I'm workin on it

Bicycling From Iowa to Mississippi
Timeframe – 2 weeks
States to Visit – IA, IL, KY, TN, AL, MS
Miles to Cover – 955
Average Miles per Riding Day - 73
Attractions – Baxter Vineyards, Grafton Ferry, Chateau Ra-Ha Winery, Piasa Winery, Piasa Bird, Statue of Robert Pershing Wadlow World's Smallest, Schorr Lake Vineyard, Popeye, Shawnee Winery, Superman Statue, Kentucky Dam, Elk and Bison Prairie, Mini Eiffel Tower, Meriweather Lewis, Oprah Winfrey hometown, and Waterfowl Refuge.

A brief general description of the route:

Mississippi River Trail
The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) is a 10-state bicycling route still in development.
In Illinois, the MRT route consists of trails and bike-friendly roads. Check this website (www.bikelib.org/mrt) for detailed information and a very useful guide.
This route covers about 293 miles of the Illinois portion of the MRT.

Kentucky Connection
After Chester, Illinois I will leave the MRT to crossover to the Natchez Trace. This 342 mile jaunt will pass through western Kentucky and Tennessee. Mostly riding on back roads, a state park and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Land Between Lakes has many miles of old logging roads and scenic back roads perfect for cycling.

Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace Parkway runs in a northeasterly direction, cutting a swath diagonally across the entire state of Mississippi. It cuts across the extreme northwest corner of Alabama, crosses the Tennessee River into Tennessee, and finally ends in the beautiful hills of the Cumberland Plateau southwest of Nashville.
I will be cycling 320 miles of the Trace from north to south beginning south of Nashville and ending in Jackson, MS.

A self-supported multi-day tour of the Natchez Trace is pretty common. Campgrounds and motels are close by most of the way. Besides going near several state parks and private campgrounds, there are several bike-only campgrounds along the Trace maintained by the National Park Service.

The weather in mid June is sure to be quite hot and humid, but after multiple Ragbrai’s, it shouldn’t be anything I can’t handle. Besides, I enjoy the summer, because the days are long and the ride is leisurely. Personally I am just hoping for no rain.