Day 48 - Simmesport, LA to Alexandria, LA

I woke up feeling less sick than the day before, so I got off the farm at around 9:30. I was greeted by a beautiful day!

 

 

I found myself in farm country rather quickly. There were huge machines roaming the roads all around me.

 

I've never seen a cotton farm before, so this was pretty cool. Sure enough, I also got to see some cotton processing plants along the way too.



I was feeling pretty awful all morning as soon as I got on the bike. It has never been so difficult to pedal around. My head felt like a balloon, and my nose was bleeding and running down my face all morning. Pretty, huh?



I caught my first glimpse of fall. This sight made me feel a little but better.



Shortly after this beautiful sighting, my tire popped again, Twice in two days. I was not feeling up to fixing the flat, being that I felt so flat myself. I checked the tire for punctures, but couldn't find any. I assumed that the rear tire had reached its limit and had warn through, causing the tube to pop. I decided to walk up the road and hope that someone in a pickup might be willing to pick me and my bike up and give me a lift to Alexandria, where the bike shop I was aiming for was. Luckily, after seeing my thumb, someone stopped for me. He was a very nice guy, and was happy to drop me off at the bike shop.

At the bike shop (Red River Cyclery), I found myself a pair of CST Selecta tires which were $20 each. These aren't name brand tires. I couldn't really find any reviews online for them. I decided to get them, knowing that they had a kevlar belt in them AS long as they got me to Austin, I'd be happy. They had a very slick rubber finish, which makes me think that they won't really be great in the rain. Oh well. I got some tubes as well, and the owner gave me a 15% employee discount. I think he felt bad for me.

My grandparents didn't like that I was riding around sick, and they especially didn't like that I was going to be camping out sick, so they got me a room at a hotel in Alexandria. I found my way there and opened the door to my room. This is what I was welcomed by:



What was I going to do with 2 queen sixed beds? I'm not sure. But I'm glad I was there. I got showered and made my way to the grocery store across the street. This is what I returned with. If this concoction didn't make me feel better, nothing would.



I took my meds and plopped myself in fron tof a computer in the business library to work on this blog that I've been so bad at keeping up with.




I found myself in bed at 9:00. The perfect time to get some rest for tomorrow!

Total miles pedaled: 30

Day 47 - Baton Rouge, LA to Simmesport, LA

I got a pretty late start on my ride today. I woke up around 9 and lollygagged for a while. I had to do some laundry and kill some time because the person I was staying with tonight wouldn't be back from a trip he had taken to Canada until after 7pm. I made a couple updates in this here blog and, you guessed it, watched some Bones. I said goodbye to Stephen which was not my favorite part of the day, and sent him off to work.

Stephen and I took some pictures before he left.  

 

At around 12:30, I finally made it out of the house. It was a beautiful day in Baton Rouge!

 

 

After rolling up into the downtown area of baton Rouge, I found a road called Scenic Hwy and turned north for Simmesport. The road is not what I would refer to as "scenic." It was pretty awful. Maybe the worst road I had biked on yet. The traffic was bad, there was constant threat of getting a flat from the debris all over the road and the roads had no shoulder. It also smelled bad. Did I mention it was through the sketchiest area of the country I had been through so far.

 

There were a ton of oil refineries along the way. Water treatment places too.

 

I was really wandering why they called it a "scenic" hwy. I did not enjoy it. Once I got out of town, and after talking to some other bikers, I finally found some scenery.



This is what it looks like when you cross the Mississippi River. Pretty awesome.




The grandfather of all rivers: the Mr. 'Ssippii.



Shortly after I cross the bridge I stopped for a coke to help with a headache I had from my cold. I also needed some napkins to blow my nose like a fat kid needs and insulin shot. When I stepped out of the convenience store, I noticed my tire was flat. What a surprise! I checked the tire for a puncture and noticed something disturbing:



The bareness was not the result of the flat - it was a staple. If I were smart, I would have checked my tires before I left Baton Rouge and purchased some Schwalbe Marathons in town. I wasn't about to head back south, so I had to change my course for the next couple of days to stop at what must be the only bike shop in northern LA.

After I got the flat fixed, I got back on the road. Finally, it started to look pretty.



Even prettier when the sun started going down.



I was just hoping that the glare wouldn't cause a car to hit me.



Just after 7, I found myself at the gates of the Crescent "o" Cattle Company.



There was a house in the back that I was to stay in for the night. The guy there told me to help myself to anything in the fridge. Great! I was starving! I opened the fridge and found nothing but beer. Not the worst thing at all, but I was so hungry and my head was in so much pain from the cold that I just wanted to eat and collapse on the couch. I walked across the street to the dollar general and got myself some burritos for dinner and milk and cereal for breakfast. After eating, I pulled out my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep on a very comfortable couch, despite the pain in my sinuses.

Total mileage: 78

Day 46 - Baton Rouge, LA

The morning was relatively uneventful. Actually the entire day was. I had decided the night before to spend an extra day in Baton Rouge so that I didn't arrive at Austin too early. It's a good thing I decided to stay, too because I was feeling a little sick. Stephen left for work and I hit the couch to watch Bones. I did a lot of relaxing. Maybe too much of it. After 7 hours blurred together through a marathon of TV episodes, Stephen came home. We spent a good amount of time trying to decide where we would go for dinner. After much deliberating, we decided upon fast food. Luckily for our bodies, the traffic was so bad that we were forced to go to a Chinese restaurant instead. I got a lot of food, and I ate it all!

 

 

Stephen joined me in watching some Bones episodes and we called it a night.

 

I'm really lazy when I'm not really active.

Total mileage: 0

Day 45 - Baton Rouge, LA

Stephen and I went to a nature preserve early in the morning before he had to head to work. We wandered around a swamp and caught a glimpse of a great egret and this gigantic guy. 

The variety in life there was simply amazing. So many different types of plants. We didn't see a whole lot of things with heartbeats: a snake, some birds and bugs (though they don't have heartbeats). It was a very pleasant walk through a natural area. The main road was not far from where we were walking, yet you would not be able to tell.

When we returned back to the house, Stephen got changed and we left to drop him off at work. We were dropping him off so that I could use his car to have lunch with him later in the day. After leaving Stephen at MJ's Cafe, I found myself plopped on the couch, watching Bones. I love that show. I had intended to use the day to update this incredible out of date blog, but that wasn't going to happen. Time flew by and I had to pack myself up soon enough to meet Stephen for lunch. At MJ's, I had an amazing black bean and corn salad, as well as a fresh spicy shrimp melt. Yummy. I left Stephen there for a while while I went back to the house to finish my Bones marathon. After I picked him up later in the day, we stopped for some gelato. I got mint chip - duh. At the we decided that we were going to go to Chimes for dinner. Chimes is a local restaurant in Baton Rouge that serves as many beers there are countries that I can name off the top off my head. That's only about 20, but that's still a lot of different beer! I had blackened gator, craw fish etouffee, red beans, rice and sausage, and a half of a hush puppy. It was all so great! I wish I could say the same about our server.

Stephen and I finished off the night by watching Zoolander - a classic!

No miles or words written today. I'm pretty good at putting things off. I still have postcards from 2 weeks ago to send.

Total mileage: 0

Day 44 - New Orleans, LA to Baton Rouge, LA

After saying goodbye to everyone in the morning, I pedaled my way to the bike path along the Mississippi. I was eager to make my way to Baton Rouge to see my good friend Stephen. 

The scenery was nice, as ice as you would expect the Mississippi river to look!



There were, if not anything else, huge boats. HUGE!



I mean, check this thing out!



Todd's Cream Shack.



I hit the highway and and began pounding the miles. What you see here is sugar cane. A lot of it. Funny, it doesn't smell sweet.



This is what it looked like most of the way. Exciting right?



I found myself at at Stephen's at around 5:30. He was outside, greeting me with a big smile. After chatting for a while, we met with Stephen's friend to grab some dinner. It was absolutely great spending time with Stephen. I hadn't seen him in a couple of years and we had a lot of catching up to do!

Taking a day to spend with Stephen tomorrow!

Total mileage: 90

Day 43 - New Orleans, LA

No pictures from today, but a lot of great memories!

I started off the day by waling up early and going for a run to the Quarter. I really wanted a frozen Irish coffee, and this seemed like the best way to get one so early in the morning. I ran down Orleans, which was interesting, and soon enough found myself at Molly's on the Market. I got my coffee and took a stroll around the neighborhood in my short shorts and bright yellow shirt. After lollygagging around town, I picked up my feet and started running back to the house. I took a more scenic route this time, and got to see a lot of wonderful houses and interesting neighborhoods.

When I got back, I showered and threw on my fleur de lis shirt to get ready for the game. People take their Saints very seriously down here. I cracked open my first beer at around 11:30 and began introducing myself to all the members of the party as they started arriving. Lynette walked over around 12:30 and mentioned that there were a few 26 year old girls over her house. I can't ever remember jumping out of a chair that fast. I was having a great time with everyone at Leigh and Jeanne's house, but it's been so long since I interacted with people my age. I walked back with her and hung out with the ladies for a while. I introduced them to black bean brownies that Jeanne had made - none of them liked them. I, for one, loved them.

They had to leave for a photo shoot and I headed back over to the house to finish watching football. What a glorious finish it was - the Saints kicked some serious but and everyone was thrilled.

After the game was finished, Laurel and Meredith invited me to join them in the quarter for a drink, or 5. We started at Lefeet's (or something like that). It's the oldest bar in the south (or something like that). They served some entirely nasty frozen purple drank. I had a beer. We wandered around town, stopping at many bars and trying different things. I made sure that we made a pit stop at Patty O's for a hurricane. Laurel had to return home to do some laundry so Meredith continued my private tour of the area. We eventually finished our night at Laurel's apartment, where she had a rooftop view of the city. It was great. I got to have a real night out in New Orleans and finish it with laying on lounge chairs on top of a roof.

Meredith gave me a ride home and I got myself ready for hitting the road in the morning.

Total mileage: 0

Day 42 - New Orleans, LA

I spent my morning in the French Quarter - walking around and taking pictures. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating.

There were a ton of beautiful sight and a lot of drunk people. 10:30 in the morning seemed like a reasonable time to start boozing for plenty of people.

I really enjoyed all the architecture around the neighborhood. The amount of wrought iron fencing was also pretty amazing.



This is what a lot of the streets look like.



I wandered into a produce market, where there was a band walking around and playing some old marching band tunes.



Check out this street! Beautiful!



This was some courtyard. I can't remember the name, but it was old.



Some more lovely architecture.



Here is a cafe set back from the road with a beautiful garden.



This is an at gallery of some famous children's book illustrator.



I can't remember his name, but I loved the art!



Canal St.: The widest street in North America.





Bourbon St.



I finally got fed up with watching other people get drunk and have fun with their friends. It made me feel slightly lonely, walking around the streets by myself.

When I returned to the house, Jeanne treated me to a fried shrimp po-boy. It was from a place called Parkway (?) the most famous of all po-boy delis. It was pretty tasty, though I couldn't understand the difference between and sandwich with something fried on it and a po-boy.



When I finished, I joined Lynette, Susan and Hilda for a night out at Siberia. We saw the same guy as the night before, but it was only Paul and a dude named Alex. Alex sounded just like Michael McDonald, which I found very entertaining. The only difference was that Alex was much more vulgar. They played a few tunes from movies and it was a great night. I got back to the house around 9:00 and made bedtime pretty early.

Total mileage: 0

Day 41 - Gulfport, MS to New Orleans, LA

 

I was on the bike pretty early today - around 6:45. I was so excited to get to NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana). The sky was absolutely beautiful when I walked out onto the street.

 

 

While I was making my way to the beach, I found some pretty awesome sights. I'm constantly finding myself in awe, staring up at the sky. It's just so beautiful down here!

 

I found my way to the beach and was greeted by this, to the east:



And this, to the west:



Can you ask for more?

The answer: Yes. The ride down the shore was awful. The sidewalk would constantly disappear, resulting in me toppling over in the sand. There was also a bunch of construction on the sidewalk, which I had to walk my bike around. It sucked.

I did find the port that most of the bananas that go into the US arrive through. It didn't really smell like bananas. It actually smelled pretty nasty.



This view makes the port look a little nicer.



I finally found a bridge with a nice wide bike lane, so that I could start to punish my body with the remaining miles. Unfortunately my body didn't want to cooperate after being punished so hard the day before. I was exhausted. The ride today ended up feeling way too long.

There were plenty of boats along the way. Shrimpin' is a very big deal down here.



Check out this bridge!



The view from the crest was quite nice.



I knew I was on along journey, but I must have made a wrong turn somewhere. I had no intention of going to space!



Three states in three days. Louisiana, it's good to see you!



This is a picture of something, but I'm not sure what because The computer won't display it. I bet its the picture of the bridge, which isn't very interesting anyway.



Neither is this picture. Unfortunately, this is what I was staring at for most of my journey.




The view of the water was quite lovely from one of the many bridges that I traversed along the way.



Like this one.



But this bridge was particularly cool because you could see New Orleans off in the distance.



A little closer, you could see some old fort. I can't remember the name of it.



Most of the houses along Hwy 90 were raised to avoid flooding. A lot of them were still under construction after being damaged in the hurricane. This one looks to be hurricane proof!



A nice wide shoulder and a beautiful sky, the only other thing I would like is for the headwind to go away.



I was transfixed by this huge beautiful cloud for miles.



New Orleans! Getting here sucked. At one point, I found myself on a busy highway with no shoulder. Luckily, once I got into Mid-town, there were plenty of bike lanes to follow. No if only I could avoid the construction...



It was nice to have arrived.



And like I said, nice to have my own lane.



This canal was the sign that I was close to my final destination!



Leigh and Jeanne were still at work so Leigh have me instructions on how to get into the house and to make myself at home. Can you guess what I did first?



Not really a surprise.

Jeanne arrived home shortly after I got myself showered. She had Lynette come over to meet me, who offered to take me out on the town. We jumped into a car with Susan and Hilda, all of them related to each other through marriages. They took me to City Park where Paul Sanchez was playing. He was a bit of a local celebrity. I had an absolute blast. These ladies were so fun! I was fed beer after beer and beignet after beignet.



We stuck around until 7, at which point we got back into the car and drove to Chickie Wah Wah - one of Lynette's favorite local establishments. When we arrived, they had a duo playing some jazz for us - including Stand By Me by Ben King. I loved it.



The food there was amazing! I was treated to a BBQ Shrimp "Sammich," some sausage ad rice balls, mini crawfish pies and fries fried in duckfat. I was in heaven. Not to mention Lynette kept my glass full all night long.

Paul Sanchez (the local celeb) showed up later and played some tunes with a portion of his band. It was so great. He found out I was from New Jersey and he played Summer Wind by Frank Sinatra for me. We had such an incredible time. I wish I could upload the videos I took from the show, but sadly I can't. I might have to do it through youtube just so you all can experience a little of what I did!

We called it a night after the show and I fell fast asleep as soon as I got back to the house.

Staying in NOLA for a few days!

Total miles: 80