Nashville is where the Natchez Trace begins in spirit, although the parkway itself starts on the southwestern side of the city, near the town of Pasquo, a short ride from downtown. The city sits on the Cumberland River, in a bowl of rolling Tennessee hills, and has been a centre of music since the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting from here in the 1920s. Broadway, the strip of honky-tonks in the middle of town, plays live music from morning till late, and the Ryman Auditorium, a former church with pews that still serve as seating, is one of the most respected small concert halls in the country.
The route south is a different animal altogether. The Trace follows an ancient path that began as a game trail and was used by Native Americans, then by Kentucky boatmen who floated goods down the Mississippi to Natchez and walked home. The modern parkway, administered by the National Park Service, runs for 444 miles to Natchez, Mississippi, and has a speed limit of about fifty miles an hour, no commercial traffic, no billboards, and no stoplights. It is a ride for rhythm and calm, with tree canopies, rolling farmland, and a stream of small historical sites, from Native American mounds to Civil War battlefields. Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, lies about three hundred miles along.
Deer are a serious hazard at dawn and dusk, and a slow, steady pace is the right approach. In autumn the leaves are brilliant, and in spring the dogwoods bloom along the roadside.
Before you go, spend an evening in the city. Hot chicken, a spicy local fried dish, has become the city's signature meal, and the best places have lines out the door. Centennial Park holds a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, built for the 1897 exposition, and it is a strange and wonderful sight under a Tennessee sky. Fuel, hotels and bike shops are everywhere, and the parkway entrance is a short run down the road.