Simmsport to Jackson 60.9 miles 676 feet of climb Crossing into the Deep South It rained last night and I was glad to be at the church instead of our tents. It makes it so much easier not to have to pack up a wet tent in the morning. The weather cleared up by morning and we left in sunshine. There were smooth roads and light winds. Because it was Sunday morning, traffic was light. We even had a tailwind for the part of the ride.
We had several instances with dogs, but none serious enough for me to use my horn. Today was not Karen’s day and she had two flats. James and I happened upon Karen and Sharon just as she had finished fixing her first flat, so we rode on. Later she had a second flat. The first flat was caused by a nail and the second by a small piece of wire that she could have picked up anywhere, and took a while to work through her tire. Flats are not fun but look at all of the support she had fixing the flats alongside the road. That's Karen holding her tire - I'm not sure what Sharon in the orange jacket is doing but I'm sure it was helpful!
We crossed two rivers today. The first river, the Atchafalaya, had a bridge just like the Sabine River had, low and nondescript. The second river bridge was the John James Audubon bridge over the Mississippi River. The bridge soared above us as we rode up upon it. There were saw-toothed expansion joints capable of snagging bicycle tires, but the shoulders had metal plates covering them. The river itself was wide, dirty, and had swampy areas on each side.
Here's our view from the bridge. It was pretty exciting for all of us.
Dan (husband of poor Shirley that broke her elbow and had to leave the ride) did the Southern Tier Route ride several years earlier and said he saw someone going too fast down the bridge, hit an expansion joint and do a face-plant. The guy wrecked his bike but was not seriously hurt.
Our ride route has taken us north of Baton Rouge. The end of the ride today was at a place called Perry’s Bike Hostel, near Jackson, Louisiana (not Mississippi). Perry is proud of the fact that she is a charter member of “Warm Showers,” a support network that offers free amenities like meals and a place to stay for touring bicyclists (warm showers.org). There is one toilet and one outdoor shower available for us to use while we camp here. Perry and her husband Keith own the land and are both avid bikers who have toured in the past. She also rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker, similar to mine.
Here's some pictures of Perry's Bike Hostel
ROW 1, left to right
he entrance marker to the Hostel.
note the orange triangle on the mailbox put there by our leaders to make sure didn't miss the turn.
our host Perry and Kathy, one of our leaders
ROW 2, left to right
the only bathroom
the only outdoor shower
the ingenious propane fueled, tankless hot water heater
Tomorrow will be our last night in Louisiana as we head to Mississippi. Harris, who is from Florida, says that once we are East of the Mississippi River, we are officially in the Deep South. We will have a rest day with a trip to New Orleans. It won’t be long before we will be in the Florida panhandle. We are 2/3rds of our way to St. Augustine.
SOME NOTES from my discussion with Perry about her touring experience with her Surly.
Perry's Surly LHT is very similar to my bike except she had the frame cut in two places in order to better fit in a bike case. The picture shows the silver metal places where the frame locks together. (red oval) My bike was taken apart and shipped in a cardboard box from Iowa to California. It will go home the same way.
Perry also has a Rohloff Speedhub, an internal hub with electronic shifting, similar to what Dennis (our leader that left to be with his dying dog) had on his Co-Motion bike.
Like my Surly, Perry has a front generator hub with an auxiliary port for charging something besides the lights. I told her my experience charging my phone and how it did not work the best. She said someone staying at the hostel (she has about 400 per year) told her to charge a battery all day instead. She says it works for her. I have a small battery that I will try tomorrow and if it works, my charging problem will be solved.
Comments