Day 10: Fading into the Sunset

Total Miles: 788

Cyclist's observation: It is a little known fact that horns in Louisiana are connected to the brakes of each vehicle, because every time someone passed us and hit the horn it appeared to us that they should have been hitting the brake.

A much better day on the road (a little over 14 mph average) and 75 fewer miles to get to San Diego. We got a late start from Port Allen, Louisiana, but the roads were flat and we arrived in Eunice, Louisiana in the late afternoon.

The cycling adventure of the day was crossing the Merganza Spillway. This was about 5miles of flat causeway with two lanes of heavy traffic and no shoulder (see the picture of Bill risking his life).


We arrived in Opelousas, Louisiana to see an exhibit of painted violins around the main square (see pic). This was also one of the destinations for the "train children" sent for adoption from New York City. We hung out at the Palace Cafe for lunch where it was nice to be in a place that accepted cyclist attire as "proper dress." Bill also noticed an older woman wearing a Northface jacket that was turned inside out. We felt right at home.

As we arrived in Eunice, we immediately found a motel and I had a flat before I could cross the street. Repairing a flat in air conditioning isn't all that bad. We went back across the street for dinner at the Boiling Shack. Heather provided us with a free demonstration on how to eat crawfish and then gave us a back room tour of the boiling area (see pic).

The people of Louisiana have been terrific with the only exception being the frequent blasts in your ear as you rattle along the byways.

Tomorrow we hope for Texas and new horizons.

We are the Old Land Cruisers fading into the sunset.

Day 9: On the Mend

I thought yesterday was a hard day. I'm now looking back like it was an easy day and the roads were smooth and the traffic was courteous. Today was much harder, worse roads, more traffic, took a detour into downtown Baton Rouge, crossed the Mississippi River on the bridge from hell, and nursed an irritated Achilles for the entire day. We covered a disappointing 67 miles at less than 13 mph.

Now for the bad news, as we crossed "The Bridge" both of us had flats. With no place to stop, we had to ride on until we got to the other side. As we changed both rear tires we noticed that each rim had been damaged. The bridge had expansion joints with hugh gaps and as we hit the gaps on flats the rims suffered.

It looks like the wheels will be fine and our morale will be sustained with some food. Ibuprofen and ice should help the Achilles and tomorrow is another day.

Signing off from somewhere west of the Mississippi River.

The Old Land Cruisers on the mend

Day 8

This was a hard day. We traveled 86 miles from to Bay St Louis, Louisiana to Hammond, Louisiana at slightly over 15 mph, but these were hard miles. The road was rough, straight and had lots of traffic with only a couple of options. Option one was to try to hug the side of the road with no shoulder. Option two was to ride out farther into the road and take a chance. If you choose option one you took the chance of ending up as alligator bait in a swamp or if you were lucky you just rearranged your fillings. The edge of the road had horizontal cracks with a single line crack that followed the center line. None of this bodes well for cyclists. If you selected option two you would have had a quick and rather spectacular demise!

Other than this continuous annoyance on the road and my first flat, it was Bill who provided a brief road adventure for the record. As we tooled along on a back road his flashing tail lite popped off and landed in the middle of the road. He made a quick U turn and went to retrieve the lite. As he patiently waited for the only car to pass, Murphy's (little known) Law became a reality. If it's in the road, if you need it and a car is coming, you know you can kiss the object of your affection adieu. The Jeep crushed it!

The day was long and the road was hard, but dinner at Don's Seafood was great. The fare of choice was medium rare rib eye with a side salad and cajun potatoes. Actually, the two for one beers made for a much better end for the day.

Can't wait to hit the road tomorrow (and cows fly).

Old, old, old Land Cruisers still truckin

Day 7: La La Land and St. Andrews???

Cyclist's observation: It takes more than one truck to completely flatten an armadillo!

After a leisurely Saturday with Ashton and E in Mobile it was time to get on the road again. We left at 6:30 am with fair weather and following winds. And as pre-pubescent boys refer to pre-pubescent girls, "She was flat, flat, flat." However, I'm referring to the terrain from Mobile to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. We traveled 90 miles at slightly less than 15 mph. As the day progressed, we began to encounter some head winds that slowed our progress.

As the wheels and the pedals go round and round Bill and I must have dozed off on our bikes because according to the picture we ended up in La La Land. And within a hundred yards we were in Scotland approaching St. Andrews Golf Course. It appeared that the fantasy was better than the reality and we had miles to go before we slept.

Other than that it was just another day on the road with mile after mile of beautiful beaches. The scars of hurricane Katrina are still visible, but could not undue the natural beauty. We stopped at the "Friendship Oak" in Long Beach, Mississippi which has survived for 500 years. A spectacular natural remnant surrounded by the carnage of Katrina.

Bill and I were so inspired by the tree that we decided to go off road on our touring tires. Let me explain that our skinny little tires are much different than the balloon tires made for a single speed beach cruiser. As we tried to cross about four feet of packed sand I made the final crank to the sidewalk as Bill sunk in and lightly kissed mother earth. Do you know that fine white sand sticks like glue to a salty sweaty body?



All is right on the beaches of Mississippi.

Old Land Cruisers signing off for the day.

Day 6

What? Are you nuts? Go back and read Day 5! We're taking the day off and going to bike shops in Mobile!

Day 5

We spent last night at the Hilton Hotel. Actually, it was the Motel Hilton! Although rather well worn around the edges, I must say it was really much worse. Why would we select such a place? The easy answer is that it saved us seven miles of extra biking. First, the soda machine stole Bill's dollar. Second, it was only after an unpleasant encounter with the manager, that it was retrieved. This was followed by several drinks of the day, Nati Lite, served off the back of a pick up parked next to our room. Several late afternoon conversations carried on until early morning and involved no volume control and was without adequate filtering for the ears of young children. Pizza was delivered and we never left the room again until our departure at 6:15 am.

We traveled 122 miles @ 16 mph. This was a long long day. It was mostly flat and as it got hotter the terrain got harder. Scott, the salesman, arrived as Bill and I sipped some Gatorade and provided each of us with a buffalo bar. We have yet to taste the offering.

Now for the Friday afternoon tour of Mobile. This was an extra 20 miles at the end of the day. Not just any day, but Friday during rush hour. As we entered the city from the east we could go into a tunnel or take an alternative route. The first person we asked about going through the tunnel suggested it would be suicide on a bicycle. Okay, we can take hint and off we went on our tour of approximately three hours. It would have been much longer if Sheila, Jerome, and Clarence hadn't come to our rescue.

Sheila said we shouldn't be in that part of town! I took this to mean it was similar to going through the tunnel. With limited chances of survival, Jerome took us around the back streets and had us follow on our bikes. I want you to know that I don't think 25 mph is very fast, but on a bike after 100 miles it feels a lot faster! Muscles twitching, adrenaline flowing and with no intention of commiting suicide they guided us to a location and then provided detailed directions that helped us to complete our safe arrival.

We were so late in arriving that Ashton found us sitting in a parking lot in front of a Subway sipping on a root beer. The real beer was to follow as Ashton patiently listened to the tales of the day.

All is well that ends well, I suppose.

Over and out from The Old Land Cruisers

Day 4: The Worm Fiddlin Capital of the World

It was a long short day. We traveled 84 miles at 16.7mph with a nice tail wind, but go figure after just 349 miles in four days our butts have begun to feel the strain. Sore muscles didn't help either. Rolling to flat terrain did help as did crossing into the central time zone. We made a couple of important stops. One was for a photo op at Caryville, Florida, which we discovered is the "Worm Fiddlin Capital of the World." Never knew that! The other stop was at a hardware store to get a hole drilled in my helment mirror. It came with double sided tape that lasted about 24 hours. Tonight we sleep in Crestview, Florida and tomorrow we will hope to arrive in Mobile, Alabama.

As we approach Mobile, Alabama, it is important for you to understand the arrangements we have made ahead of our trip. Our Friday night happy hour group of 30 years had a departure gathering. Ashton is the youngest daughter of Bo (aka Ron) who is an original member of the group. Ashton goes to school in Mobile and has invited us to stay in her apartment as we travel through. This was very kind of her and we are looking forward to seeing a familiar face.

Now this is where the story takes an unusual turn. As I'm making a visit to the men's room during happy hour, Bo arrives at the urinal next to me. He asked if we're going to stay with Ashton. I told him that was our plan. As we washed our hands he asked if I would give Ashton something. I said, "no problem" as he handed me a $50 bill in the bathroom. Wouldn't you know at that very moment Will, one of our favorite bartenders, walked through the door. His only comment, "I'll forget I saw that." I guess after 30 years you deserve some forgiveness!

Ashton, I have a $50 bill for you.

Dedicated to all the Table 10ers.

On the road again,
The Old Land Cruisers