Day 42: Morganza to Easleyville 72.26

Odo 4805.8 morn

The day started out cloudy, but improved to give a few sunny hours during the prettiest part of the day's riding. After about 14 more miles of levee, I got to the ferry that would take me to St. Francesville. There was no one waiting on my side of the river so I had the entire ferry to myself! I ended up just standing there holding my bike talking to one of the crew. We had a pretty interesting conversation (after the usual "Where are you going on that bike?") about technology, the Internet, Big Brother, etc. St. Francesville is a very pretty town with lots of historic stuff plus the 8 Sisters restaurant where I ate lunch. The Audobon preserve is east of the city, and one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've enjoyed. There is also a nature conservancy site with free access to trails. It seems to me a Mecca for bird watchers. The route became more agricultural, and I stopped at a small RV park with poor facilities right past Easleyville.

Day 41: Ville Platte to Morganza 108.0

Odo 4697.2 morn

Wolfram was ready at 7:30, but I was just getting up! He left, and I said, "I'll catch up, maybe." He is planning to take a short cut that will cut out a lot of miles because the route makes a strange detour northward by about 35 miles. I decided to stick to the route because it went along the river and appeared to offer scenic interest. By evening I was still 10 miles short of New Roads, where Wolfram planned to camp for the night. It was just about fully dark. There was a nice RV place here, so I decided not to ride after dark since the road is fairly busy even though it does have a shoulder. Perhaps more importantly, I was really tired! Two thirds of the ride today was against a moderate headwind. The longer route I took didn't seem to offer anything special except little traffic and plenty of time to look at the levee. Maybe I will catch up tomorrow...

Day 40: Mamou to Ville Platte 10

Odo 4663.2 morn

I got up around 7:30, and was ready in a flash. This is because I packed everything up the night before because I was worried about the place possibly burning down and I wanted to be able to quickly leave. I went outside and took a few pictures. Wolfram came out and was shocked to find I was ready to go. He said he'd be ready in about 50 minutes. I told him it would be the only time I'd be ready before him!

We left, and we were in Ville Platte by 9:30. We rode around for about an hour looking at hotels, but there are really only two: cheap or expensive. We chose cheap. I ended up spending a couple of hours trying to find a laundromat; but there isn't one in this city of 8,000 people! Finally I discovered one just outside the city limits! So, the day's riding breakdown: 10 miles to get to Ville Platte, and 20 miles looking for a laundry! I should have just hand washed my stuff. Still, it was a beautiful day!

Day 39: DeRidder to Mamou 70.37

Odo 4592.8

I got up at about 7:30, but Wolfram was already up, and he left at 8! I ended up leaving (effectively) at 11! I did my stuff, wrote an entry for the guestbook, and then rode back to DeRidder to eat breakfast. This added about 6-7 miles onto the day.

The day started with some light cloudiness, but got sunny in the early afternoon. There was a mild headwind, but progress was reasonable, riding through pine forests, ranchland, rice fields, and crawfish fields. At least, I thought they were crawfish fields, based on some strange boats that look like they were designed to harvest in the "fields"!

Arriving at Mamou, I searched out the RV park, and it was pretty minimal. There were also motel rooms, and the clerk said that he'd give me a room at the same price that "my buddy" got ($25). He also told me that the campground didn't have showers, so I went with the room. The room was only one step from condemnation and didn't even have a key, although the door did lock from the inside. The plumbing and heater worked, and there was a bed with sheets, so it was ok, but it is the most depressing room I've had yet. I decided even the laundry room I slept in was more cheery, although a little less functional as a room!

I rode back to the town and quickly encountered Wolfram, and we talked a bit. Then I continued on and ate at a Cajun restaurant that gave me about a 1.5 pound portion of fried catfish. I took about half back to the room, but I don't know what I'll do with it!

Day 38: Kirbyville to DeRidder 50.76

Odo 4541.0 morn

Since my achilles tendons felt a little sore this morning I decided to just ride to DeRidder at an easy pace. It was another pretty day, and the wind seemed neutral. The first order of business was to get to Merryville, where I expected that a package Sara mailed on Tuesday should be waiting for me. (Warm tights, snacks, & chocolate - Mmmmmm.)

On the way, I encountered a man and his daughter, who were doing the route from east to west. Their difference was that his wife was driving a VW camper for support, so they didn't have to carry any gear on their bikes!

When I got to the post office, the package was indeed waiting for me. I got a box and mailed home the lightweight tights and the heavyweight wool socks. I am a little concerned that I'll want those socks, but I need the extra space in the panniers. Then I tried to call Sara, but there was no service! DeRidder is a much larger town, but when I arrived, I discovered there was no Verizon service there either!

I checked out the first of the 3 RV parks listed. It looked pretty bare bones, and when I checked for restrooms, I discovered the only restroom was padlocked, and nobody seemed to be in the office. Not good signs, so I headed for the Pleasant Hill RV Park.

When I finally arrived at the Pleasant Hill RV Park, I was surprised to learn that it actually caters to cyclists! And also that Wolfram had already arrived. He turned out to be the guy that was ahead of me. (www.insideasien.de) I found out later that he had started behind me that day, but arrived at the park first, probably mostly due to my late start and my enjoyment of a very lesurely lunch in Merryville. The setup at the park is quite nice. There was a log building devoted to us containing a restroom/shower, laundry, kitchen (with full stock of spices), stove, oven, full size refridgerator, and an eating area/lounge. Amazingly, the fee was only $5!

I talked to Wolfram and learned he rode east from Germany through central Asia and China. His ride then continued from Los Angeles using the southern tier route. We talked about a lot of stuff, and I asked him if he ever felt endangered or had any problems beyond the normal bike maintenance requirements. He said that there hadn't been any problems.

Day 37: Shepherd to Kirbyville 92.84

Odo 4448.1 morn

Ho hum. Another beautiful day. Blue skys and a mild tailwind! Made great progress through beautiful pine forests, and was at my stopping point by about 3:30, so I kept going.

Met a couple traveling west. They were a bit more heavily loaded than I was. They had some difficulties that caused them to stop their trip for a few weeks. She had fallen and torn a rotator cuff, and they stopped for a few weeks for it to get better.

By the time I got to Kirbyville I was feeling a bit tired, and my butt hurt. I didn't feel nearly as wussy when I saw that I had gone 92 miles!

Ate dinner at a place called Elijah's in Kirbyville. A nice place with reasonable prices and good food. The waitress was talented, and they made me feel comfortable there. Recommended!

It's interesting to note the great variations in motel pricing. "Americas best value inn and suites" had the same rates as this 60's era motel. The Indian woman running it could see my disappointment with the price. I asked about the laundry, and she said I could use it, just come see her when I was ready. So I did, and she did my laundry for me!

Day 36: Navisota to Shepherd 83.11

I still had laundry to dry from the previous evening since the dryer
did not work. The laundry happens to be across from the brookshire
bros grocery, so I get breakfast there, and also pick up two bags of
David's gourmet chocolate chip cookies. I now am overstocked with
cookies! The day is very sunny and a little less cold than yesterday,
and it is still, or the wind is favorable. About 16 miles out I meet
another tourist headed west. He's from Liverpool, riding a Thorn exp
(a specialized touring bike), and he's headed to south America after
he gets to California. He says that there is another rider only an
hour or two ahead of me. I can't quite decide if I want to catch up to
him or not. By the end of the day I still haven't seen him, and I
think I put in a good day.
The riding highpoint was going through parts of Sam Houston national
forest. I miss the smell of the pine forest.