The Big Muddy

Traveling from New Roads to Clinton, we crossed over the Mississippi River.  The bridge on Highway LA-10 was magnificent!

Accidents

Yesterday we had several accidents. I fell from bike as a resort of a dog chasing after our group. The dog came directly from some shrubs and surprised our riders. In the milieu that followed, I touched Sue's rear wheel, and quickly went down. Remarkably, received only a scrape to the knee, and there was no damage to the bike. 

Another incident involved a collision between Lora and Jack. Jack received a fairly deep cut to his arm, and was taken to the ER for follow up treatment.  Lora's bike had some serious damage. 

In another unrelated accident, Ketti fell and sustained some scrapes to her arm and leg. 

I have no idea why all of these incidents occurred on the same day.  Perhaps we are all becoming somewhat weary from the tour. 

DeRidder, Mamou, New Roads Louisiana

Spent the last last two days cycling across Louisiana; three more until we reach Mississippi. 

We have definitely entered a subtropical world, that is a total departure from the desert Southwest of the earlier weeks of our Tour: flat roads,  lots of roadkill, snakes, bugs, above ground crypts, heavy morning dews. 

Yesterday's hightlight was our visit to Fred's Lounge in Mamou.  Mamou claims to be the "Cajun music capital of the world", and there is a live music broadcast each Saturday from Fred's. 

Today we  crossed the Achafalaya swamp on the "8 mile bridge" with police escort. The bridge had no shoulder, and the trip would have been very scary without the escort that Bubba arranged. After we crossed the swamp, stopped at the Buckhorn Cafe for a catfish po boy (huge!). 

Silsbee, TX to DeRidder, LA

Another good riding day.  We finished the 72 miles around 2:00, averaging 16 mph.  Good road with with wide shoulder. Probably the only negative was all of the debris left by the lumber trucks that roll down this highway.

Highlight of the day: Bubba treated us to dinner at Presley BBQ.   For appetizers, he ordered several large trays of crawfish.  This was a real crowd pleaser for 40 hungry cyclists :)

Silsbee, TX - our last night in Texas!!

After 19 days we will finally leave Texas and head for Cajun country. 

We again had great weather; high in the 70's, sunny skies, and a light head wind.  The terrain has gotten much flatter, and now it it would be nice to have a few more hills - be careful what you wish for!

The highlight of the day was our lunch stop at a little rural general store.  The store sold gas, groceries, farm supplies, cattle feed, plumbing and electrical supplies.  Additionally, they had a small kitchen featuring fried bogna sandwiches, and managed to feed our group of 40 hungry bicyclists!

Shepherd, TX - Shraderville Sanctuary

Beautiful day, beautiful ride.  We had a short 62 mile ride into Shepard, with calm winds and smooth roads.  Most of the route was through the Sam Houston National Forest.  It looks like we will have a repeat for tomorrow's ride into Silsbee; Silsbee will be our final stop before we leave Texas.

Our overnight accomodations are at an eclectic campground, the "Shradersville Sanctuary". It is reminiscent of the "El Cosmico" campground at Marfa, TX.  Below are some panoramic views of the campground. However, it is difficult to capture the mood in this two dimensional photos. 

Richards, TX - Mexico Hills Ranch - rest day

We spent the day at the Mexico Hills Ranch.  This was a rest day with no planned agenda :). This was a very peaceful and delightful place.  It appears that that proprietors, Ernie and Doris, are operating the ranch as a hobby/business.  

They have approx. 50 cattle on their 80 acres.  Additionally, they are developing a campground catering to the needs of cross country bicyclists and motorcyclists.  Ernie has constructed several buildings including small guest houses, shower and bathrooms, a laundry/bicycle garage, dining shelters, and bar/rec room.

Ernie and Doris provided guided tours of the ranch via tractor and hay wagon.  After dinner, Bubba arranged for a lecture by a local historian on Navasota and the legendary Frank Hammer. The speaker was also the artisan that created the life size statuary of Hammer that is located in front of the Navasota City Hall.