Day 49, Deridder LA to Silsbee TX

Another nice day of riding though with very little to report. I did cross another state line which was nice, welcome to Texas. I also ran into another cyclist on the road from Oregon which was fun. Nice guy.

The road was smooth today which is turning out to be the biggest thing for me. It's a good day if it is smooth and a bad day if it's bumpy. Texas roads have been smooth so far so I'm okay with it. Hopefully this keeps going.

Yeah nothing much to say really, the cycling is easy enough that I basically just get on the bike and ride until I'm done. I don't really need breaks anymore and I'm tired at the end of the day, but not exhausted. It isn't tough anymore which is nice at least, I can go faster for longer so I like that. That said though, still love a tailwind. I was a rocketship today though even with a headwind. Power legs.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 4:57.47
Day miles: 75.81
Total miles west: 1232.48
Average speed: 15.2
Max speed: 24.4

Day 48, Alexandria LA to Deridder LA

Today is what it's all about about. I don't know what "it" is but today had it. I actually have a pretty good idea what it is: smooth roads, low traffic, serene riding. If I was Stella I'd be rocking my groove again. Great day of riding through the Kisatchie national Forest. Just gorgeous really, finally saw some fall colors which was great. And almost every mile was on brand new smooth road. Best day ever, more of these please.

The one awkward thing about today was that there were a lot of signs talking about unexploded ordinances and that I was right near a bombing range.... I'm still alive so I guess they weren't bombing but still a little concerning. Perhaps the road is so smooth because it was recently bombed?

Also a town name of Deridder is great but they are missing an opportunity in trying to keep their highways clean. They have signs saying "keep Deridder clean" instead of saying "let's get Deridder of the trash on the highway". Step up your game Deridder. Step it up.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 5:04.41
Day miles: 72.31
Total miles west: 1156.76
Average speed: 14.2 mph
Max speed: 27.5 mph

Day 47, Bunkie LA to Alexandria LA

Well I had a nice sleep on the fire department couch, unusually nice sleep actually. Zonked out. Woke up and changed out my tire and was ready to go. With no spare though i was nervous about the road ahead. I Decided that it would be a good idea to go to Alexandria where there is a bike shop and buy a spare tube. Didn't realize how good of an idea it was because I almost immediately got a flat leaving Bunkie. Turns out I had a bunch of glass and metal ripping through my tire. The bike shop set me up with a new tube, some tire armor and even realigned my brakes. Overall, I'm confident about moving forward with flats but I still bought another tube.

It was a super short day and I found myself cycling by the pie capital of Louisiana. Naturally, I had to stop in for a slice. Since I'm also in pecan country (who knew? But there are an unusual amount of pecans around here actually...) I ordered a slice of pecan pie. Not a bad slice of pie I must say, did me right. Felt good eating pie.

The sun was shining and my place was slow so it was a good day. I even went through and planned the remainder of the trip. San Diego on the 18th is the plan right now, destined to change I'm sure. It feels good to have a plan though, the end game is in sight.

BBQ: Eddie's smokehouse in Alexandria.
Been some time since I had barbeque and this one was pretty solid. Got sausage and ribs which surprised me when I ordered it. Turns out it was mighty tasty, juicy tender ribs and some nice sausage. I also ordered Mac as a side which was confusing... I might have forgotten how to eat barbeque. I hope this is just a phase.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 3:31.24
Day miles: 37.18
Total miles west: 1084.42
Average speed: 10.5 mph
Max speed: 21.4 mph

Day 46, New Roads LA to Bunkie LA

I might have list my temper more than once today. I yelled at people, at myself but mostly at the road. Smooth your roads Louisiana! Smooth. Your. Roads. Smooth! Terrible.

All is more or less well but today wasn't the day that yesterday was, today was poor overall. It was supposed to be a short day so I was slow in the morning and started late. Let's felt good and I thought today was going to be great. Right out of the gate I took a wrong turn and added ten miles to the trip. Then the road was bumpy and the wind was blasting in my face. Right in my face. Then I took another wrong turn and added about fifteen miles to the trip. My short about sixty mile day quickly became just under ninety. Then it started getting dark and I had to ride about ten miles in the dark. Then, two miles out of town, the slow leak in my tube I had gotten thirty miles ago blew. It was a full on flat now, not going anywhere with it. I didn't want to change a tire in the dark so I decided to just walk into town. Thankfully a nice lady pulled over and drove me in and thank God because it would have taken a long time to walk in. Now I'm chilling in the local fire department on their couch which will be a nice place to sleep. Tomorrow I'll change the tire and might detour up the road to find a bike shop. I just don't feel comfortable without a backup tube, especially since this tube of mine that burst can't be patched. Big burst.

So it wasn't a great day today and to top it off I'm missing the football game because nobody gets NFL network down here. I'm not sure why we get so much NFL network in Canada but in America nobody has it. Bring me football America, it's what I crave.

Tomorrow will be better, it has to be.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 6:27.26
Day miles: 86.30
Total miles west: 1047.23
Average speed: 13.3
Max speed: 30.2

Day 45, Baton Rouge LA to New Roads LA

Pretty basic day of riding, not much to report. It was a short day and mostly along the highway. It was a bit rainy today, not much more than a drizzle but enough to convince me to end it short.

I did go to a grocery store and was definitely shopping hungry. Bread, cheese, milk, yogurt, fruit all these things that you don't get at a gas station. Basically just ate all day after checking into a hotel. Luxury.

The big thing about today though was that I've officially altered my plan and am throwing in the towel. I'm just losing a bit of my mustard and don't think I have the time or the energy to conquer the desert and mountains. I dreamed big but will fall short of my 5000 mile goal.

The new plan is that I'll be going to Austin to check it out then blast down to San Antonio to visit cousin. From there I'll hop a train to somewhere outside of San Diego and just ride the huge downhill into town to see sister. From there grab a flight home near the end of the month. I feel good about it, should be more like 3000 miles which is probably more my speed. Whatever the case I feel good about this new plan, I'm excited to have the finish line move much closer.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 3:38.06
Day miles: 45.34
Total miles west: 960.93
Average speed: 12.4 mph
Max speed: 26.6 mph

Day 44, new Orleans to baton rouge LA

Business riding. I had talked to a guy named Mark Martin, who I am currently staying with in Baton Rouge, about routes into town. He mentioned I should stay off the highway and ride along the river instead to avoid some bad conditions. I googled it and what looked like a similar route was 100 miles so I thought it was possible in a day, long day but possible.

Set off a little late and a little hungry which was a bad omen. The terrible new Orleans streets were the other bad omen. Getting lost on these streets was another bad omen. Having trouble finding my breakfast restaurant was another bad omen. Construction on the levy bike path was the last straw. No more straws.

Needless to say I was not in the greatest of moods until I ran into Bert and Holly along the road. They were in their last day of a 2.5 month 2200 mile trip. Very nice people, have me a sticker and just told me not to worry about things. The sticker says, "make art, be happy". True words and cured me almost immediately, felt like I was riding lighter after that one.

The ride was nice after that, a big tail wind along a lightly used road. Huge industrial area, saw loads of coal and refineries and construction materials. Crazy. It got crazier when people were left off their shift and just blasting it home. Also it gets dark early now so I was riding in the dark for a little bit. Not great but not bad, wide shoulder.

As mentioned, staying with Mark and talked about geology a little bit which was nice. Good guy who has set me up with a bed and everything. Awesome. He also has a sweet beard.

Trip stats
Hours riding: 8:29.04
Day miles: 119.43
Total miles west: 915.57
Average speed: 14.0 mph
Max speed: 28.5 mph

Day 41-43 rest days in new Orleans

Love new Orleans. I'm not going to go into too much detail because read a travel blog if you want to know more about new Orleans. Basically I did everything that I wanted to do though:
-took in some live jazz music
-hit bourbon street
-voodoo shop
-wandered around, soaked it in
-ate very nice meal with nice drinks
-ate alligator

I feel like other things happened also but I'll forever remember pizza cone and "REV YOUR MOTOR BRO!"

Seriously though, Rev your motor life right? Put that on a shirt and smoke it... Smoke it with hickory then eat it. REV IT!

No miles, bike on lock down.