by Breck Riley, with Breezynews.com
NATCHEZ, Miss.–The first annual Natchez Trace 444 Ride is coming to the historic National Park this weekend.
The ride will begin in Nashville at 6 p.m. Friday and cyclists, traveling solo or in teams of 2 or 4, will have 44 hours to arrive in Natchez.
To put that time into perspective, a trip from Nashville to Natchez along the Natchez Trace in a vehicle would take approximately 8 hours and 35 minutes according to Google Maps.
The 444 ride is similar to the annual Tour D’Attala Little Mountain Ride, but on a grander scale. Both rides are used to promote cycling safety on the Natchez Trace and both help benefit the Gary Holdiness Cycling Fund.
In fact, the 3-time winner of the Little Mountain Ride, Scott Kuppersmith, will be participating in the 444 Ride.
Joining Kuppersmith will be riders from 12 different states and 2 different countries.
“We’ve got an incredible field,” said 444 Ride Director George Thomas. “There are some really, really strong riders out there.”
Thomas says that he has wanted to be a part of a ride like this since he first visited the Natchez Trace in 1993. Thomas will be visiting Kosciusko today (Wednesday) before traveling to Nashville to begin the final preparations for the race.
