Trip Journal Post 6: Days 21-28

Day 21: Bastop to Sommersville Lake, TX. (76 miles) Curt was still lounging in bed as I left this morning, cycling slowly through the dense fog covering the old historic district of Bastrop. It was just beginning to lift as I entered Bastrop State Park, a real gem along this route! It was breathtakingly beautiful for not only the serene, dense pine forest but the short steep climbs. The sun barely penetrates to the secondary growth on the forest floor, and my arms and legs are damp as I pedal through the hundreds of strands of spider webs crossing the road. Somewhere along the road I saw an unencumbered road biker coming up behind. As he passed me on a short, flat section, I kicked it up a notch and caught him on the next steep hill. He looked to be in good shape, but I was having a testosterone moment. I passed him on the steep ascent and held him off for the next 3 miles. I last saw him at the base of another steep section as he stopped to catch his breath. I pushed a little harder, gaining momentum on a downhill, when a doe burst from the bushes, cutting crossed my path only 15' away. It would've been a tragic but humorous end to the trip...I slowed down, started snapping some pictures, and glided through Buescher State Park too. The humidity is so high here that it's the first time I've seen Spanish Moss hanging on the trees. Later I had dinner in Burton where I met a white Rastafarian sitting inside the only open cafe. He's traveling west on a Horizon incumbent and has a drop foot! Sheesh, he makes me feel like I'm just fooling around. He said he didn't talk much but never stopped telling odd, sniper kill stories from Vietnam throughout the entire meal. I gladly said goodbye and continued on to Sommersville Lake. It was 6 miles out of the way, but I enjoyed a free shower and "gorilla" camped in a field, sleeping clean and comfortable in my tent until sunrise.
Day 22: Sommerville Lake to Plumb, TX. (88m) I awoke to another wet, foggy morning. The tent was drenched as I repacked it and my laundry was even wetter. I had breakfast at an intersection gas station and visited with a fisherman from nearby Lake Conroe. I took several pics on the way to Navasota, as I took the Texas Independence Trail east. At Navasota I dried my clothes at a laundromat and enjoyed a Pizza Hut buffet. Afterward was the Sam Houston National Recreation Area. Lake Conroe is within it's border and there must be some great mountain bike trails, as I passed not less than 6 bike crossing signs along the highway. Earlier I had seen a aerial photo of an alligator swimming across a lake with a full sized doe in it's mouth that was supposedly taken at Lake Conroe! As I was riding along I heard some rustling in the grass along the shoulder of the road and stopped to investigate. It turned out to be three baby Armadillos cavorting in a mud hole and they never even heard me as I snuck up on them with the camera. I pushed on to New Waverly where I stopped for dinner at the New Waverly House. I was still hungry after dinner so they gave me an extra piece on peach pie for the road. There wasn't anywhere close to stay so I slugged out 13 more miles until I saw an RV park in Plumb. It was a great place to stay, with big, clean showers, a well-stocked, common game room, and hot tub. I'm glad I didn't miss it. They were a great example of what bike tourers need..and all for only $10!
Day 23: Plumb to Kountze, TX. (71 m) Dense fog and wet conditions again this morning. I think I'm coming down with the same cold Curt caught. I had to dry my clothes in the clubhouse and didn't get out of there until after 10am. I had some energy bars for breakfast and lunch in Shepard. It was a hard push into Kountze against 8-10mph winds. Dinner was a Cajun buffet so I tried all the dishes. Gumbo is still my favorite. The patrons and the employees were all very friendly and I got to telling stories to a nearby table of two couples. When I went to pay my bill I was told it was taken care of. They wouldn't tell me who to thank, and I left with a full belly. I shot down the block to a nearby Motel 8, took the first of my anti-biotics, as the cold is setting in, and did laundry. I was running a fever so I had a hard time going to sleep.
Day 24: Kountze to De Ridder, LA. (87m) I got off to a late start this morning, had the continental breakfast, and headed out about 9am. I stopped several times today to eat and drink plenty. The cold has my energy level down and, while passing over Big Cow creek, I noticed a county park with big shade trees so I stopped for a power nap. After 20 minutes I awoke and continued rolling toward Bon Weir. There is a Georgia Pacific plywood plant there and a Boise paper plant a little further east which explains all the logging trucks roaring passed all day. I crossed into Louisiana over the Sabine river. They didn't have a welcome sign so I shot a picture of the Texas sign going the west. With great relief I arrived in Merrysville, but didn't see anywhere to stay so I pressed on to De Ridder instead. I arrived with both sore wrists and a sore bum. Since I'm still feeling the effects of the cold I checked into the bike friendly Stagecoach Inn.
Day 25: De Ridder to Opelousas, LA. (85 m) Left De Ridder after the continental breakfast at about 9am. I'm adjusting to the humidity, but it isn't helping my cold much. I'm damp about 5 minutes into the ride and stay that way all day. I passed over the Calcasieu river and noticed hundreds of canoes to rent. I was really tempted to stop for the day for a lazy float, but I had missed a group that had recently departed. I had lunch in Oberlin, but couldn't locate the library. I ran into my first east to west"er", Brian, who is a New York City musician, doing the entire Southern Tier. He told me there is a group just 3 miles ahead of me going east. I tried to catch them but he said they have a sag wagon. I slid into Opelousas just after 5pm, when the library closed. I got off course somewhere near the city. These Parish roads are the worst I've seen so far. They don't seem to have any adopt a highway system here either so the garbage just piles up alongside the road and it would require a four wheel drive lawnmower to maintaining the roads as they have nearly been overgrown by grass. It was really a bum pounder through Evangelene Parish as the bike thumped over crack after crack! I called Curt tonite. He is having trouble shaking the cold and was trying too hard to catch up. We talked about our schedules again and he found out he has two extra days to get to St. Francesville. Since Tracy is coming into Baton Rouge this coming Sunday, I'm going to spend an extra day or two here instead of in the smaller town of St. Francisville, LA. It will give me some time to shake this cold too. I'm only 110 miles from our rendezvous now.
Day 26: Rest day in Opelousas, LA. (Just fun miles) I'm at the city library, where they're ready to kick me out for taking too long to update this blog. I'll label the pics Tracy posted as soon as I get the opportunity. My cold is finally fading. I took the bike without gear around the town today. It's light and nimble, but the roads are rough, dangerous, and covered with loose piles of gravel. I was eating lunch at the Palace Cafe downtown and one of the patrons stopped to visit. We discussed political views, cycling, and life in general before we were through. His name is Brad Jackson (Work #942-9984) and he has some nice apartments on Grolee St. in Opelousas that he rents to touring cyclists. I spoke with Curt later and recommended that he call if he stays there. It would be far more safe and comfortable than the Budget Inn! Afterward I went over to the Visitors Center where they have moved a collection of old buildings.
Day 27: Opelousas to New Roads, LA. (57 miles) It felt good to move on today. The beginning of the course meanders along the perimeter of the Thistlewaite Wildlife Management Area which was virtually traffic-free. I had lunch at Lebeau, LA. where I enjoyed the best spaghetti. I took some pictures of a 135 lb. snapping turtle on display. One of the locals had caught it in a nearby channel..and I've been looking for the little ones! At this point I decided to deviate from the course once again and strike for the Atchafalaya river crossing in Melville and save 62 miles. The actual route goes another day north to avoid the ferry but I can feel a big storm brewing. Unfortunately once I arrived I learned that the ferry had been out for two days and will be for 2 more months. The dilemma before me was to tack on another 70 miles or to sneak across the railroad bridge. I sacked out on the river for a short power nap and waited for the bridge operator to raise it for a passing boat. Gambling that a train wasn't going to be coming soon, I shot across the metal catwalk for 1/4 mile as soon as the center was lowered and slid down the other side, just missing treading on a big snake, and onto a dirt road. I followed the most heavily-used, but unmarked route for about 5-6 miles until I returned to the pavement. At this point I could smell the rain coming and the clouds looked threatening. Just before I entered Morganza the downpour started and it didn't quit for the rest of the night. I squished into New Roads, LA nearly in the dark (although it was only 4:30) and checked into the first motel I saw. I got drenched two more times when I ran to and from dinner later. The motel clerk said there were tornado warning in effect for the evening. I will spend the next several days here while I kill time waiting for Tracy to arrive across the Mississippi river in St. Francisville.
Day 28: Day off in New Roads, LA. I'm sitting in the library in New Roads as I wait for both Tracy and Curt to arrive. Tracy will come in on Sunday afternoon via Baton Rouge and stay until Tuesday morning; Curt is riding from De Ridder, LA., but has wisely opted not to try crossing the railroad trestle at Melville and plans on arriving by Monday.
As of this entry later the same day, I am sitting in the business room of a motel across from the Baton Rouge Airport and will fly home in the morning. Shortly after lunch I recieved some tragic personal news that my daughter, Erinn, age 22, was found dead in her home; Her former boyfriend was also dead at the scene. I've spoken with the Coroners office and the Homicide detective sergeant Mike Thompson, a friend of mine, in Las Vegas. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but it's being treated as a homicide pending the outcome of an autopsy in the morning. Please be in prayer for my family during this tragedy.