Want "parts and food, without the attitude"?...

If you're cycling through the Nashville area, be sure to check out Krooners!

For what it's worth, Milemarker 444 on the Natchez Trace Parkway doesn't exist.

I'm not talking about the fact that there is no milepost to mark the location. I'm referring to the fact that there simply isn't enough roadway to accommodate 444 miles on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

The official map for the parkway says this:

However, I've traveled the Parkway from start to finish several times. And no matter how I count it, there's no way to reach the 444th milemarker on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

I already wrote about my favorite roadtrip to take on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

My second favorite stretch of roadway along the Natchez Trace Parkway is the part that goes from Highway 96 in Franklin to just past Highway 46 exit in Leiper's Fork -- heading South.

A popular turnaround spot is the Garrison Creek rest area, about a mile past the Leiper's Fork exit.

I'm often asked questions like, "How much bike traffic is there on the Trace?"

And when it comes to motorcycles, cars, trucks & RV's... "How many people drive on the Natchez Trace Parkway anyway?"

The Natchez Trace Parkway map is nice, but it doesn't show all of the stops along the way. It only shows the largest and most pertinent ones -- in the eyes of the National Park Service.

I thought I'd share with you some of the "hidden gems" that can be found along the Trace, most of which are not included on the official map.

The following Natchez Trace Parkway sightseeing locations are numbered in order, as if you're entering the Trace at Highway 100 (Nashville/Bellevue, TN), then heading north and exiting at Highway 96 (Franklin, TN). This route spans just over 5 miles (one way).

Just as it's hard to find gasoline when driving along the Natchez Trace Parkway, it's nearly as difficult to find a restroom -- when you need one!

Here are all of the public restrooms located on the Natchez Trace Parkway -- from the Alabama state line (milemarker 340.1) through Tennessee, all the way to Nashville (milemarker 444).

Shannon Bowers, from Loxley Alabama, lost her only brother, Braden Bowers, in a February 2006 car crash on Interstate 10 in the Florida panhandle.

He swerved to avoid a car, slid across the median into oncoming traffic and was hit by another car. He died instantly.

To draw attention to the need for barriers in medians of four-lane and interstate highways, Shannon Bowers is bicycling the entire length of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Every highway patrolman has said if there had been a median barrier ... my brother would have probably survived," said Bowers. Source