The Photo above is from a bench on top of the levie right across from the Cathedral outside of the French Quarter in NOLA. It seems that this spot is the perfect spot to greet a new day, because like whoever wrote this I was doing the same as them. Sitting there "Watchin The Sunrise". Traveling across Louisiana had its own special challenges and joys. New Orleans being the place of my first adult Solo Vacation has and always will have a special place in my heart. But as you read you will see there is so much more to Louisiana than New Orleans.
Just as I heard from every state before, I heard the same from people in Mississippi, becareful those people in Louisiana cant drive and it is a dangerous place. Well I have learned to shake this advice off and as always learned that it really is not true.
Crossing the Pearl River bridge on Route 90 is an easy ride. Since not a ton of traffic travels 90 except for locals it was a pretty simple crossing. Still not shoulder across the bridge it can always be a little hairy to ride any place where you have no escape route. No matter what it did not matter I was entering the 4th state on my cross country journey and the one I think I wanted to get to most of all.
This part like most of Louisiana is very rural and country. And I loved it. Flat warm and inviting, the weather was perfect about 80 with a slight tail wind. I choose to stay on Route 90 instead of the fork onto route 190. That route takes you into a more populated route and honestly I just wanted a nice leisurely ride. After crossing the Rigoletes river you get into an area that is both rural and beautiful. It is wildlife refuge for most of the ride. What that basically means that people can not intrude into the woods that surround on either side.
Riding through actual woods that are beyond human intrusion is rather interesting and surreal. The sounds of wildlife can be heard all throughout the entire ride. Because it doesn't follow a heavily travelled route this was one of the more remote roads I have been on (at least to that point). I went several hours of not even seeing another human let alone a vehicle. During one of my stops I called my friend Heidi, she is a facebook friend who I had never met in person, she was to help me with my stay in NOLA (New Orleans).
After a brief talk we agreed it would be best for her to pick me up outside of the refuge, instead of me trying to ride in rush hour traffic into NOLA. It was Halloween weekend and well the city is swamped with people, the parade is only second to Mardi Gras parade.
Heidi, picked me up as scheduled. A lovely woman every bit as spunky and foul mouthed as her posts. Her facebook persona is the same as in real life and it was as if meeting one of my heroes. She surprised me with a treat I will soon not forget. Heidi, manages a few local hotels for an organization and well she arranged for a room for the weekend for me right smack in the middle of the French Quarter. She put me up in the Marie Laveau hotel, the epitome of Louisiana class and architecture.
As soon as I entered the room I was instantly in love. There was a huge bed, a warm shower and a TV at this point I had not watched TV in over a month. I showered and got ready to hit Bourbon street. One thing I noticed immediately once I stood in front of a full length mirror, Damn I was getting into really good shape. The 800 some odd miles I had travelled were starting to chisel my body...especially my legs.
Now Im not a party person anymore, but I had not been to Bourbon Street since I was 24 and well my memory of that infamous street was solidly intact. The street did not disappoint.
I spent the evening wandering the French Quarter, taking in all the sights and sounds that come with the eternal Street Party that it is.
The next morning I got up as usual and decided I wanted to see the sun come up over the Mississippi so I walked down to the levie and found a bench to sit there and watch the sun come up. Seems that as I stated in my opener, this is a common occurrence for both the late night partiers and those like me who want to greet a new day. It reminded me of a scene from a movie "City of Angels" with Nicholas Cage, the scene where the angels gather in silence to greet the sun. It was a very special moment of solitude for me. I was sitting on the shores of the mighty Mississippi, in a city I visited in my youth and I was living what seemed like a dream. After the sun fully broke the horizon it was time to walk and experience all that the quarter and the city has to offer during the day. And boy does it have things to offer.
I continued to walk and enjoy the day. I listened to the street musicians and even had some of the local statue people who ave their photos taken with tourists, wanted to have their picture taken with me. Somehow one conversation with one guy, about a once dead guy cycling across the country, turned me into a locals celebrity for just a day....locals talk I have learned.
That night I was in for a treat. The halloween parade and after my talks with some locals I was asked to ride a float with them. Now come on seriously was this a dream, I was about to ride a float in the parade and well. If you ever get the chance do it. There is nothing like it in the world a true experience and true fun. After the parade I went back to my room to sleep because the next day it was road time again and I was about to learn how good cyclist have it in Louisiana.
I left early the next morning and got onto the levee bike path. When the levee was rebuilt after Katrina, a bike path was built on top of it. The eventual goal is for it to extend all the way across the state but at this point it went the distance that I needed it to go. After about bit I found myself at the spill way. A huge wall that extends about 2 miles that keeps the river out and is designed to relieve the waters. In case of a flood potential the wall is opened and the river floods a flat land that is roughly about 20 miles long and about 10 miles wide. It made for an interesting sight. But it was here that I decided to camp on the banks of the Mississippi like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. It did not disappoint, because the next morning I ate breakfast and then decided you know what time for a swim and off came the clothes and au natural swim in the greatest river happened.
After my swim I continued the ride to my next stop just a short 25 mile jaunt to the home of Dale a warm shower host. An avid cyclist who put me up in his shop for a night. He had every tool imaginable along with several bike stands, so it was time to do some tuning up and clean down. Dale stayed with me and we talk like two good old boys will do, we swapped jokes and stories. I came to find out he is the infamous Armadillo prankster. A guy who takes the dead armadillos that line the roadway and he poses them some with beer cans and some with well lets just say compromising situations. He heads up the shell refinery on the road in and well the picture speaks volumes about a refinery...those are pipes not buildings.
After a nights stay there it was back to the road and on to Baton Rouge and well I was about to see what a city looks like after a disaster. Think about this the flooding that occurred there 3 months prior to my arrival displaced 35,000 homes. This is hard to imagine but think about someone losing everything in a fire, there are neighbors to help, now imagine if you and your neighbors lost everything. Rebuilding is a chore. I was to stay with a wonderful couple Billy and her husband were gracious enough to let me stay with them and so I pitched in for a few days. These are shots of what a city destroyed looks like. One thing though it is also a testament to the human condition....people and life find a way.
The road along the way into Lafayette was simple because well i got a ride. A friend took me into Lafayette and then i headed out from there. It was nice to travel at 70 mph for a change and I was actually shocked over the speed difference of a car and bike....but I also noticed how much I missed at that speed. Slow down and cycle its worth it. After being dropped off at a walmart it was time to continue my trek. I followed an access road to the US100 RV CAMP GROUNDS who let me stay the night at no charge. The road leading to it like most southern highways has an access road that runs along the highway. These roads are a dream because they get very little traffic and are well maintained, plus they go right through all the major areas one would need to stop.
After a night of Camping it was I rook a great ride up route up to the Sam Houston State Park for a few days of camping in the swamp. Please keep in mind what you think of a swamp is not what you will experience. A swamp is beautiful and worth the stop. One thing though, you will experience an entirely new level of mosquitos a level of insect second to none. But stay in a swamp you will see beauty beyond measure. There is something about looking out on a field of plants and what looks like grass, just to realize there is no ground but about 10 to 20 feet of crystal clear water just below the foliage.
After two days in the swamp I was ready to make a run for the boarder of Texas and my fifth state. I headed out clear minded and refreshed and I choose to enter into Texas by crossing the Sabine river into Deweyville. Before I could do that though i hit some of my greatest challenges. I headed down one road about 20 miles, there were no signs there were no cut offs it was fairly straight and open...after 20 miles I came to my biggest and most physical challenges. A bridge was out and it was either cross a river with alligators that I could see or go back. The gators were small not huge and well I took it upon myself to man up.
Across the river I went on foot carrying my bike first and then going back and getting my trailer and repeating the harrowing experience. You see small gators do a thing called bumping. they don't attack substantially larger prey that stand above the water. Instead they do this bumping thing, they come up to you with force and bang you trying to knock you into the water and that is when they attack....well several times I was bumped and once when carrying the trailer I almost went under but nope I survived a walk with gators....yeah Iam bad ass like that.
After picking a few leeches that had stuck to me during my crossing it was time to pedal on. By this time I should have learned my lesson about short cuts. But no Im not a smart man. I decided to cut some time as I was losing daylight and really wanted to make texas this day. I cut down a road that went from Pavement to sand and well it turned into a blessing. after several miles of pulling and pushing the bike I happened across a really cool group of people Jody Paul and his friends were out drinking beer and enjoying the day. They shared some water took some photos with the cross country nut and well gave me some directions to the texas line that was only a few miles ahead.
I shortly got to the bridge to Texas and well my adventure had taken the most interesting of turns in Louisiana. It had become a true adventure, one of self discovery through visiting NOLA and a swamp, crossing a gator infested river and well learning what it means to truly survive from my friends rebuilding in Baton Rouge. Louisiana is a state filled with friends and full of adventure. It is well worth the ride!
