart as possible and walked our bikes when we needed to. It was terrifying.

Lack of fresh produce
Dover, TN
Getting fresh produce in a lot of places is a challenge. Dover, TN, was the last town we hit before entering a beautiful recreation area that would take us into Kentucky. And it was a food desert. Sure, there’s a McDonald’s and a couple of service station convenience stores, but if you wanted to find anything fresh, it was a major undertaking. It seems criminal these communities don’t have access to fresh fruits and veggies. Maybe they grow their own? More likely, they don’t know any different?

Hills, hills, and more hills. (We LOVE hills!)
Land Between the Lakes, KY
If you believe the world is flat, we highly recommend cycling across the country. Other than Louisiana, there are hills everywhere. Louisiana gave us a nice break, but once we headed up the Natchez-Trace, we entered the very beautiful and very hilly Land Between the Lakes. Western Tennessee had given us a few steep teasers, so we were sort of prepared. But the Kentucky hills whipped us back into shape—fast. In order to save our quads, we adjusted our mileage accordingly, embraced the granny gear, and went low and slow to allow our bodies time to adjust.

Extreme weather
Marion, KY
We had a long lovely—and windy—ride along the Ohio River from Grand Rivers, KY, to the ferry crossing at Cave in Rock, where we were supposed to camp. But once we got to the crossing, the ferry was closed due to high winds and tornado warnings. If this journey has taught us one thing, it’s that life is a constant process of accepting things beyond your control.

The ferry didn’t re-open till 6AM the next day and there were no guarantees it was going to happen. If we had a car, the distance wouldn’t be an issue, but we’d already put in 50+ miles of cold, windy, rainy riding. So after catching our breaths and drinking the last bit of our water, we weighed our options. Option 1: Camp in the mud along the river and wait out the wind till the morning. Option 2: Ride 35 miles up to the next bridge to cross and then head 35 miles back to camp. (That’s a lot of miles.) Option 3: Pedal 12 hilly miles to the nearest town and stay in a Bike Church hostel. We opted for option three and everything worked out, but it wasn’t easy. (HUGE thank you to Alex and Debbie at the Bike Church for giving two tired and sweaty cyclists a warm, comfortable, safe place to stay. You guys are awesome!)

Once-in-a-lifetime eclipse
Edwardsville, IL
Being in the area of totality during an eclipse is amazing. And we just happened to be in the area outside of St. Louis by coincidence. The downside? Camping and hotel lodging prices all temporarily skyrocketed. And that meant we had to find accommodations on the fly, which isn’t always easy when you are playing by a script. Planning during this time was a constantly moving target. It’s like sand falling through your fingers. You can’t ever fully get a firm grasp. The big challenge was finding a balance between sticking to the plan and going with the flow. We did it, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. And we were lucky to experience the eclipse.

Rerouting and backtracking
Chain of Rocks Bridge, St. Louis
The day we were riding into St. Louis, we were stoked we didn’t have a lot of mileage to cover. But experience shows us that even if you don’t have a big distance to cover, it can still take you a big chunk of time. This was one of those instances. We crossed the newly renovated Chain of Rocks bridge over the Mississippi River only to discover that the gate was closed on the Missouri side. Not a big deal. We drank water and picnicked. Then we pedaled further down the Illinois side to another bridge. Sure, it added a cool 15 miles to our day, but it was beautiful out, our bikes were running smoothly, we were just fine. It’s all perspective.

Through it all, people on this bicycle trip have been kind and generous and amazing. We’re always dealing with challenges and adversity in our lives, whether you’re caught up in your routine or you’re living a nomadic lifestyle where you wake up in a different place every day. Dealing with it in a way that helps you find balance is what matters most. We know we’re going to have more challenges ahead, but it’s okay. We’re going to be better equipped to handle them and it just adds to the stories we will be able to tell at the end of this crazy journey.