May 1, Day 41, riding day 36, Simmesport, LA to 5 miles past St Francisville, LA, 44.9 miles, 2,192.7 miles cuml

Today we rode another flat day of central Louisiana, and we crossed the Misissippi River on a ferry. People rode between 45 and about 55 miles depending on the routes taken. We were along huge river levees. Becky and I left early and had a few sprinkles; others caught a couple of nasty rain and thunderstorms. We had a nice first lunch in St. Francisville, a quaint river town at the east ferry crossing. Most of us are staying at the Peaceful Pines RV park about 5 miles east of St. Francisville. The pictures are of Rita and Luke, the ferry, rain at the rv park and a seafood stand. The videos are on the river ferry.

April 30, day 40, riding day 35, Washington, LA to Simmesport, LA, 56.3 miles, 2,147.8 miles cuml

Flat flat flat flat flat riding, heading north through Louisiana even though we want to go east and south, but the ACA route wants you to go on 1) roads with no traffic, 2) at least 10 miles of rough farm roads, 3) get chased by several farm dogs, and 4) see places you would not ever see had you chosen the route. Ok, so I prefer straight east and I am trying to chill out. I mean, we are supposed to be going west to east not south to north.... Today I left first at 7:50 and got in just before noon. Sharon got here at 1pm and the others have been trickling since then (it is now 1:30). Luke had to replace a spoke this morning and Phil had to go to a State Farm office to get his corporate computer updated so they will be in late. The weather is turning -- all the news is about the oil spill off the coast, but we have major storms going to hit starting later today for the next 3 days, so things will get more than a bit damp, withrain and thunderstorms predicted. I had only 5 dog chases today, 7 total dogs, and only 3 full out sprints of the five. Louisiana has more wild farm dogs than I have ever seen, and if you are on a bike, it is war. I do have some pepper spray that we got at a running store in San Diego, have used it twice, but usually you are pedalling so fast that it becomes difficult to get a good shot off. The pictures are from a crawfish wholesaler. I went into the coolers and there were hundreds of bags of crawfish harvested yesterday in bags, for sale for around $35 a bag. The bags weigh like 30-50 pounds. The three videos are of some guys sorting crawfish. We bought 10 pounds of cooked crawfish for $27 and had them as appetizers - they were really good but a lot of work.

April 29, Day 39, riding day 34, Oberlin LA to Washington LA, 56 miles 2,091.5 miles cuml.

There was no availabl free wifi service that I could find in Washington LA. And I looked for quite a while. This entry is being posted Friday Apr. 30, but was written Thursday.

Today we had a nice sunny flat ride, elevations ranging from 35 feet to 65 feet or so above sealevel, through farms, crawfish beds, rice paddies, etc. We did have SSE headwinds that will continue. Rains may come Friday afternoon for a few days as we finish crossing Louisiana. We are staying at an old steamship warehouse location on a bayou. Louisiana hospitality continuies to be marvelous. All are well.
Pictures are of the warehouse and cottages, and of the riverbank showing the tree root systems. Additional pictures and videos include oil well, crawfish harvesting, above ground graveyards and others, pictures of the warehouse and cottages, and of the riverbank showing the tree root systems.

April 28, Day 38, riding day 33, Merryville LA to Oberlin LA, 56.3 miles, 2,035.5 miles cuml

Today we had a late start with a breakfast of sausauge, eggs and bisquits made by the folks at the Merryville museum. We left about 8:45 am, rode 56.3 sunny miles north and east on mostly flat wide roads with some headwinds and ended at Oberlin, LA. I took about 3 hours and 45 minutes. We are staying at the volunteer fire station. I added in a couple of pictures from the local hardware store. The next few days are all between 50 and 60 miles or so. We only have one more long day, the second to the last day, at 89 miles. We are expecting some rain and storms starting Friday....

April 27, Day 37, rest day in Merryville, Louisiana

Last night the local folks from Merryville hosted a dinner for us at the local museum. (Merryville Historical Society & Museum, PO Box 637, Merryville, LA 70653 -- Call Linda if you want to visit at 337_825-0101.)

Frank asked if there was a barber around and they produced Dorothy, a retired stylist who gave about six of us very good trims! The local police chief (sporting a pony tail "I make the rules around here") met up with Jerry, our retired California patrolman for a picture with cowboy hats. We have never encountered a friendlier community. Today they are preparing a breakfast of bisquits and gravy for us and a bbq dinner! Several of our folks spent some time at the local retirement home talking about our trip. It will be a relaxing day in the bayou.

This is one of the dishes we were served last night:
Dorothy’s famous and unbelievably delicious Broccoli Corn Bread
10 oz frozen broccoli drained
4 eggs well beaten
1 onion chopped
1 tsp salt
6 oz cottage cheese
1 pkg jiffy cornbread mix
½ cup oleo melted
mix jiffy mix last
mix all together, bake at 400 degrees 30-35 minutes
makes 1 8” pan
Dorothy Williamson
Merryville, LA

April 26, Day 36, riding day 32, Silsbee, TX to Merryville, LA 63.2 miles, 1979.2 miles cuml

Today we had an easy flat ride for the final 55 or so miles of Texas, ending 3 weeks of that state, and into Louisiana, state number 5 of 8 we will visit. The pictures include our hostesses at the Merryville(they are providing 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts -- we have a rest day tomorrow) Alice riding, Becky and Frank in with the hostesesses, the border leaving Texas and entering Beuregard Parish, LA, and a few others. The video is about 15 seconds of riding across the Sabine River into Louisiana. Our elevation varied from about 45 ft to 125 ft today, and not very many times. As is typical, I am using the local library for internet access. We end three weeks from today in St. Augustine.

April 25, Day 35, riding day 31, Shepherd, TX to Silsbee,TX 62.2 miles, 1,916 miles cuml

We had the easiest ride so far today, flat, tailwind, smooth surface, low Sunday traffic, ending at Silsbee TX at about 65 ft elevation. We are staying at the Red Cloud RV park, a nice breezy grassy treed area with views and sounds of a freeway. I made the ride in 3 hrs and 45 minutes, going mostly 19-22 mph.

The big news today is that tonight is our LAST night in Texas. After about 45 miles tomorrow we hit state #5, Louisiana.

The pictures are of an alligator stand, Janet and Jerry riding, Phil and Steve sitting, me pointing to the cook schedule posted on the van window and a picture Phil took of the wide flat roads today.