Day 27 - Past the 2,000 mile mark

Departure: DeRidder, LA      Finish:  Ville Platte, LA     

Distance:    77.9 miles

Elevation gain:  1,123 feet (1,258’ downhill)

Winds: SSE at 8 to 10 mph.

Weather:  Overcast. Very humid. 72 degrees at departure. 76 degrees at arrival

On bike duration:   4 hrs, 33 minutes. 

Average speed: 17.1 mph

Total Accumulated Miles:  2,046.5

We have logged more than 2,000 miles, to arrive in the middle of Louisiana. Today’s ride was very enjoyable - following a full day of rest, including a hot-stone massage at “Asian Relax” in DeRidder. Several twists and turns gave us alternating headwinds and tailwinds from the South. The same winds were very annoying three weeks ago, but I am demonstrably stronger now, and powered through. An average speed of 17 mph over 78 miles with variable winds is a significant change, and an accomplishment worth recording.

At our first water break, Dennis pulled into the gravel parking lot of a convenience store called Don’s One Stop. I’m fairly sure that’s what it was called. (The marquee sign with the Coca Cola logo hasn’t been updated for a week or two.) Don sells propane and a variety of other stuff containing the letters E, D, C, and Q. Don actually had a steady stream of patrons while we stopped to fill our water bottles.

The first 60 miles of our Louisiana tour was dominated by commercial forestry - for lumber and plywood. The highway shoulders were littered with fist-sized, and sometimes arm-sized shards of bark and wood that had escaped from trucks transporting the fallen trees to various mills. I rolled over some of the debris that couldn’t be avoided - with no damage or danger.

As we made our way Eastward today, the economy changed radically to two very different agricultural pursuits I had never in my life seen before - rice and crawfish farming. I have known that rice is typically grown in a field flooded with water. It’s easy to flood a field in this location because the water table is just below ground level.

As for the crawfish - I have never been an avid consumer of the southern delicacy and I never pondered the source. Clearly, there are far too many successful crawfish eateries in the locale to rely on a handful of eight-year-old boys to pack them to town on their bikes. In the back of my mind, I felt sure they were not raked in from the Gulf, like Bubba Gump Shrimp. My eyes were opened today when  we passed many miles and thousands of acres of flooded swamp with crawfish “pots” waiting to be harvested. The highlight of today was our good fortune to stop on the side of the road and watch a man in a flat-bottomed skiff, making the rounds to empty the crawfish pots. The water was only 15 or so inches deep and the boat was propelled by a motor-driven wheel that dug into the ground below to push the boat. Fascinating!

On the shoulder of the road today, I counted four phone charging cords. Now I do not have an accurate count, but I have noticed dozens of phone charging cords (without the car plug, or wall plug) on the side of the roads since we left the Pacific. I believe I have seen 60 or more. This is a mild curiosity to me. When you ride on the shoulder of a highway you must always be on the lookout for any debris that could puncture your tire, or put you in an ambulance. I have steered around rocks that could have thrown me into traffic. I have maneuvered away from squishy diapers that have been thoughtlessly tossed overboard. I’ve seen myriad beer cans & bottles, a menagerie of road kill, and thousands of expelled truck tires. But, I’m always surprised to see charging cords. It almost feels like a Tik Tok challenge, or like the rubber duckies on the dashboard of Jeeps these days. Why would anybody chuck a charging cord out of their vehicle? Why would anything be chucked out of a vehicle…  These are things I think about.

One other interesting item. When I have visited New Orleans in the past, I have seen the above-ground graveyards and have been told it is due to the very high water tables. As we rolled into Ville Platte today I got a close up view.

Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi. I’d say that’s another important milestone in this adventure. I’ll try to snap a photo or two.

Tonight - another Best Western. When walking back from the Mexican restaurant next door, I spotted a group of guys grilling up some ribs and chicken on a Weber. It was a construction crew from Baldwin, LA. Very friendly guys. They couldn’t quite understand my journey. “Why you do dat?”, one of them asked with a thick Cajun accent. I could tell my answer didn’t satisfy his curiosity. He told me about another crazy guy he heard of who is walking from coast to coast. He proudly offered, “He came through my home town, you know.” I thought about sticking around to take them up on the offer of their cooking, but we had birthday cake waiting in the lobby. Today is the 71st birthday of one of our guides - Jim Pratt.