Stage 6 - Victory! (pics and post below)

The horses are in the barn! Wow, what a finish.

The team gathered at Ray Charles' [Stu's] house bright and early Friday, having to readjust to the departure of Ol' Roy and the Goose. Mrs. Charles (a/k/a Royina, a/k/a Beverly) drove the new sag (a Yukon clearly marked with "Team N2N" door magnets), and shuttled the team to Dean's Stand for the final push-off.

At the first stop, MacGyver's bride [Susan] (along with her dad and his two youngest children) showed up for a surprise appearance. The excitement rose a notch. At the second stop, Mrs. Conrad [Beth] made another surprise appearance, substituting her usual day job for an afternoon assisting the sag. Mrs. Feelgood [Reagan] was with Mrs. Conrad, and though her appearance was expected, it added more spring to the collective team step to see the "shebosses" begin to arrive and prepare for the finale. [If you don't know about Sheboss (pronounced "she-boss") then you need to study your Trace history.]

At the next stop, the shebosses laid a final Newk's picnic spread that would have made Roy proud. The clouds began rolling in, making the final 21 miles a race against rain. After looking at a weather forecast a couple of days ago, we posted, "We started this ride in rain, and it may just be fitting to end it that way, too." Well, it did -- sort of. The rain was steady for about 15 miles, but as the team rolled into the last 4 miles, the clouds parted and the sun shown.

Ray Charles [Stu] assembled this pelaton, and he rode from the rear for 4 of the last 5 miles, watching his team approach the finish and surely thinking about how all of his planning had run with precision. Following a photo-op at the "Parkway Ends 1 Mile" sign, Mrs. King Air [Kimberly] drove past us headed to see the finish, and King Air [Scott] turned on an extra jet.

Approaching the finish was bittersweet -- it was the goal, but at the same time the end is something no one really wanted. But if it had to end, it ended in style. Mrs. Charles sagged the team from the end of the Trace all the way down the Natchez Boulevard to the Mississippi River, playing Jerry Reed's "East Bound and Down" as loud as the Yuke allowed. The other shebosses were there awaiting (with a shaving cream finish line), and the team began its celebration.

As we close out the 2008 Tour de Trace, a final thanks to The Bike Rack, Indian Cycle and Newk's, for their support and kind donation of supplies and food. Also, our friend John Noblin deserves many thanks. On the eve of the finale, some of our horses needed some serious adjustments, which he diagnosed and repaired. Thanks, John. Hope to follow it up with a new tour in 2009!

Stage 5 - The End Nears

[Stage 4 was just posted (below), a day late due to the lack of internet at the secluded Greater Kilmichael venue where the team stayed Wednesday.]

Conrad [Tim] is tired, enjoying time at home with the family, resting for the final push, and due at Ray Charles' [Stu's] house at 6:30 a.m., so this will be short.

The team pushed off early and enjoyed the cool weather that comes with that. During the noon hour, the team crested the hill heading into the (old) Craft Center and was greeted by kids, cowbells, and cheers that made the team proud (truthfully, the cowbells didn't make at least 4 team members proud, but I'm sure King Air [Scott], RoRo [Ronnie] and MacGyver [Joel] got a chill thinking about the maroon and white). As usual, Ol' Roy had spread the Newk's feast, but the well-wishers added to it with even more goodies. The team has enjoyed long lunches, but today's was probably a bit longer, for it isn't easy to leave the family you haven't seen in days to head back to the asphalt and heat for another 30+ miles. In addition, Conrad's horse suffered another broken leg (flat), this time the front one, and Bishop's [Keith's] chain decided to take a break, but the team persevered another 30 or so, ending the day at Dean's Stand, just south of the mile 74 marker.

It was a sad day, too. After today's run, the team had to say good-bye to Roy, who is headed back to Missouri after driving the sag and spreading the picnics. Ol' Roy IS part of the team, so we are disappointed he won't see us finish what we started, but he will get a phone call when we circle the Champs Elysee' (or even if we just make it to Natchez). He's been planning S2S for us (Savannah to San Antonio), but the team thinks Roy's dreaming a little too large. Regardless, we'll miss him tomorrow and hope he drives the 2009 sag, regardless of the route.

370 miles down; 74 miles to go.

Stage 4 - Separation Day

Day Four was Separation Day; it was not a day for boys. Headwinds, crosswinds, heat, the accumulation of miles without rest, and miles of rough “grey rock” roads made for a day to grind it out. Though it was not a day for boys, Team N2N is stocked with men, so they persevered for 86 grueling miles, bringing the end close enough to begin firming up plans for the victory lap around the Champs Elysee´ (well, okay, Natchez, but we may close our eyes and pretend). Ray Charles on a Bike [Stu] found a gash on his tire after today’s ride, but The Bike Rack/Indian Cycle’s goody bag included a fresh tire (thanks, guys), and MacGyver performed his second successful surgery of the week.

The reward at the end of the 86 miles was another feast, this time prepared by the Wolfe Creek hunting camp’s resident chef, Jan. Conrad [Tim] has remarked that he may be the first person to ride a bike 444 miles in 5 and a half days and gain weight. This team is well nourished.

Tomorrow (today by the time you will read this), the team travels through The Bold New City – or is it the Crossroads of the South? Whichever, the team spins through Jackson and Ridgeland tomorrow, heading into a familiar stretch of the Trace that served us well during our training sessions. When Ol’ Roy told us the Goose’s first stop Thursday was going to be River Bend, several team members’ ears perked up, for that was the destination for the very first team training session.

Ray Charles has selected the stop formerly known as the Craft Center as the venue for Roy to put another picnic together. We hope to see some sights for sore eyes (and thighs) during the noon hour at the Craft Center.

The weather man in Natchez does not sound as nice as the weather men in Tennessee, Alabama and North Mississippi were. He is making noise about storms on Friday, but he is not going to rain on our parade. We started this ride in rain, and it may just be fitting to end it that way, too. We’ll see. 289 miles down; 155 to go!