Baker, LA - Fri 3/30

Today we crossed the Mississippi River and had three flat tires.

We hesitated to leave our motel because rain was forecast, but the ground was dry so we took off.  We started with breakfast at Piggly Wiggly.  A small chunk of glass let the air out of our rear tire at mile three requiring a 15 minute patch job.

After a jambalaya lunch at "Not Your Mama 's Café" we found our tire flat again.  We replaced the patch.  (Note to self: never use Scab patches again.)  When we finished patching
and were almost ready to go, rain started pouring for about two minutes.  We were glad to be under an awning.  It never rained again all day.

We rode past lots of swampland and eventually crossed the Mississippi River on a big suspension bridge.  But about 8 miles before our destination our tire went flat again, this time apparently because of a pinch.  I gave up on patches and just replaced the tube.  Two people stopped on the freeway to offer help.

Miles: 66.8  Average: 12.0

Photos:
Mississippi River.
Breakfast at Piggly Wiggly.
Fixing the first flat tire.
Louisiana swamp.
Not Your Mamas Café.
Not Your Mama 's Café.
Fixing the second flat tire.
Fixing the third flat tire.

The truth from Ruth:  We saw some really dilapidated shacks today that I could hardly believe were inhabited.  I guess there is a lot of poverty here.
Jeff's sister used to live in Louisiana, and told us that there are alligators in the standing water along the roadsides.  We've spent a lot of time scanning the water for them, but haven't seen any yet.  Apparently, they are hard to spot.

Simmesport, LA - Thur 3/29

Rain!  It was predicted off and on for the next few days until Tuesday so we considered just waiting in Oakdale until it went away.  But the morning looked foggy and dry and Oakdale had nothing going on so we decided to just take our chances and move on.  About an hour before we got to Simmesport the rain started and we arrived at the motel wet.

We met a couple of cross country bikers going the other way.  "J and J" recommended that we camp instead of staying in Simmesport's motel.  The neighborhood is not the best and the motel's a dump, but it's better than camping in the rain.

One of our friendly neighbor families was sitting outside their motel room with a big box of cooked shrimp.  They gave me my first taste of Louisiana shrimp.  It's pretty good.  They are refugees from Hurricane Katrina who never returned to their New Orleans home.

We passed through some beautiful areas.  I just can't get used to the houses with 5 acres of front lawn.  Sometimes the driveway is so long that it has a street name.

We saw some dead armadillos and lots of other roadkill but still no alligators.  We took a break at the Bayou Express gas station.

Miles: 70.2  Average: 12.2

The truth from Ruth:  We have seen some spectacular houses today.  They are mixed in with not-so-nice homes, so the neighborhoods don't seem to be very homogenous.  Most of the houses have large porches with benches, chairs, or swings.  We saw quite a few people on their porches today, and most of them waved to us.
I especially liked the town of Cottonport, with its river going along next to the road, and many lovely homes on the other bank.

Oakdale, LA - Wed 3/28

After two long days we decided to take a short 42 mile ride today to rest up.  We got to Oakdale and checked into our motel, then rode down to the Leatherwood Museum.  While we were inside, the rain started pouring.  We picked up some food on the way back the motel but got rather wet.  This is the first time we've been really rained on.

We haven't seen any alligators yet but the mosquitoes have been fierce.  The museum guy said this is an especially bad mosquito season due to too much rain causing the rivers to overflow.  So we'll probably be staying in motels instead of campgrounds.

Miles: 49.9  Average: 11.9

The truth from Ruth:  I'm disappointed that now that it's warm enough to camp, the mosquitos are so bad.  I've got a lot of bites already and we haven't even tried to camp.  We've seen some gorgeous campgrounds too.  Oh well.
I felt like a wimp wanting to stop after only 40-some miles, but I was really glad when the rain was pouring down on us.  It was actually nice in a way to get wet, because I had been so hot and sticky.

DeRidder, LOUISIANA! - Tue 3/27

Today we left Texas and entered Louisiana!  It seems like we have been in Texas forever.  The day was warm and overcast and the terrain was mostly flat so we logged a lot of miles again.  We've completed just over 2000 miles (map miles) and have just over 1000 miles to go.  I suggested doing shorter rides but Ruth said she prefers the satisfaction of long rides.  She's become quite a tough biker!

We tried something different today.  We had lunch twice.  The goal was to  complete our ride without being starving and weak from lack of food.  So first we stopped at Sonic for lunch and then later we stopped at a picnic area for peanut butter sandwiches.  It worked pretty well.  Now I need to work on drinking enough to stop getting dehydrated.

Miles: 91.1  Average: 12.6

Kountze, TX - Mon 3/26

Many miles today.  The weather is clear and warm.

Margo dropped us off in New Waverley on her way to town.  She made us some fresh green juice before we left so we are loaded with vitamins now.

We rode through a lot of Texas forest land and a few small towns.  The terrain was gentle hills or flat so we made good time although we wasted 5 miles on a wrong turning at Coldspring.  After 70 miles we were getting tired so we stopped in Thicket to camp at the RV park.  But it looked deserted and the manager wasn't at the park so we continued on to Kountze and found a motel.

We met at Canadian family biking across the country the other direction.  They had two tandems and two boys aged 11 and 8.

Miles: 94.4  Average: 12.9

Photos:
Tandem family.
Texas highway today near Pumpkin, TX

New Waverly, TX - Sun 3/25

Church in Huntsville was great.  We always feel like we're among family
wherever we attend an LDS service.  Afterward, Johnny and Margo Adams, our
new friends, invited us to stay at their home.  So, we threw our bike in
their pickup truck, checked out of our motel, and moved to their house.
They live in a nice, red brick house about a half-mile down a dirt road
deep in the Sam Houston National Forest on 4 acres with their dog, Buddy, 2
cows and 3 chickens.  They grilled some delicious steaks from their cow,
Red, that they butchered last year, and we ate on their deck.  It's like a
corner of paradise surrounded by tall trees.

On the way we stopped to see the 67 foot tall statue of Sam Houston.  That
is impressive.  We also got a shot of us among the beautiful Blue Bonnets,
the state flower.

Photos:
67' Sam Houston.
Blue Bonnet flowers.
Ruth, Johnny, and Margo.
The Adams' house.