Southern Happenings

Having a wonderful time; wish you were here.

This will be fairly short as I'm hunting and pecking on the hub's iPad, but I suppose that's better than typing out a post on my phone. Anyway, I have traveled the Greater Memphis Greenline from its farthest point in Germantown to its unceremonious terminus on the edge of Mid-town and east Memphis. The eastern end is absolutely gorgeous with scenic overlooks of the Wolf River and little "learning areas" about the aquifers, local flora and fauna, and history of the Wolf River. The section through Shelby Farms was also picturesque but that trail is in the open unlike the Wolf River's tunnel of trees. The Memphis Greenline proper picks up next to the prison (whee) and continues a straight, tree-lined path next to the north loop of I-240 for about six miles.

I took dozens of pictures during yesterday's short jaunt and today's 20 mile trip to my friends' home in the Cooper Young area (I would have made my goal of cycling to my sister's house, but she wasn't home). Unfortunately, photos will have to wait until I'm reunited with my laptop.

There are a few things I noticed during yesterday's and today's rides. Everybody is ~so~ friendly. Of the hundred or so bikers, joggers, and walkers I passed or overtook, all but a handful smiled, waved, or gave a verbal greeting. Welcome to the south. :) Also? It's ~so~ flat. That's great because there are few hills to climb and that sucks because there are few hills to coast down. I giggled when I saw warning signs for slippery switchbacks -- these signs are plentiful on the Mount Vernon Trail the farther south you go -- but the switchbacks here were gentle and mostly flat curves. Bless.

One of the more fun things to happen today was meeting Cort of FIX MEMPHIS while shopping for a new saddle for my friend Scott at the Highland branch of Peddler Bike Shop. The clerk and I geeked about Memphis' burgeoning bicycle infrastructure and I mentioned I'd been keeping up with the growth via several blogs. He asked which ones I read and I rattled off several of the blogs in the "Memphis Area Blogs" sidebar. He put his hand out and introduced himself. That was pretty damn cool. So, if you've found my blog, hi Cort!

Oh and one more cool thing: I won a Six Corners Wristlet from Po Campo because I posted a picture of the new bike with Po Campo pannier and purse on their Facebook page. Hee!