This Little Bike is Going to Some Cool Places...

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Saturday, February 25

Made a good start after beginning the day with some yogurt and sausage kolaches I picked up the day before.  It felt great to have a belly full of protein for a change.

Was on mainly small and quiet roads with little traffic.  I've been happy with the drivers on this trip so far.  Usually if there is oncoming traffic, drivers will hold back from passing until the traffic passes.

Dogs today were also pretty good, and most were friendly even if they had to keep up appearances by coming out to guard their territory.  My strategy so far has been to stop for the big dogs.  This typically works, and most will stop and stay back.  I usually just laugh at the little dogs and keep going. The worst encounter, however, was with a pack of little dogs and one big dog.  Since the little dogs tend to be more aggressive, they egged on the bigger dog. They all came close to being pepper-sprayed!

Ran into my second rider who was heading east.  (They are all heading east!)  I told Larry I was jealous he was almost done.


Tonight I'm staying at the Milbank Inn, a gracious and elegant B&B located in Jackson, LA.  The luxurious appointments and the romantic decor are a bit wasted on a (male) biker on a solo trip, but it sure is nice, especially compared to some iffy places I'd been sleeping at.


Even though breakfast isn't going to start until 8:30am, I'm looking forward to indulging in a full breakfast tomorrow.

Day: 10
Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
Distance: 79 miles

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Sunday, February 26


Freshly fueled from a huge breakfast of granola, fresh fruit, banana bread, eggs, bacon, sausage, blueberry pancakes, and, yes, a second helping of blueberry pancakes (they asked!), I hit the road late, about 9:30am.  I felt the extra fueling--and the deliciousness--was worth the delay.

I had a gentleman pull over and thank me for staying on the shoulder, but this is my philosophy: It's my life and I figure it's in my best interest.


I passed two major milestones today, crossing the Mississippi (River) and completing my second map booklet (so 2 out of 7 total).  As of end of today, I have completed about 924 map miles.  Note that my bike miles are a bit less from having chosen shorter routes when possible.  :-)


I had been told that the terrain would be flat after I crossed the Mississippi.  I never thought I would be happy to hear that, but after huffing and puffing up the many hills the last few days, I was ready for a break.

There was also a nice tailwind for most of the day which helped me make great progress and made me decide to extend my ride.  I ended up riding 90 miles today, a nice result given that I didn't get to start until 9:30.


Even though there have been a couple of misses on this trip, I decided to give a bike hostel another try.  This one turned out to be at the local fire station in Bunkie, LA (population 4071), which allows riders to layover for free.  I'll be sleeping on the couch and hoping that there are no calls tonight!  Jeffrey and Ron, the two firefighters working tonight, have treated me great.  They let me wash my clothes in their machines and provided an awesome home-cooked meal.

Tomorrow is calling for rain and thunderstorms, but I'm hoping for the best...

Day: 11
Time: 8 hours
Distance: 90 miles

(post by Will)

Comments

  1. LorettaMarch 3, 2017 at 7:46 AM

    Flatlands! And, a night in a fire sation, how cool.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Our Sabbatical LifeMarch 3, 2017 at 8:46 PM

    There are some super nice people along this route! Julie.

    ReplyDelete

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