If you think of your ultimate bucket-list motorbike ride, I doubt whether many would have heard of what I think ranks as the most phenomenal road on planet earth; The Natchez Trace. Imagine a single beautifully tarmacced road that goes from one end to the other for a whopping 444 miles. That’s 444 miles that never gets boring, simply because it’s far from arrow straight; it curves, meanders and winds its way intoxicatingly across 3 states in southern USA. Mile after mile through woodlands and across open meadowlands without ever coming to a traffic light or even a junction. In other words, if you didn’t have to stop for ‘gas’ you could travel 444 miles without ever braking! Can you imagine that? Or, to put it another way, you could travel 888 miles and only have to brake once: when you reach the end and need to turn around!
So, forget all those endless straight roads out there that you’ve read about, the over-populated French Alpine roads, or even the ever-trendy Route 66 also sought out by many who cross the Atlantic, this one is the daddy of them all.
It is also one of the oldest; it originated as an American-Indian trading route, and having been adopted as a commercial vehicle free holiday route administered by the American Parkway Authorities, there is little to distract you from perfect blacktop with very few fellow travelers. Which means you can stop wherever you fancy with minimal danger of being surprised by a vehicle coming in either direction, or pickups pulling out of drive ways, or slowing to make a tight turn. Private homes do not open out onto the Trace, so for most of the time the road is simply empty and open. Beautiful!
And what a road. Hire a Harley at the Trace’s source in the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee and within less than an hour of leaving the airport, you are out there on your own gently leaning your bike into yet another gorgeous curve.
I stumbled on this road by chance in 2014, and knew I had to go back and do it properly someday. I finally got the chance late in 2019, on a bright, clear day in early November, when the trees were still mostly in leaf and at their most colourful. I did the majority of the journey over one day, with 100 odd miles topping and tailing from the other two days. That wonderful day started with sunrise at 6.00am and ended well into the dark after the sun had vanished over the horizon at 5pm. And I mean vanished: that thing moved faster than a coyote on date night!
Between those hours, every minute was delightful as I raced first into the sun, then with it setting behind me guiding me on the long way back home. Crossing the huge Tennessee river and then on into Alabama and Mississippi provided a sense of the sheer scale of this adventure. And if you wanted to stop for historical sights chronicling the sad clearing of Indians from their native lands, there are enough of those – and picturesque toilet facilities – in equal measure.
My Harley Road Glide also grew on me with every mile. I loved the cruise control, and its Sat Nav was also faultless in finding gas stations before I was worried by my fuel level dropping too low. Harley have made a bike which just works out here in the heartlands of America. It’s comfy and relaxing to ride with a muffled, but not muted exhaust tone that doesn’t leave your ears ringing at the end of the day but still sounds like it should. After all, that’s one reason why you ride one of these – to make some noise. But with this bike, it isn’t just the sound of what comes out of the tailpipes, because built-in speakers enable easy-to-find Bluetooth connections. The result? Hours of my own personal favourites to sing-along to and keep me occupied, which was a first for this happy Brit biker. Plus, it was a relief to know that nobody apart from the odd wild turkey or deer was being disturbed by my playlist – or my singing!
Any drawbacks? Not really. Flights and Hire costs might put you off, but they seem pretty fair, and overnight accommodation can be a bargain by US standards, whilst gas, of course, is cheap as chips. I saw fuel as low as 2 dollars and 15 cents for the whole damn gallon! You might have to watch your speed though. Other cars and pick-ups are travelling at 55-65, but there is a 50mph speed limit the entire way which if you are in the mood will feel a bit slow, and I did get to discuss my speed with the one officer I passed on the whole journey way down in Mississippi. And that’s it!
There aren’t any bars anywhere on the route itself, which means that you can’t pull up and park your Harley alongside others, which is a great part of riding in America, but other than that, if you just love your riding, then you will love this. And as for the locals, well, they can’t help themselves but be helpful and interested once you open your mouth and they hear that English accent. Perhaps that even goes for a hillbilly cop or two. So get your sunglasses and open face helmet on, turn up the music, and get out there! Yeh Ha!!
Jon Bicknell
Revs Motorbikes
