| DAY 56 Thursday April 25th, 2002 Haughton, LA to Arcadia, LA Mileage: 55 miles, total of 1907.16 Wind directly against us, taking it slow and easy. A bit chilly, though a nice change (for me at least) from the heat of yester. Was inside a pharmacy/grocery store when Ed the cart-man accosted me and said, "Are you the Peace Corps girl?" Indeed my riding partner had told him my story outside and he had a story or two to tell about his days in Latin America. Took a break in Minden, LA to try out some cajun fries at the Minden Ice Cream stand and who did we meet??? A fellow Buffalonian named John Crowne who just happens to be living in the area. John was interested in our ride and the Peace Corps experience. He is coordinating an Art/Green Living/Cultural Extravaganza of sorts. Hats off to John and his nonformal teaching methodologies, not to mention his affiliation with Buffalo, NY. On the road again until we arrived at the recommended campground (by a man from Gibsland) 'Bonnie & Clydes' that holds the largest monthly flea market in this county. DAY 57 Friday April 26th, 2002 Arcadia, LA to Jonesboro, LA Mileage: 37 miles, total of 1944.19 Another windy, hilly day to challenge these two brave cyclists. Shared breakfast with some locals of Bryceland as we were all seated at a single long table, making conversation a necessity...."What brings you to Bryceland?" they all asked. We took Hwy 9 South to the 507 to the 508 to the 155 to the 146 to the 167. Quite a day! Spent the day in this tall pine country where logging is big industry. Unbelievable logging factories/plants particularly in Hodge, LA. DAY 58 Saturday April 27th, 2002 Jonesboro, LA to Bentley, LA Mileage: 59 miles, total of 2,002.95 A monumental day and my mother phoned me at the exact moment that my cyclometer evidenced 2,000 miles on the road. Mothers always know. Did some chit-chatting with various fund-raising groups at the Bentley Wal-Mart. Supported the Praise Team's Dance Troup's efforts to fund a trip to Magic Mountain by purchasing some fabulous rice krispies treats. Also supported the Bentley Primary School by purchasing some cookies. What a pro-active community as there was also a fundraising car wash at this same location. Had a late lunch of the Fish Platter in Williana, LA where the 1-day shy of her 71st birthday lady gave us her address so that we could send her a postcard from the road, "just so that we know y'all are ok." Just as we were remarking on the kindness that we are touched by continuously, a man outside the Williana One Stop invited us in for a 'cup.' He says he likes to see people enjoying themselves. And so we are, indeed. Found ourselves at the Traders Rendevous RV camp just outside of the Kisatchie National Forest where the owner invited us back unconditionally. A nice hilly ride through the tall pines of the National Forest. DAY 59 Sunday April 28th, 2002 Bentely, LA to Simmesport, LA Mileage: 78 miles, total of 2,080.75 A VERY hot and humid day since early this morning and lasting until sunset. Riding on old Hwy 1 towards Alexandria, then towards Baton Rouge. Jay had a flat today which he fixed in the forgiving shade of a tree. We rode fast and hard in the heat of the day for 20+ miles until we were forced to ask a resident of Echo, LA for a bit of water. He kindly invited these two parched cyclists inside his home for the most refreshing soda i ever did have. Check's Diet Root Beer CANNOT be beat. End of discussion. Another couple of miles until we hit a restuarant/convenience store. Continuous looks of surprise and remarks of disbelief wherever we find ourselves. Headed further south to Marksville, where i experienced my first unfriendly encounter by a Sheriff..."Y'all best get off the road before y'all cause an accident." And before i could finish my reply of "well, where am i supposed to ride?, he sped away. Hhhhm. Feeling strong and re-energized by the cool evening breeze we puttered at a powerful pace 20 additional miles all the way to Simmesport. Apparently we just missed the annual fair/festival, as the carnival rides were being driven away and the grounds emptied of festival goers. Fortunately we met a great guy named Jack who is in charge of the fairgrounds and he granted us permission to stay the night. Here we relaxed in our abandoned amusement park, cooked a vegetable pasta surprise and literally hosed ourselves off from a spicket orginally hooked up to a food stand. What a great ending to a GREAT day of riding. DAY 60 Monday April 29th, 2002 Simmesport, LA to Baton Rouge, LA Mileage: 80 miles, total of 2,160.98 Good morning to our friend Jack, the keeper of the park and a small truckload of prisoners who were cleaning things up a bit. On our way to Baton Rouge to stay with RPCV hostess Cynthia. Nice break from the hot sun in New Roads, LA where a friendly resident gifted us a Dairy Queen Blizzard to extend the southern hospitality we all know and love. He then showed us a nice place to rest ourselves at the marina off False River (which is not a river, hence the name). We arrived after a long, hard ride on some bumpy roads. Took lots of mini-breaks to hydrate and chat. A spectacular ride across the Mississippi River on a bridge with no bike lane (fortunately there was little traffic) and into Baton Rouge. The northern section of Baton Rouge is SHOCKING. I had not considered the level of poverty that we witnessed riding through this ghetto. We continued along the 'scenic highway,' a funny name considering the fact that the only views were of the chemical plants and industrial grounds along the river. Somewhat clueless, I stopped at a corner store and asked for directions to our hosts home. A man on a bicycle said he was going in that direction anyway, so we gladly followed along. Some 5 miles later and breaking all cycling road rules possible (like riding on the opposite side of the street, disregarding traffic signals, or traffic period!) our new friend Teddy dropped us just where we needed to go. What a great tour of the city and what a GREAT introduction to this unfamiliar city. We found the home of hostess RPCV Cynthia Woody, the spunkiest 70yo i have ever met. Thank you Cynthia for great conversation and laughs over some Gumbo and Crawfish Etoufee. We all seemed to share the same international development work experience/interests, so conversation seemed nonstop. DAY 61 Tuesday April 30th, 2002 Baton Rouge, LA to Gonzales, LA Mileage: 42.5 miles, total of 2,202.31 Spent the morning walking alongside the levy. Cynthia is the fastest walker this fast-walker ever knew. We worked up a sweat, not too difficult in Loiusiana humidity and 90' F temps. Laundry, errands, and a plate of soul food later, we were visited by some cross country motorcycling friends of Jay's. They put over 2,000 miles on their cycle in the past 2 weeks and will continue towards Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California... We hit the road in the late afternoon to make part of the journey to New Orleans. A long road to nowhere is how we got to Gonzales, which is about 20 miles from our starting point (note our mileage for the day) Thankfully we are in a rush to get nowhere. p.s., tomorrow i will dictate what route to take. DAY 62 Wednesday May 1st, 2002 Gonzales, LA to New Orleans (Metairie), LA Mileage: 58 miles, total of 2,260.37 Another hot and humid day with frequent rest stops to hydrate and chit chat with eachother as well as nearly every person that passed our way. Arrival in Metairie (my destination point) to meet up with my hostess RPCV Joan, while my riding partner continued towards the Uptown area to meet up with his friends. Big hugs and best wishes for our planned long weekend of separation after over a week of 24/7 companionship, we pedalled our separate ways. I found my way to the residential section of Metairie and found the home of Joan while she escorted me from her vehicle (on her way home from work). A nice visit with Joan, her mother and their mini-zoo. Thanks Joan!!!!! DAY 63 Thursday May 2nd, 2002 Metairie to French Quarter, New Orleans, LA Mileage: 28 miles, total of 2,288.01 Change of location within the New Orleans area. Met a lot of Nawlins folks who talked highly of their city and its history. The French Quarter is both charming and inviting. Seeing as how Jazz Festival is in full swing, I eagerly partook in some excellent jazz with hostess Suzy Roberts at the Casa Brasil. A good time to be had by all. DAY 64 Friday May 3rd, 2002 New Orleans, LA We spent all day at the Jazz festival which hosted 8 stages in the Fairgrounds/racing tracks from morning until evening. GREAT music of all types (jazz, swing, reggae, gospel, blues...you name it, it was there and it was good!). The night was full of many options of excellent music. My hostess took me to the Blue Nile, another small jazz club in the quarter. previous page next page go home |