After ten days of biking, we had our first rest day in Knoxville, Tennessee! Eager to explore the city and to meet some of its inhabitants, we decided to volunteer at a local cycling race: The Barley's Cycling Classic. We got up bright and early to meet the race director and help out with registration before the start. It is no secret that the southeast region of the country often gets stereotyped as being a predominantly inactive and overweight population and it was refreshing to see that stereotype broken down by the participants in the race. The participants ranged from novice to very experienced, and the smiles on their faces told us that they were there as much for the competition as they were for the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the cycling community.
After the race began, we were able to explore the downtown area a bit more with the help of Shelagh, one of the volunteers at the race. She led us to the Saturday morning farmer's market, where we were again met with the pleasant surprise of another example of healthy living in Knoxville. We even chatted with a few vendors who were very excited about our message!
After a refreshing rest day of exploring the ways in which the people of Knoxville lead happy, healthy lifestyles, it was time for us to move on across Tennessee. We soon discovered that there is a fairly substantial plateau between Knoxville and Nashville, but we powered up it nonetheless! Three days later, we have made it into Nashville (riding the last ten miles into town along a wonderful bike path, I might add). A little tour of the city and we are ready to keep moving west onto our next adventure!