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| Reid enjoying a taste of Florida in Tennessee |
Coffeeneuring: riding bikes, drinking coffee, seven times, seven places, seven weeks; there's some rules.
Moccasin Bend has been a place of human activity for over 12,000 years. Paleo-Indians hunted and gathered on the peninsula as early as 10500 BCE. In 1838, Mocassin Bend was a part of the Trail of Tears and by the 1960's capitalist industrialism had permanently altered the bend's landscape. The construction of Interstate 24 widened the Tennessee River by dredging off part of the shoreline and pumping water inland, expanding the swampy marshes. Further development added a mental health hospital, a water treatment center, and a golf course sandwiched between the two. The unholy triad of late capitalism continues to operate on this archeologically and culturally significant site and the little nature that is left is preserved by local and national efforts in the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.
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| Reid and Phil talking about life and art |
About the ride: Reid and I met our good friend Phil at the Whole Foods parking lot and spun our way to the Blue Blazes Trail in the woods adjacent the aforementioned golf course. I'm not sure if bikes are allowed on the trail but we walked our bikes passed the one hiker we saw and made coffee on a little "beach" by the Tennessee River.
So many places in the Southeast and across the United States are like Moccasin Bend. Landscapes both banal and beautiful, all sacred and significant cleared, developed, exploited, extracted, forgotten, and haunted by American exceptionalism and capitalism. Only a soul of shallow depth could help but have their imagination captured by the glimpse of what once was.
Despite the somewhat forlorn reflection, it was a nice lil ride with good friends, conversation, and coffee. I am grateful for these rides of slow, purposeful intent.
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| just look at it. |
About the coffee: Our house has been hitting the cheapo coffee pretty hard lately but Becca's sister gifted us some real good fruit forward type stuff from Perc Coffee in Savannah, Georgia. I used the inverted method with a 13:1 ratio and a longer bloom and stir time. It was good but now I know adding a dash of water at the end really opens up the cup and lets the the orange, berry, and graham cracker(!) notes come out. Thanks Laura!
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| This strava segment is titled, "poop loop." |
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