Good evening. Tonight finds us in the working class town of Bogalusa LA.
We were greeted this morning to real Mississippi hospitality as the grounds keeper of the Mill Creek RV park came over bearing steaming hot coffee as we were packing bags. We drank that and a second cup he offered with otherwise pretty meager fare as we were limited to what we had picked up at the convenience store the afternoon before.
Bags packed we wished him well and headed off for a morning of pleasant country back roads with only a few steep short climbs. The roads weren't particularly wide, but there was very little traffic and clouds leftover from the previous night's storm blocked the sun and helped to keep the temperature down.
About the only accompanying sound was a veritable roar of cicadas in the surrounding trees. I don't know if the previous night's rain brought them out, but the buzz of mating cicadas was everywhere.
As we approached Poplarville for lunch, we left the woods behind and the hushed quiet was as impressive as the roar we'd been riding through. Lunch was shrimp poboys, fried okra, and coleslaw.
After lunch we returned to even more remote back roads, as Adventure Cycling says that the direct route from Poplarville to Bogalusa carries heavy traffic and a high percentage of inebriated drivers. The back roads were great.
We did have to travel the shoulderless main road for 3 miles and both of us were relieved to pass unscathed into Louisiana and their roads with generous, if trash-cluttered, shoulders.
Thunder rolled and rain started falling as we arrived in Bogalusa, so we ducked into the closest available shelter, a Taco Bell. The staff was a gregarious bunch who could hardly believe we were riding cross-country and related that there were a couple of guys riding bikes to Boulder CO who had stopped in yesterday. Indeed, Neil and Pete who we shared the ferry ride and a night below the Dauphin Island beach house are just a day ahead of us.
We grabbed a bite to eat and left to find the local hotel. As we were heading out, the two guys behind the counter, Kekory and Calvin, came out to say a prayer for our safety. Kekory lead an inspired, heartfelt few moments of asking God's grace for our safe travels and both of us felt truly welcomed into Louisiana.
Of course, the guys could have known what hotel we were heading to, the Budget Inn of Bogalusa. Mother always said you shouldn't say anything if you couldn't say something nice. OK, the air conditioner works, most of the lights do, and fortunately the door locks. Nuff said.
We'll be up and out early tomorrow morning, hoping not to have any six-legged stowaways with us.
Remember, it's all an adventure.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 15, 2014
We are camping tonight in the Mill Creek RV park outside Perkinston, MS. It's hot and humid and there's thunder rolling in the background, but I think the storms will stay north of us.
We've been allowed the relative luxury of setting up tents under an overhang attached to the main office building, so at least we won't need our rain fly's tonight and we'll get a bit more ventilation. Sleep will come, but not for a while.
We rode 60 miles today with a stretch of 44 miles without any services. About 15 miles into the ride, we stopped at a convenience store in Vancleave where they were selling fried food to go. But the cook put together a couple of breakfast ham slices and cheese on croissants for us and we bought a few extra drinks and proceeded into our relative unknown.
18 miles later, the front porch of the LaRue Baptist church provided us with shade for lunch and a brief rest.
The roads all afternoon wandered through sections of the DeSoto national forest with very little traffic and generally pleasant riding.
"Mississippi is not flat." "Mississippi is not flat." We're being schooled in geographic reality again. Especially noticeable were the last few hills as we approached US Hwy 49 and our last turn into Perkinston, which left our legs dragging.
The only service at Perkinston was the convenience store attached to the gas station. We had a choice of riding 5 miles of Mississippi geography lessons and traffic into Wiggins for restaurants and a hotel, or grabbing what we could forage for supper where we were and returning to the route and an evening at the RV park. For us it wasn't even a choice.
We've showered, done a load of laundry, and eaten our less-than-fast food supper and are writing while we wait for the rain or some cooling off.
Folks in Mississippi have been fantastic to us. They've gone out of their way to help us and wish us well as we head down the road.
We'll be off again tomorrow morning.
We've been allowed the relative luxury of setting up tents under an overhang attached to the main office building, so at least we won't need our rain fly's tonight and we'll get a bit more ventilation. Sleep will come, but not for a while.
We rode 60 miles today with a stretch of 44 miles without any services. About 15 miles into the ride, we stopped at a convenience store in Vancleave where they were selling fried food to go. But the cook put together a couple of breakfast ham slices and cheese on croissants for us and we bought a few extra drinks and proceeded into our relative unknown.
18 miles later, the front porch of the LaRue Baptist church provided us with shade for lunch and a brief rest.
The roads all afternoon wandered through sections of the DeSoto national forest with very little traffic and generally pleasant riding.
"Mississippi is not flat." "Mississippi is not flat." We're being schooled in geographic reality again. Especially noticeable were the last few hills as we approached US Hwy 49 and our last turn into Perkinston, which left our legs dragging.
The only service at Perkinston was the convenience store attached to the gas station. We had a choice of riding 5 miles of Mississippi geography lessons and traffic into Wiggins for restaurants and a hotel, or grabbing what we could forage for supper where we were and returning to the route and an evening at the RV park. For us it wasn't even a choice.
We've showered, done a load of laundry, and eaten our less-than-fast food supper and are writing while we wait for the rain or some cooling off.
Folks in Mississippi have been fantastic to us. They've gone out of their way to help us and wish us well as we head down the road.
We'll be off again tomorrow morning.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Tonight we are in Wade MS, after a ride of more than 60 miles. The weather was cooler today and after a 10 mile ride into a pretty substantial headwind as we crossed Mobile Bay, the winds were mostly favorable.
We had a brief stop in Bayou Le Batre at the fire station where a crew was out polishing a fire truck. They were great and let us us their restrooms and fill our water packs with ice and water.
Made good time into Grand Bay AL, and enjoyed a quick lunch at a truck stop off I-10 then were off heading towards Mississippi. We got delayed slightly when we needed to backtrack to retrieve Barb's water pack that had unintentionally been left on her rear rack. It was lying by the side of the road when we returned and we were soon on our way again.
When we reached Hurley MS, we stopped for supper and began asking for known camping sites. We were directed to a local sheriff's substation, but no one was there and we got no response at the listed phone number. So Barb went into the CVS pharmacy next door to check other possibilities. When Nathan Wells a clerk on duty there heard of our plight, she offered to let us stay in their home.
Fortunately, their home is located almost on our route in Wade MS. We've just spent the better part of three hours chatting with Nathan and her husband Billy. We got a surprise visit from their grandson A J Davis who is a local hero this week after rushing for 323 yards in 34 carries in his first start at running back for the local football team. It's been quite a weekend here.
We'll be off again in the morning, continuing across Mississippi and heading for Louisiana.
We had a brief stop in Bayou Le Batre at the fire station where a crew was out polishing a fire truck. They were great and let us us their restrooms and fill our water packs with ice and water.
Made good time into Grand Bay AL, and enjoyed a quick lunch at a truck stop off I-10 then were off heading towards Mississippi. We got delayed slightly when we needed to backtrack to retrieve Barb's water pack that had unintentionally been left on her rear rack. It was lying by the side of the road when we returned and we were soon on our way again.
When we reached Hurley MS, we stopped for supper and began asking for known camping sites. We were directed to a local sheriff's substation, but no one was there and we got no response at the listed phone number. So Barb went into the CVS pharmacy next door to check other possibilities. When Nathan Wells a clerk on duty there heard of our plight, she offered to let us stay in their home.
Fortunately, their home is located almost on our route in Wade MS. We've just spent the better part of three hours chatting with Nathan and her husband Billy. We got a surprise visit from their grandson A J Davis who is a local hero this week after rushing for 323 yards in 34 carries in his first start at running back for the local football team. It's been quite a weekend here.
We'll be off again in the morning, continuing across Mississippi and heading for Louisiana.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
OK, have some catching up to do. We're relaxing at our hostless warmshower.org beach house today.
Yesterday was quite a day. We joined Jeb, our warmshowers host in Pensacola, for breakfast at a local eatery. There were so many good cycling stories to tell that we got away from downtown Pensacola rather late. Fortunately, we had run out of the Florida hills and the only climbs of the day were bridges over the intercoastal waterway, and the flags were flying in a favorable direction. (We never like to actually say anything about a fortuitous tailwind, for fear of jinxing in it.)
By 10:30 or so, we had made good progress, and stopped at Big Lagoon state park for what was to be a quick water stop. That was when Larry showed up pedaling out of the park on an old Bianchi road bike equipped (doubtless at Bianchi's chagrin) with a pair of twenty year old Ortlieb panniers. We had several unsighted crossings with Larry for the few previous days, but had yet to meet in person. Larry is quite a person. We never mentioned ages, but Barb and I estimated upper 60's. Formally, Larry lives in Chattanooga, but spends much of his time riding or hiking around the world. There weren't many places Larry hadn't been. He apparently often rides his bike to races, where he competes, then rides home for a respite before riding somewhere new. Needless to say our brief stop turned into an hour of entertainment.
We finally remounted our bikes but only traveled a few miles when we approached the second bridge of the day. It had now been several hours since lunch and I needed to eat. So we sat down in a local fast food restaurant for a hamburger and fries. Another half hour passed.
Just over the bridge was the WELCOME TO ALABAMA sign and we'd both agreed it was a can't miss photo opportunity. There we were joined by an older couple from Missouri who were celebrating a week at the beach, all expenses paid by Pepsi-Cola. We exchanged cameras for photos and then listened to their vacation stories and answered their amazed questions of what we are doing. 30 more minutes.
That was when the heat of the day really started kicking in. Still, it seemed there was plenty of time to ride the 20 miles to catch the Mobile Bay ferry and make Dauphin Island for supper. So we took the opportunity to grab lunch at a local Mexican restaurant in Gulf Shores AL. Finilly we were on our last stretch to the ferry landing.
We stopped briefly at a park service office where they checked the ferry schedule. 13 miles to go and three hours to the last ferry of the day. We would make it easily. We were coasting into the last two miles, when my bike gave a small shudder. I looked down and sure enough I had a tire going flat. So we sat down along the side of the road and proceeded to fix the flat. This isn't really that much of a surprise or repair, and we still had plenty of time to catch a ferry.
The repair made, I remounted my bike and started down the road. Then I turned to check on Barb and she still hadn't moved. When she had moved her bike off the road to help with my repair, she'd picked up a fish hook in her front tire. The tire hadn't flatted, so we decided to see how far we could get without removing the hook. Two miles later we arrived at the ferry landing, hot and tired, but with the fish hook benignly taking a ride. Let sleeping dogs lie. So we sat and sipped sodas for the next 30 minutes.
While we waited, another pair of cyclists showed up in orange U of Florida bicycling jerseys and shorts, riding carbon fiber framed racing bikes and pulling bike trailers loaded with gear. Neil and Pete are heading for Boulder CO to pursue aspirations of becoming professional bike riders. Our paths crossed for just last night as they were heading to the same beach house to spend the night.
The ferry crossing was uneventful as we passed time talking with Neil and Pete and watching the seabirds.
When we got off the ferry, dusk was approaching so we intended heading straight for the beach house before finding supper. As we rode across the island on the main road, it soon was clear that the island cross streets were listed in alphabetical order. This would be easy. "P" for Ponce de Leon Court. So when we reached the P street, I was taken aback that it was Periwinkle?!?!? Rather than ride miles out of our way, in the fading light, it was time to double back and ask directions. We found the help we needed at a local BBQ restaurant, and were soon on our way. Who knew that after fifteen streets, one street per letter, the city fathers included ten streets starting with P all in alphabetical order.
This is when Barb's trouble began. She was still riding with the imbedded fish hook. While I sought directions, she struck up a conversation with another local. As soon as she started following me down the street she recognized she'd left her $200 prescription glasses on her back pannier and they'd fallen in the parking lot as she went to leave. She called for me to stop, but I didn't hear and she had no choice but to try to retrieve her glasses before they were backed over by a car leaving the lot.
She made it back to find her glasses unscathed, while I rode off on my renewed mission to find Ponce. By the time I realized she wasn't with me, I'd found Ponce and the beach house and was circling back to find what'd happened to Barb.
It turns out embedded fish hooks will lie benignly for 6 miles, but no more. Our circuitous path had unfortunately left Barb with 6.25 miles to safely reach the beach house, so humbled and tired the two of us walked our bikes the last short way to our destination.
It was dark when I ordered pizza at a place we'd passed coming in. Neil and Pete rode back to eat their pizza at the restaurant, and I strapped ours to-go on my back rack and came back to eat with Barb.
All's well that ends well.
This morning we extracted the fish hook and replaced the inner tube and rode in for a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee before returning to the breezy shade under the beach house to relax.
Tomorrow we return to the road in earnest.
Yesterday was quite a day. We joined Jeb, our warmshowers host in Pensacola, for breakfast at a local eatery. There were so many good cycling stories to tell that we got away from downtown Pensacola rather late. Fortunately, we had run out of the Florida hills and the only climbs of the day were bridges over the intercoastal waterway, and the flags were flying in a favorable direction. (We never like to actually say anything about a fortuitous tailwind, for fear of jinxing in it.)
By 10:30 or so, we had made good progress, and stopped at Big Lagoon state park for what was to be a quick water stop. That was when Larry showed up pedaling out of the park on an old Bianchi road bike equipped (doubtless at Bianchi's chagrin) with a pair of twenty year old Ortlieb panniers. We had several unsighted crossings with Larry for the few previous days, but had yet to meet in person. Larry is quite a person. We never mentioned ages, but Barb and I estimated upper 60's. Formally, Larry lives in Chattanooga, but spends much of his time riding or hiking around the world. There weren't many places Larry hadn't been. He apparently often rides his bike to races, where he competes, then rides home for a respite before riding somewhere new. Needless to say our brief stop turned into an hour of entertainment.
We finally remounted our bikes but only traveled a few miles when we approached the second bridge of the day. It had now been several hours since lunch and I needed to eat. So we sat down in a local fast food restaurant for a hamburger and fries. Another half hour passed.
Just over the bridge was the WELCOME TO ALABAMA sign and we'd both agreed it was a can't miss photo opportunity. There we were joined by an older couple from Missouri who were celebrating a week at the beach, all expenses paid by Pepsi-Cola. We exchanged cameras for photos and then listened to their vacation stories and answered their amazed questions of what we are doing. 30 more minutes.
That was when the heat of the day really started kicking in. Still, it seemed there was plenty of time to ride the 20 miles to catch the Mobile Bay ferry and make Dauphin Island for supper. So we took the opportunity to grab lunch at a local Mexican restaurant in Gulf Shores AL. Finilly we were on our last stretch to the ferry landing.
We stopped briefly at a park service office where they checked the ferry schedule. 13 miles to go and three hours to the last ferry of the day. We would make it easily. We were coasting into the last two miles, when my bike gave a small shudder. I looked down and sure enough I had a tire going flat. So we sat down along the side of the road and proceeded to fix the flat. This isn't really that much of a surprise or repair, and we still had plenty of time to catch a ferry.
The repair made, I remounted my bike and started down the road. Then I turned to check on Barb and she still hadn't moved. When she had moved her bike off the road to help with my repair, she'd picked up a fish hook in her front tire. The tire hadn't flatted, so we decided to see how far we could get without removing the hook. Two miles later we arrived at the ferry landing, hot and tired, but with the fish hook benignly taking a ride. Let sleeping dogs lie. So we sat and sipped sodas for the next 30 minutes.
While we waited, another pair of cyclists showed up in orange U of Florida bicycling jerseys and shorts, riding carbon fiber framed racing bikes and pulling bike trailers loaded with gear. Neil and Pete are heading for Boulder CO to pursue aspirations of becoming professional bike riders. Our paths crossed for just last night as they were heading to the same beach house to spend the night.
The ferry crossing was uneventful as we passed time talking with Neil and Pete and watching the seabirds.
This is when Barb's trouble began. She was still riding with the imbedded fish hook. While I sought directions, she struck up a conversation with another local. As soon as she started following me down the street she recognized she'd left her $200 prescription glasses on her back pannier and they'd fallen in the parking lot as she went to leave. She called for me to stop, but I didn't hear and she had no choice but to try to retrieve her glasses before they were backed over by a car leaving the lot.
She made it back to find her glasses unscathed, while I rode off on my renewed mission to find Ponce. By the time I realized she wasn't with me, I'd found Ponce and the beach house and was circling back to find what'd happened to Barb.
It turns out embedded fish hooks will lie benignly for 6 miles, but no more. Our circuitous path had unfortunately left Barb with 6.25 miles to safely reach the beach house, so humbled and tired the two of us walked our bikes the last short way to our destination.
It was dark when I ordered pizza at a place we'd passed coming in. Neil and Pete rode back to eat their pizza at the restaurant, and I strapped ours to-go on my back rack and came back to eat with Barb.
All's well that ends well.
This morning we extracted the fish hook and replaced the inner tube and rode in for a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and coffee before returning to the breezy shade under the beach house to relax.
Tomorrow we return to the road in earnest.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Hello from the youth annex of the 1st United Methodist Church of Pensacola.
We're staying indoors tonight for free courtesy of the church and their association with warmshowers.org.
Today was a day full of the incredible diversity of touring. Our day started with quick breakfast slice of pumpkin bread that Barb had picked up at the the farmers market in Chipley two days ago. It was just the thing to provide us with enough energy for the first climb of the day, a few hundred feet out of the River's Edge campgrounds. Then we headed for Holt to grab breakfast. The sign near the cook said "Don't stand behind her. She bites. " And though her make up was a bit heavy, it was clear that she was there for her culinary ability. We each had a ham, egg, and cheese biscuit that fast food venues can only dream about. The slice of real ham was a quarter inch thick on a biscuit that had been prepared earlier this morning. Delicious!
Roads leaving Holt were quiet backcountry lanes with little traffic and natural scenes of water lilies blooming and birds everywhere. Then we rolled into Milton on a state bike path before rejoining FL 90. Lots of traffic, and little shade, made tolerable by a usually wide shoulder.
Coming in to Pensacola, there were signs that it might get hilly--scenic highway, bluff road, etc.-- and Florida did not disappoint.
Still accommodations for tonight are making our load and legs light.
Dauphin Island tomorrow and leaving Florida behind.
We're staying indoors tonight for free courtesy of the church and their association with warmshowers.org.
Today was a day full of the incredible diversity of touring. Our day started with quick breakfast slice of pumpkin bread that Barb had picked up at the the farmers market in Chipley two days ago. It was just the thing to provide us with enough energy for the first climb of the day, a few hundred feet out of the River's Edge campgrounds. Then we headed for Holt to grab breakfast. The sign near the cook said "Don't stand behind her. She bites. " And though her make up was a bit heavy, it was clear that she was there for her culinary ability. We each had a ham, egg, and cheese biscuit that fast food venues can only dream about. The slice of real ham was a quarter inch thick on a biscuit that had been prepared earlier this morning. Delicious!
Roads leaving Holt were quiet backcountry lanes with little traffic and natural scenes of water lilies blooming and birds everywhere. Then we rolled into Milton on a state bike path before rejoining FL 90. Lots of traffic, and little shade, made tolerable by a usually wide shoulder.
Coming in to Pensacola, there were signs that it might get hilly--scenic highway, bluff road, etc.-- and Florida did not disappoint.
Still accommodations for tonight are making our load and legs light.
Dauphin Island tomorrow and leaving Florida behind.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
This evening finds us at the River's Edge campgrounds 3 miles south of Holt, Fl.
We rode 55 miles today, punctuated by a bike repair in downtown Crestview. A bolt in the cleat on the bottom of my sandal broke and made it impossible for me to remove my sandal from the pedal. Fortunately, Barb had included a new set of cleats in her pack and so after visiting a local hardware store for the correct Allen wrench, we were able to make a speedy repair on a sidewalk bench and were soon on our way.
The Florida landscape has taught us one thing very well. "Florida is not flat." I knew there would be hills, of course. But I feel like a recalcitrant schoolboy being asked to write over and over again "Florida is not flat." "Florida is not flat. " I can't remember when I've been in my granny gears so much. Enough already!
We hope to be in Pensacola tomorrow and have already been told what a joy Dauphin Island is.
We're well and in good spirits.
We rode 55 miles today, punctuated by a bike repair in downtown Crestview. A bolt in the cleat on the bottom of my sandal broke and made it impossible for me to remove my sandal from the pedal. Fortunately, Barb had included a new set of cleats in her pack and so after visiting a local hardware store for the correct Allen wrench, we were able to make a speedy repair on a sidewalk bench and were soon on our way.
The Florida landscape has taught us one thing very well. "Florida is not flat." I knew there would be hills, of course. But I feel like a recalcitrant schoolboy being asked to write over and over again "Florida is not flat." "Florida is not flat. " I can't remember when I've been in my granny gears so much. Enough already!
We hope to be in Pensacola tomorrow and have already been told what a joy Dauphin Island is.
We're well and in good spirits.
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