Cycling The Tanglefoot Trail in Mississippi.

All right, it's the middle of May and I'm in Mississippi. Today I'm riding the Tanglefoot Trail. The trail starts here in New Albany and I'm heading south to Houston. That's Houston, Mississippi. The Tanglefoot Trail is a 43-mile Hall of Fame rail trail that goes through the foothills of the Appalachians and cuts right through the Mississippi Hills National Heritage area. I'm starting here at the gateway in New Albany, the Union County seat. New Albany is a fair and friendly city of about 7,600 people. Founded in 1840 on the Tallahatchie River between Memphis, Tennessee and Tupelo, Mississippi. The downtown area is fixed up real nice and looks to be thriving. I love the big painted murals on the buildings here. This trail is rich in history and small town charm. I'm going to spend two days on the Tanglefoot riding it there and back again in pieces. A fine rail trail in the very bike-friendly area of Mississippi. I'll see you down the trail. It's a cool crisp morning here in Mississippi and I'm off to an early start. The trail is about 43 miles. I'm going to go about halfway and then turn around and tomorrow finish the trail. The Tanglefoot Trail is paved all the way and looks like they maintain it well. They've got a fresh coat of asphalt sealer on the trail which keeps moisture out of the cracks. That prevents freezing and it keeps the trail from breaking down. The trail is tree-lined most of the way, traversing an agricultural area that grows cotton, corn and soybeans. It's a pretty area with forests, fields and wild critters all along the way. There are plenty of fixed up old rail trestles that cross over small creeks. The trees provide plenty of shade as I'm sure in the summer it can get pretty hot down here. They also provide a good wind block which I like. I saw a thicket of bamboo next to the trail but no panda bears. There are plenty of rest stops with park benches, picnic tables and rain shelters. The sign here says go out and play. Good advice. I like that kind of thinking. About six miles south of New Albany the trail goes through the town of Ingimar. The site of the Ingimar Indian mounds which dates back about 2,000 years. It's thought to be the oldest human settlement and was now Union County. There are four whistle stops along the trail complete with water, bathrooms and plenty of parking. There's a 10 to 15 mile an hour wind out of the south so I'm going to have a headwind on the first half of today's ride but when I turn around I'll have a nice tailwind all the way back. Just the way I like it. About five miles south of Ingimar on the Little Tallahatchie River is the town of Ekru another whistle stop with lots of small town charm. Grab a bite to eat or visit the old-timey looking hardware store on the main strip right through town. There are lots of road crossings on the trail so you really need to watch out for cars because it looks like they don't even slow down. Kildeers are birds with a strange habit of laying their eggs not in a nest but right on the ground camouflaged in gravel. It doesn't look safe to me but Mother Bird is vigilant and territorial. She sure didn't like me being so close to her eggs. I feel safe knowing that the Pontotoc deputy sheriffs are patrolling the trail in golf carts. Pontotoc is a good-sized town with plenty of services for hungry and weary travelers. Pontotoc is the Pontotoc county seat. Pontotoc is a Chickasaw word meaning land of hanging grapes. There's a nice park here in town with cool murals and bike sculptures decorating the place. There's also a nice spacious pavilion fixed up for concerts and recreational purposes. I was told that the area experienced some big storms this spring and that there were downed trees along the trail. Looks like the maintenance crew's already been here to clean up the trail. All right here I am at Algoma about 23 miles south of New Albany. This is my turnaround point. This is as far as I'm going for today. I'm going to turn around ride back to New Albany and finish the catch down the trail. Algoma is a small town of about 700 people and at least one friendly dog. He greeted me here at the local whistle stop. I'm not sure if he's on the town payroll or not but he sure should be. Maybe he just works for tips and treats. Good doggy. All right this is day two on the Tanglefoot trail. I stayed last night in New Albany but today I'm starting in Algoma. I'm going to head south to Houston turn around come back and I'll be done with the trail. Looking a little bit cloudy today. They're calling for about a 10% chance of rain. I hope I stay dry. Well see you down the trail. All right here I am on the Tanglefoot headed toward Houston. Started off a little bit cloudy but it looks like the sun is trying to come out. Clouds are breaking up. See little patches of blue sky and golden rays of sunshine. All right it's going to be a good day. Just going to Houston today. I'm going to turn around go back to Algoma and be done. Welcome to Mississippi. The next whistle stop heading south is in a small town called New Hulka. Old Hulka started as a fur trading post in the 1700s. Prior to the Civil War cotton was king and the plantation owners here got pretty wealthy. I love the old-timey fire engine. I just hope there's no fires here today that need putting out. As with most rail trails there's lots of old industrial infrastructure left to rust along the trail. This is the south so try not to get tangled up in all the kudzu. Smile marker one must be getting close to the end. A long time ago before Columbus this historic trail was traveled by Native Americans. The first European explorers were led by Hernando de Soto in the 1540s. The trail was once part of the original Natchez Trace and was traveled by Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame in the early 1800s. Later in the 1850s the corridor became part of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad with the help of William C. Faulkner, the great-grandfather of famous Nobel Prize winning author William Faulkner. The trail is named after the tangle foot, a steam engine that rode these rails in the late 1800s. It had a unique wheel arrangement that gave it a tangled foot appearance as it moved down the track. The rail line changed hands several times and eventually became part of the Illinois Central Railroad in 1972. In 2003 the line was deemed unprofitable and abandoned. In 2008 the state of Mississippi was granted money for the development of a rail trail. Construction of the trail was completed in 2013 and was open to hikers and bikers in September of that year. If you ever get down here to Mississippi make sure you ride the Tanglefoot Trail. So yeah, the Tanglefoot, put it on your list. At the south end of the trail is the town of Houston, the Chickasaw County seat, home to about 8,000 residents. Houston is located just a few miles off the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444 mile historic and scenic road that nearly bisects the entire state of Mississippi. It's well worth checking out. I'm in Houston and this is the end of the trail. So I'm going to turn around here in Houston and head back to my car parked in Algoma, then I'm going to head home. There's lots of history and old-timey small town charm. This cool Hall of Fame Rail Trail is well worth checking out and I highly recommend it. The trail surface is excellent and it's very well maintained. You can tell the people from Mississippi take great pride in the Tanglefoot Trail. So I just want to say thanks to all the folks from Mississippi for making this Tanglefoot Trail. What a nice trail. Well that's it for me here in Mississippi riding the Tanglefoot Trail. Thanks for watching. Now go ride your bike.