Tag: Southern Tier

Tom created a route using Ride with GPS on his phone, synched it to our Garmins, and it guided us safely back to our route where we hooked up at Audubon Park in the New Orleans Garden District.

However before we left Metarie Larry took us to 7am Mass at St. Catherine of Siena (first time riding in a car since San Diego) where Tom and I heard one of the most compelling homilies about the fourth commandment. The priest’s delivery and content were 💯 After Mass, Larry introduced us to Fr. Andrew and I had to ask… “Father, how old are you? ‘Cause I’d vote for you if you ran for president.” He laughed and said that he was 29 years old. Well dang… not old enough. Before our goodbyes he gave us a blessing.

Friends, it seems like it took us a long time to get here but we DID make it to New Orleans, aka, NOLA, The Big Easy, The Crescent City and more. And we rolled in on a perfectly sunny Sunday morning. We’d both been here before when we ran the Mardi Gras Marathon so it was fun to see some familiar sights. We agreed NOT to wait in line at Cafe DuMond for a beignet. Nope! We did however score some freshly made doughnuts in Bernard Parish at Gerald’s Donut House and some fresh brewed coffee to soothe our crawfish hangover. 🤣

There are lots of pics of NOLA in the vid below. What we really enjoyed however was getting out of town and riding through The Rigolets and among the marshy areas of eastern Louisiana. There’s so much water with egrets, herons and osprey to watch as we cycled by.

We road into Pearlington and grabbed a couple of burgers and tots at a local place on the water just a mile from our campground.

And when we got to our campground, sure enough the owner was there with his 23 year old cockatoo ready to show us all of Mozart’s tricks.

I think Tom kinda got attached to Mozart.

And oh yeah… we’re in Mississippi now!

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#SD2KW, Day 44, Gramercy to Metarie, 51 Miles | Crawfish Cravins’

Our destination for the day was Metarie, just five miles or so outside of New Orleans. We met Larry in Nebraska while running one of our 50 state marathons. We again met in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and have kept track of each other on Facebook ever since.

When he found out we’d be riding through New Orleans he reached out and invited us to stay with him. Honestly, it didn’t take much convincing, even though it was five miles off route on Lake Pontchartrain. We couldn’t wait to reconnect with our fellow 50 state marathoner bud.

Lake Pontchartrain is… well, it’s huge. And impressive. When riding up over the levee and getting a first glimpse, especially on a bike, it’s unforgettable.

After ensuring our bikes were secured, Larry’s primary concern was seeing to it that we didn’t get out of Louisiana without eating fresh boiled crawfish. Soooo… he presented us with 10 pounds of crawfish and quickly gave us an inservice on how to eat them. The main conundrum? To suck or not to suck the head end once the critter is torn in two. Watch the vid to find out. #NoSpoilerHere

We had a grand time sitting on the balcony of Larry’s condo overlooking Lake Pontchartain, eating crawfish and catching up.

Just when we thought we’d had enough, he cooked up some etouffee. I’m telling you; he knows his way around the kitchen. Our stomachs were full, our hearts warmed and our lips were on fire but we were happy.

We got to taking about the route we took to get to Metarie and Larry said, “Oh Cancer Alley?” What? And then it clicked. I remembered Mike and Sue mentioning the same in their blog. Apparently the 85 mile stretch along the river between Baton Route and New Orleans (the stretch we’ve enjoying so much the last couple days) contains over 200 refineries and petrochemical plants and accounts for 25% of the petrochemical production in the United States. I didn’t count them as I passed them but I’ve never seen so many refineries and such.

But back to Larry… we can’t think of a better way to leave Louisiana than spending time with this man who lives large in his Catholic faith and exemplifies the kindness we have met in Louisiana.

Watch out Mississippi… here we come!

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#SD2KW, Day 43, Baton Rouge to Gramercy, 57 Miles | Levee or Leave It

Today’s ride was all about the levee along the Mississippi River. Although it was only the first 16 miles it’s what Tom and I remember most about the day. And those cool temps, clear skies and that tail wind were pretty unforgettable as well. No traffic up there on the levee and there was always something to look at. Nice to get the Cuttys rolling on dirt too.

Our first stop was the Louisiana State University campus and a quest to find Mike, their Bengal Tiger mascot. Mission accomplished!

Then it was back to the levee for some of the sweetest riding this trip. The miles sped by.

We stopped for lunch at the landing near the historic Houmas House as Tom had a foil wrapped cheeseburger in his frame bag calling his name. And what? … a cruise ship on the Mississippi River? Never heard of such a thing.

At the landing we chatted with a nice family driving from El Paso to West Virginia. We were thinking, dang that’s a long drive for them but then we thought… heck we rode our bikes through El Paso! Meet Dylan (in the rad T shirt), Doug and Denise. Super nice peeps!

Our goal was to get to the town of Lutcher at 4pm to meet our Warmshower host before he left for his church men’s group. Not long before Lutcher we met Jerry from Cincinnati and his brother Jeff from Columbus, westbound on the Southern Tier route. We swapped ride intel and they gave us the good news that the bridge over the Pear River is passable for bikes (not cars) meaning we won’t have a 117 mile detour to contend with. Also apparently there is a talking parrot in an RV park past Pearlington we just have to meet. Wishing these guys well – especially on a day of headwinds for westbounders. #ouch

Once at our warmshower, we had a nice chat with Jerry (who goes by Dewaine). He and his wife, Stephanie have done missions work all over the world. He is the founding pastor of his Pentecostal church here in Lutcher and he was a joy to talk to. Built like a lumberjack but with the heart of a shepherd, if we return to Lutcher, we want to hear him preach. And he gave me a couple of book reccs! I’m always down for those. 😉

Almost to NOLA!

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#SD2KW, Day 42, New Roads to Baton Rouge, 39 Miles | The Mighty Mississippi

We got our first real glimpse (on this bike tour anyway), of the mighty Mississippi River. She’s both grand and wide and changed significantly over the years. Levees are built to try to control her, however at times she seems to have a mind of her own as she seeks to explore new banks. (Love this metaphor for us women folk) 👯‍♀️

We also got our first glimpse of industrial Louisiana just outside of Baton Rouge. Woof. Let’s just say the roads here could use a little patching. Peddling in traffic was also a bit arduous. We got ‘er done though!

As Tom mentioned yesterday we are in a “hop, skip and jump” mode through Baton Rouge and New Orleans because of their proximity, places to stay and navigating through metropolitan areas so we are enjoying some low mileage days.

Since Thursday is our traditional date night we took advantage of a shorter ride day to walk the Mississippi River levee, visit the local brewery, chat with the locals and scoop up some food truck sammies.

While walking along the Mississippi, Tom and I saw the USS Kidd, a destroyer launched in 1943. She is named after Rear Admiral Issac Kidd who died on the bridge of the USS Arizona in the Pearl Harbor attack and the first Rear Admiral to be killed in action.

The USS Kidd also flies a pirate flag (skull and crossbones) and the only naval vessel authorized to do so. She was known as one of the “Pirates of the Atlantic and Pacific” and at the request of Rear Admiral’s widow, the Jolly Roger still flies aloft.

Well the mister is sitting across from me submitting all of our tax forms, on his phone. Taxes still need to be done, even while bike touring. 😂 It still fascinated me how much technology allows us to do. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing I suppose.

On our way out of Baton Rouge we’re looking for a tiger. Stay tuned…

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#SD2KW, Day 41, Simmesport to New Roads, 46 Miles | Mapping Our Ride

Waking up in a tent at the back of a truck plaza is an opportunity to meet your new neighbors.

After chatting with the owner of this 75 foot trailer we went inside Maddie’s and were delighted to meet a group of lovely ladies enjoying each other’s company and ours.

Mr. Maddie was bringing out jars of figs he wanted us to try (his mother in law’s recipe) and boudin, a sausage type of thingy that is stuffed with rice, peppers, onions, seasonings and meat. It was delish! Finally Tommy Maddie brought out a loaf of freshly baked garlic bread for us to take on our bikes. These people know how to eat and give.

A few followers have been asking how Tom chooses destinations and places to stay. He does all that and I’m grateful. Here’s how it all goes down:

This is our third cross country bike tour and we have always purchased Adventure Cycling maps. AC has mapped out routes all over the USA. We are currently riding the Southern Tier route (San Diego to St Augustine) and will jump on the last map (500 miles) of the Atlantic Coast route.

We have purchased the paper maps which we use for planning a few days out. They list the route with mileage, towns, services in towns (i.e. hotels, camping, stores, etc). We also download the gpx maps that we use on our Garmins as they give us turn by turn directions and tell us “off course” if we make a wrong turn.

Each night we sit down and do a route rap looking at the paper maps, mapping out the next couple of days and make adjustments if today’s ride was shorter or longer depending on tailwind/headwind/rain, etc.

We usually try to plan a ride on average of 60-80 miles a day depending on wind forecast, elevation ups/downs and actual towns coming up on route that offer services like camping, lodging, etc.

Many small towns we ride through have no services at all. We usually look to camp first to keep costs down, but grab a motel/hotel if a shower/laundry is needed. After we choose a goal town for next day, I get on Google Maps to do my research of that town and route.

The Adventure Cycling maps were created in 2018 and may not be up to date. For example, the maps might show camping in an RV park however many RV parks don’t allow tent camping any longer. The map might show a market during our ride. We show up and the market has been closed for quite a while. I do a lot of reading on google reviews on upcoming motels/campgrounds/restaurants to get a feel of where we should stay/eat. Finally I consistently write reviews on places we visit to help future travelers.

Another resource we have used in the past and are starting to use again in New Orleans, is Warmshowers. I log in and search on a location and all Warmshowers pop up in the area. This is a site for touring bicyclers. Deb and I are Warmshower hosts if anyone comes through Indy. We have a room for them to sleep, shower to use, laundry if needed. We will cook a meal for them and maybe a beer or two and sit around and get to know them and hear all their traveling stories. They email us during their ride to see if we are available to host on a certain date.

We are riding through NOLA on Friday and I emailed Jerry. He can host us Friday night. Jerry and his wife are avid cyclists and Jerry is a pastor. I have a feeling we will be doing more warmshowers as we ride through Florida with all the Spring Breakers and limited campsites.

He makes all of the above ⬆️ look easy while I sit around and play with photos, music and blog. 😂 And I also make sure we don’t run out of Nutella.

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#SD2KW, Day 40, Ville Platte to Simmesport, 61 Miles | Don’t Let It Pass “Bayou”

Well Louisiana has been a surprise. We’ve been hearing a lot about this state, about the aggressive dogs, rough roads and poverty. This got me thinking about what we’ve experienced so far.

As far as the roads, yea there are a few rough spots but nothing like the road coming into our own neighborhood at home up Olney Street. Hello, Marion County. We be lookin’ at you. 👀 Don’t let the rough spots in the road keep you from the path you are meant to take lest opportunities pass “bayou”.

Yes there is financial poverty in Louisiana (from the limited areas we’ve ridden through) but friends, we are in the midst of a people who are rich in kindness, culture and camaraderie. Don’t let what looks like poverty in a person obscure your vision lest the wealth inherent in them and their culture pass “bayou”.

Sometimes we want to be the “helpers” instead of the “helpees”. Don’t let the opportunity to accept someone’s help pass “bayou”. It benefits both the helper AND the helpee. Thank you, Mr. Maddie.

And so far the dog sitch has been solved. Yes there are some chargers and chasers but I finally got up the courage to do what Tom’s been telling me to do. Get. Off. The. Bike. So I do that and then give them the biggest growl and meanest “NO” I can muster. Most of them do a 180 and quickly scurry away. Some come up for a scratch behind the ears. Don’t let your fears keep you from enjoying the life God so dearly wants you to live lest your life be limited and pass “bayou”.

We’re grateful for opportunities to meet new friends and rendez with ones we’ve met in the past. Don’t let those moments pass “bayou” as relationships are the gold standard in life.

Allow me to run something else “bayou”. Signs often spur a memory for us and this one sure did for me. I’ve done 2-3 short section hikes on the Appalachian Trail. My trail name is Ghost Bunkie (Bunkie for short). I couldn’t pass up this photo op and thinking about my trail buds.🤙🏻

Finally, we scored another truck stop tent site. We mighta threw our tent up right next to a semi who kept his engine running all night but we pretended it was an soothing air conditioner and slept like babies.

Click on the image below to view more pics and vids. This is one of my faves so check it out. 😉

#SD2KW, Day 39, De Ridder to Ville Platte, 74 Miles | Rice and Crawdaddies

All of a sudden we have entered a whole different space: the rice fields. We’ve never seen anything like it, much less had the opportunity to ride bikes through acres and acres of them.

Rice is planted in fields and then the fields are flooded with water. The plants grow in the water until ready for harvest and then the water is drained. Louisiana is the second largest rice producing state in the United States.

The COOLEST thing about the rice fields however is that farmers set crawfish traps in there. Had Chris in DeRidder not shared that, we’d have no idea. Apparently rice and crawfish thrive in clay soil and water so BOOM! The crawfish deposit waste that fertilize the rice field for the next season and the rice plants provide shelter and a breeding habitat for the little critters.

The other animals that like the water? Snakes. Big snakes. They were all dead (I’ll spare you a pic). But… there are a lot of them around the rice paddies. The Gardners will not be throwing their tent up around the rice fields even if they now have a working zipper. Not to mention reconning the area around road side bio breaks have become a little more vigilant.🐍👀

Today was the first day we had even a smidgen of rain and it was just a mist. Riding among the rice fields in overcast skies was peaceful and the 70+ miles passed quickly.

And oh one more thing people have asked about now that they see us wearing differing clothing: what do we bring and how much does it weigh?

Here’s Tom’s packing list. And here is mine. Notice this doesn’t include two liters of water (about two pounds each) and food. Also, we don’t carry a stove or “kitchen”.

Aside from a couple of snack stops and continuing to marvel at the rice/crawfish fields I’d say it was a fairly uneventful day (sans doggos).

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#SD2KW, Day 38, Silsbee to De Ridder, 73 Miles | The Pelican State!

Yep! We made it to Louisiana. Finally. 😂 When we started this ride we teased ourselves wondering if we could possibly make NewOrleans in time for Mardi Gras.🎉 LOL Nope!

The first 30 miles went quickly on this Sunday morning. As we entered Kirbyville we passed a Catholic Church and as luck would have it, we were only a few minutes late for Mass so ducked in. Lots to be grateful for these days!

Not long after we met Tanner from Portland, Oregon. This ambitious 27 year old is riding the Southern Tier eastbound like us (the first eastbounder we’ve seen). Out of Orlando he, his bike and gear are flying to Paris to begin an extended European bike tour. Time and money permitting he hopes to make it to Australia and Japan as well. We had so many questions for him, however each of us wanted to get on our way. We did, however, share dog wrangling tips. 😉

Tom found a nice little RV park just outside of DeRidder and just like last night… we had our own little shelter. So cozy. When we checked in the gentleman informed there are flushers, however, BYOTP (Bring Your Own Toilet Paper). We don’t provide because people run off with it. Lucky for us we packed well. (avec TP).

The owner of the righteous looking pickup truck behind the gazebo is Chris. He’s a traveling nurse and was heading out for his shift in an emergency room in a local hospital. We could have chatted with him all night for if you are a bartender, a hairdresser or an emergency room nurse, you have the BEST stories. Chris actually offered his place up for us to stay while he was working but we’d already pitched our tent. That struck me as uber kind.

As we were packing up the next morning, Chris rolled in after his shift. We asked him how many lives he saved and he chuckled. He mentioned he’d seen a man who was driving a pickup truck who’d had a medical emergency while driving. Sure enough when we stopped for coffee on the way out DeRidder we saw the truck on the wrecker. This was the guy Chris saw in the ER. The sheriff told us the driver may have had a stroke, was going 65 miles an hour and hit the gas pump dead on. Dang! Wonder what that sounded like.

Back to Chris though… when he found out we’d never eaten crawfish he got out his phone and started looking up the best places on our route to get some. And the guy grew over 150 pepper plants last year and varieties I’d never heard of! If only we had more time… we could chat so long.

Time to saddle up. Happy Monday everybody! 🤙🏻

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#SD2KW, Day 37, Coldspring to Silsbee, 76 miles | Doggone It!