69 Miles to Pascagoula, MS .....

It was a beautiful day today, about 55 degrees when we started and 75 when we finished. The humidity was low and the wind was from the north. We were headed southeast, so whenever we had a right turn, we had a tailwind. And the sun was shining all day, which always elevates one's mood. 

We travelled mostly on quiet, country roads with nice pavement. 

I started the ride with Sandy who got another flat tire early-on in the ride. She actually had to replace the tire as well as the tube because of the size of the gash in the tire. That meant waiting for the SAG car to get there with a new tire. 

We crossed 2 long bridges toward the end of the ride, but I'm not even sure what rivers we crossed.

Some of the pics I'm posting are from last night's BD celebration. One of the women in the group purchased these fun masks.

61 Miles to Wiggins, MS .....

I put my rain gear in my handlebar bag today because there was a threat of thunderstorms, but never needed it. The roads were wet this morning from overnight rain, so I cleaned my bike when I finished the ride today. Tomorrow's forecast is good, but you can never count on that.

We're in Mississippi now. They have had a lot of rain, so there is a lot of flooding (pic). We rode on some very bumpy roads that are in need of repair, but fortunately, they didn't go on forever. It was overcast all day. The temperature was about 60 degrees when we rolled out of Bogalusa this morning and only got up to about 63 here in Wiggins. 

Because we're in a new state, there will be a Margarita party tonight. It's our guide Carol's birthday today, so there will be another BD celebration. Oh joy!

55 Miles to Bogalusa, LA .......

It was warmer when we left for our ride this morning (about 53 degrees), but because it was overcast, it never got very warm. We even had some sprinkles in the afternoon, but nothing too bad.

For the most part, the roads have no shoulders, but are in pretty good shape. 

My roommate tonight is Lynn from Palm City, FL. She has been retired about a year from running a management consulting firm. She was a licensed pilot from age 34-55. She has done numerous bike tours in Europe, the USA and Canada.

One of the women (Joyce from England) had a birthday today, so we celebrated at dinner time.

Tomorrow we leave Louisiana and enter Mississippi. We get to St. Augustine 2 weeks from today!

89 Miles to Hammond, LA .....

It was 36 degrees when we started our ride this morning. Some of the women had already mailed cold-weather clothes home and had no tights or long-fingered gloves. BRRRRR ...... it did warm up quickly, though, and at about 30 miles, I was able to shed a layer of clothes.

I ended up riding quite a bit by myself today, which I don't like. I get nervous about missing a turn when it's been a long time since I've seen another rider. Unfortunately, many of the women like to ride alone and don't feel comfortable in a pace line. One woman told me today that if someone is behind her, they should be at least 10 car lengths back or she feels uncomfortable.

I saw a peacock today. I think that's the first peacock I've seen that wasn't in a zoo.

My roommate tonight is Karen from Rochester, NY. She is married to a German man and lived in Germany for 28 years. She has done a lot of bicycle touring throughout Europe. For years, she taught English to foreign adults both in Germany and the USA.

96 Miles to St. Francisville, LA ......

Today's ride turned out so much better than I thought it would. The weather report said there was an 80% chance of thunder showers and that the winds would be from the south as they were yesterday. As it turned out, the rain held off until we got to our inn and the winds were mostly at our backs. I'm sitting on my bed now listening to the rain outside, so grateful that I'm in here and it's out there. And tomorrow is a rest day and I have a private room for two nights! 

At about mile 35, the woman with whom I was riding got a flat tire so I waited with her while she changed it. What a day to get a flat because we knew we had a long ride and were trying to beat the rain. 

There was a long bridge (3.5 miles long with no shoulder) at mile 45, and they didn't want us riding over it individually, so we went in 3 groups-- there were 2 lanes of traffic in each direction, so we rode in a group, 2 abreast and "took the lane" while our SAG vehicle was behind us with her lights flashing. The motorists were all very courteous even though we probably held them up a bit.

The highlight for me on the ride was crossing the mighty Mississippi. The bridge (pics) we crossed the River on is only 2 years old. Before it was built, people had to take a ferry across.

We're staying at The Francisville Inn tonight (pic). The trees in the front lawn are Live Oaks with the moss hanging down, just what you would expect to see in Louisiana.

84 Miles to Lafayette, LA ......

The wind has not been our friend on this trip. We rode all day into a crosswind coming from the south at 20 mph. There is a storm blowing in and I'm just grateful that we didn't have rain today. Tomorrow will be another story, I'm afraid, as they are predicting an 80% chance of rain.

We rode past fields that are flooded for growing rice. Crowley, a small town we rode through, is known as "the rice capital of America". Crawfish are also harvested in this area.

Tonight we are going out to dinner. Catfish, fried or broiled, is on the menu. I'm trying to keep an open mind .....

My roommate tonight is Tina from New Jersey. She's 51 and the fastest rider in the group. She's already signed up for the Atlantic Coast Tour next April that goes from Ft. Lauderdale to Bar Harbor. They will have a rest day in Freeport, so I will probably visit her while she is there.

77 Miles to Lake Charles, LA ......

At mile 35 we crossed into Louisiana which was pretty exciting after being in Texas for so long. We turned around when we left Texas and took a pic of the sign that you would see entering Texas because we never saw one when we did actually enter the state (probably because Las Cruces, NM. sort of blended right into El Paso). 

The humidity was noticeably higher and we no sooner crossed into Louisiana and we started seeing the marshes that you typically think you will see here. Our guide warned us that Louisiana isn't as rich a state as Texas and that we would run into a lot of pot holes in the street. That was true at first, but then we turned off the main road and onto quiet roads with little traffic that were in great shape.

I stopped to take a pic of some horses, took one and then I wasn't quick enough with the second pic before they turned and walked away. You get the idea.

Toward the end of our ride we crossed the west fork of the Calcasieu River and then the Lake Charles River (a 1.2 mile bridge with no shoulder and lots of traffic).

My roommate tonight is Mary-Slade from Michigan/Ohio. She's the youngest woman on the trip and just celebrated her 47th birthday a few days ago.

Now that we're out of the hilly country, our mileage/day is increasing. Tomorrow we ride 83 and then the next day is 96. Even if it's fairly flat, after about 60 miles, I get tired of sitting on the bike seat and my neck is ready for a break. Plus, it sounds as if we may have rain for the next few days. But, one day at a time, right?