500 miles.

Update for the day: nearly 90 miles ridden.
I'm exhausted from riding through the night and will probably move slowly tomorrow.

56 miles today. Finally stonewalled by the morganza spillway. Sleeping til 3 AM then riding it when there's less traffic.

Well, I found a bridge that could very well top the last one for sheer terror and misery.
Name: Morganza Causeway
Length: Unknown
Rails at yellow line: Yes

Another flat. Pinch flat this time. Someone dropped chunks of angle iron all over the side of the road. Might as well lay out the caltrops for me next.

The Huey P. Long bridge is now secure in its place as the most terrifying experience of my life. That is all.

Hit the 400 mile mark right as I approached the Mississippi river!

The Road to Baton Rouge

After a long and restful night at the Empress Hotel, I awoke hungry and ready to hit the road. During checkout I asked the lady at the desk if she knew of any particularly good places to grab breakfast. She mentioned a place called Dejavu, but couldn't remember how to get there and could only tell me it was in the French Quarter somewhere. So I headed to the French Quarter, figuring that I'd find somewhere good to eat regardless of whether or not I found Dejavu.

As I wandered the streets, I noticed that many of them were soaked and (relatively) clean. I soon found out why when I wandered upon a truck-sized street scrubber making the rounds. Upon asking one of the workers where to eat for breakfast, I was directed several blocks down and over in search of some small place whose name I cannot remember since I never actually found it. What I did find was a guy relaxing on the sidewalk in his wheelchair, his leg bound and propped up in front of him. When asked if he knew of anywhere good to eat, he replied "Oh, yeah! There's this awesome place called Dejavu- its right around that corner there....". And that was that.

The sign doesn't lie when it says "good food"

Dejavu is definitely not a family sort of place- one has to be 21 just to get in the door, and upon entering I was greeted by a row of electronic poker machines, a haze of smoke, and a few rather haggard looking individuals hunched over the bar. I sat where I could see my bike through the door and ordered migas (essentially a mexican omelet), which came with a bowl of perfectly cooked grits (I know my grits) and an english muffin. Halfway through my meal, a young man in a bouncer's t-shirt staggered into the bar, made for the nearest stool, sat down, and proceeded to cradle his head in his hands for the remainder of the meal. A woman, dressed in miniscule animal print short shorts followed him in and sat beside him briefly before patting him absently on the back and wandering outside, cigarette smoke trailing behind her as she moved.

After settling my bill ($5.85 plus tax and tip), I struck out through the heart of the city in search of the river road and a levee top multi-use path that goes from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. My trip across the city was uneventful, save for one flat tire (a faulty tube- I have yet to have a single puncture flat), which I patched without further incident.

I soon found the path, and struck out northward along the riverside, passing walkers and fellow cyclists, riding past slums and shipyards, unidentifiable industrial plants and gated neighborhoods, insulated from it all by a slope and a seventy five foot wide strip of mowed grass.

I saw at least ten ships of this size or larger, and barges beyond counting

After about 20 miles on the levee path, I exited, jumped on to 61 North, and steeled myself for a long, hot ride to Baton Rouge. I rode past refineries and swamps, sugarcane fields and marshes. Bullfrogs the size of squirrels littered the side of the road in places, flattened and dessicated by the heat, their carcasses accompanied by the bodies of racoons that had likely come to feed on them and the bodies of armadillos who seem unable to avoid death by car no matter the location or season.

I went through bottles and bottles of water, stopping frequently at service stations to refill and purchase gatorade. I think this day marked the first day in which my gatorade bill exceeded my food bill.

Heh

Lunch was two bananas, two oranges, and an entire bag of potato chips, which I relished for their saltiness. I wasn't even hungry- I find that I rarely am in the heat, and have to remind myself to eat much of the time. After lunch, I slept for two hours in the grass under an oak tree before resuming my northward trek.

As evening fell, I got another flat, which I repaired in front of a Wal-Mart's garden section. I was in surburbia again at this point- the far outskirts of Baton Rouge, which meant that of all the people who passed me on the sidewalk, my bike upturned with wheel removed, panniers emptied and belongings stacked on the sidewalk, only one woman asked if I was ok, needed any help, or had someone coming to get me. I replied that I was all right, the bike would shortly be repaired and I'd be on my way, and did she know of anywhere good to get dinner? She directed me to a Mexican restaurant a few miles up 61, so upon completing my repairs and repacking my panniers I headed straight there. After locking my bike up with the employees' bikes in the kitchen entrance I ordered dinner and then forced myself to eat the entire helping of fajitas. I was a mess at this point- my shirt was streaked white with lines of salt and I felt exhaustion creeping up on me.

After eating, I headed down a side road in search of any place to set up my hammock and collapse for the night. A half mile down the road or so, I came upon a vast green lawn filled with mature trees and a trim older house in the middle of it all. A little white haired lady was puttering about the lawn, so I pulled over and introduced myself, explaining that I was biking to Houston and then Colorado, and would love to be able to set up my hammock in her yard if she wouldn't mind. She checked my ID to "make sure you are who you say you are" and then called her husband out to see me before walking with me down to the edge of the yard where I showed them how my hammock worked then put it up between two trees.

Her name is Iris Lambert and her husband's name is John. They will have been married 61 years this October. They have three grandchildren in college, and two of their sons live in houses behind theirs on their extensive property. Iris set me up with a bucket of water so I could rinse my salt-stained shirt, and shortly after I finished setting up my hammock she showed up toting an old rug so I could put it under my hammock and not get my feet dirty when I got in and out. Before I turned in for the night, she showed up again, this time with a bottle of gatorade to make sure I had something to drink, and she invited me to use their bathroom if I needed.

By far my most comfortable campsite yet

A cool breeze blew in all night off the pasture adjacent to their property and I slept well- so well in fact that I didn't wake until almost 8 AM when the sun finally fell on my hammock. As I finished packing up, John and Iris came out, exclaiming that they were glad I was all right and they had been a little concerned for me when I didn't rise and 7 but didn't want to disturb me. Oh, and Iris had made pancakes for breakfast and had one left over and wanted to know: did I want it? I gratefully accepted and was treated to a breakfast of pancake with peanut butter and freshly stewed figs. Before leaving, I had a small bag of snack bars and another gatorade pressed upon me, and I took a picture of John and Iris in front of the home where they have lived their married life.

My lovely hosts and their home. Thank you, John and Iris!

I gave them both and hug and was on my way north again. I write this now from a Wendy's on the outskirts of Baton Rouge. I'll be heading west from here, and will shortly pass the 400 mile mark on this trip. Its partly cloudy right now, and I hope this weather holds.

67.6 miles ridden today. I'm approximately 25 miles outside of Baton Rouge, and am encamped in the backyard of a lovely older couple- John and Iris Lambert.

Just got my second flat of the day. So far all of them have been due to faulty tubes instead of penetration. About to find out if I ever buy sunlite tubes again

Migas at Deja Vu for breakfast, then I'm taking the river path north towards Baton Rouge.

From AL to Nola- A Brief Summary

It’s been a while since the last proper blog update, mostly due to the fact that I’ve been trundling along the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana coast and haven’t stopped anywhere with internet in that time. I’m writing this now from a room at the Empress Hotel in downtown New Orleans, a slightly scruffy but oh-so-comfortable place a few blocks from the French Quarter (in all fairness, anything not 100 degrees, soaked in sweat and mosquito-infested classes as comfortable at this point).

I’d originally intended to eat lunch in New Orleans and be gone by evening, but yesterday’s 74 mile day coupled with a sleepless, sweaty, perfectly still and mosquito-infested night on the edge of the marshes took its toll and left me feeling decidedly non-ambitious today.  I’m spending the afternoon and evening here and will be eating well, icing my knees at every opportunity, and sleeping. 

Oh, and sharing pictures- I’ll just make this post a mini-photodump and try to explain things in the captions since I’m a little tired and hungry to be writing a narrative at this point. I’ll write more about specific things later if anyone asks for it.

My camp in Spanish Fort- This is actually only a half mile off the interstate and two hundred yards off 90

On the far side of Mobile, I found this delightful little swimming hole and spent several hours relaxing during the hottest hours

Debby was still throwing out some serious winds

90- not always an interesting road

The entrance to my campsite in MS

This is the closest thing I got to a photo of the actual campsite- mosquitoes were bad enough to dissuade photography

The next day I followed 90 down onto the coast. This art museum was one of the few things worth photographing in Biloxi

Pass Christian MS is a charming little town- this is the main harbor as far as I can tell

... and I found this about 1/4 mile further on. The water is about two feet deep right there.

Miss Vickie has clearly seen better days. I could swear I've seen this boat in Orange Beach before!

 I should pause at this point to explain the circumstances behind this beached boat. Apparently its owner ran it aground during high tide and surf conditions over the weekend, and abandoned it on the beach, selling the entire boat to one of the responding officers for a dollar. The lucky buyer- who introduced himself as Britt then got together some of his officer buddies and when I found them they were attempting to save the boat. The boat had been (they were told) swamped by heavy surf, so multiple bilge pumps were running in an attempt to empty it. The boat wasn't emptying though, and we soon found out why.

Oysters and mud: never a good thing to find in your bilge

Apparently in all its bashing about the keel had broken loose from the hull, opening a massive gash and  making Miss Vickie a total loss. When I left Britt and the other officers, they were discussing selling the sails and rigging on eBay, and wondering how much they could get for scraping the rest of the boat. 

So long Miss Vickie. I'm sure you were a good boat until your clueless former owner ran you aground. :(

I walked up from the beach to find my first flat of the trip, which turned out to be due to a faulty tube.

A short while later, I was back on my way. I feel like I've ridden over a lot of bridges lately, and this was one of the largest.

My first New Orleans sign!

I ate lunch at a little Mexican place recommended by Britt. Whoever said money cannot buy happiness is wrong. It costs $8.75 and arrives sizzling hot.

For long sections, old 90 parallels the main highway and is almost completely unused. It is also, almost without exception, completely boring to ride upon.

After over 20 miles of empty road and right as I was running low on water, I chanced upon this little place near the Louisiana border.

I'm not sure what these flowers are, but they were really pretty and blanketed sections of the roadside in Louisiana.

As the day was drawing to a close, I found this grove of live oaks on a strip of land between the marsh and the road.

 

I camped here. Doesn't it look nice? It wasn't. This was where I discovered that mosquitoes can bite THROUGH the hammock fabric.

Bugbitten and bleary-eyed, I rode on in the morning until I found this place, where I stopped to resupply on water and gatorade and eat some breakfast

After crossing this bridge, I was sure 'nuff in New Orleans

... and now I'm here, sitting on that bed writing this post.

New plan for tomorrow: Get to New Orleans. Find food, then find cheap motel. Eat, check in, clean up and sleep. Be not miserable when I wake up. Sounds great!

Enterprising/exceptionally large mosquitos have discovered that it is possible to feed on me THROUGH the hammock. Revolting development. No sleep tonight.

73.9 miles ridden today in 5.5 hours saddle time. Approximately 20 miles outside of New Orleans right now and am encamped in a live oak grove amidst the marshes

Today so far:
Miles covered: 45
Beached sailboats rescued: 0 (1 attempt)
Large bridges crossed: 2
Liters of water consumed: about 5
Casinos passed: ??

Passed through Biloxi around 9 AM and have already covered 31 miles today. The heat is surprisingly tolerable on the coast.

On the road again. Rode ten miles before breakfast and fast food was all I could find. Settled on McDonalds (ugh) to complement my nuts dried fruit and water.

67.8 miles ridden today.
I'm currently encamped a hundred yards off Hwy 90 on a chunk of undeveloped land.
The mosquitoes are notably bad.

Made it into Mississippi.
90 is about as uninteresting as a road can get at this point.

Total mileage today: 56.5
Current location: secret camping spot in Spanish Fort
Trip report for afternoon: hills and headwinds

Serendipity is the BESt

Today so far has seen a great case of serendipity, not to mention some good old fashioned hospitality. First however, I should explain the events of the day so we can see how I came to be happily lounging in the back yard of BES Incorporated's offices…

I started the day early, eating breakfast with my grandparents Herb and Marian, my Aunt Teresa, Uncle Willy (Whisky Willy!) and Cousin Sam. Checked the weather to find that Tropical Storm Debby looks like it is going to strafe the entire section of gulf coast I’ll be riding over the next couple of days. At least I’ll get some decent tailwinds out of it!

Departure time all over again

My plan at that point was to ride down to Ft. Morgan and take the ferry over to Dauphin Island, from where I’d take the bridge north to the mainland and take 188 until it hit highway 90. Turns out that the ferry doesn’t run if the wind blows much at all, which I thankfully discovered shortly after cruising into Gulf Shores and before making the 22 mile trek down to Ft. Morgan. So I headed north on 59 to Foley, fighting for a narrow ribbon of asphalt on the side of the lane and silently bemoaning the fact that my early tailwind was now a not-quite-but-almost headwind. (for some reason, it was blowing out of the northeast at this point).

As soon as I reached the intersection with 98 I headed west, delighting in my once-again tailwind. I’ve never been on this section of 98 before, but the scenery was about as expected- fields, farms, pecan orchards, and the occasional roadside fruit stand as I neared Fairhope. However, I made a couple of exciting discoveries when I hit Weeks Bay. Firstly, it is really, really pretty and I’m kicking myself for not stopping and taking pictures of the water and the marshes. I could see Christopher Matechik and JonathanBollhoeffer enjoying this area a lot. Secondly, and something I did get a picture of (albeit while riding)- a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane on the bridge!

Ok, so it doesn't look THAT impressive, but I was impressed

This lane continued on the other side of the bridge, and I followed it all the way to Mobile Bay, where it made a northerly turn and followed a scenic route along the water. I shortly discovered that this was the Eastern Shore Trail, and it goes all the way up to Battleship Park!

Look at that trail!

At this point, it was nearing noon and thus nearing lunch time, but there were no convenient parks or other places to pull over and eat, and I didn’t feel like stopping at one of the trailside benches. So, I pulled out my chicken salad sandwich and happily one-handed it as I trundled along.  The first bite had scarcely been swallowed however when I was startled by a man pulling up behind me and asking how I was doing and if I needed anything at all. I told him I was fine, and was going to Colorado via Texas, and asked him if he knew of a park where I could eat my lunch and take a nap. He replied that yes, he knew of a place, and it happened to be the backyard of his engineering firm’s office, and not only could I eat lunch there, but I was welcome to wash up, spread my stuff out to dry, and stay longer if I needed!

His name is Walt Bolton, he owns BES Incorporated, and we talked about my trip, engineering, bikes and motorcycles as we threaded our way through the streets and up some surprisingly large hills (apparently the highest hills anywhere on the coast between Mexico and Maine!) to his office, which resides in a nicely remodeled older house.  After showing me around and making sure I had everything I needed, Walt headed on, promising to be back later in the afternoon to check up on me if I hadn’t left by then. Thanks Walt!

Oh, and Fairhope has free public wifi, so I’m posting this while sitting in my hammock in a nicely shaded part of the yard. 

Walt and his bike

This post was written here

I’m glad the ferry wasn’t running today.

The Mobile Bay Ferry is closed! Looks like I'll be taking 59 up and heading through Mobile if I want to make any progress today.

Drinks and appetizers at Pirate's Cove with my family! Probability of riding tomorrow: low and falling rapidly.

Day 1 is finished. An easy day of 43 miles interspersed with frequent and lengthy breaks for food and naps. Tomorrow starts early, as I'd like to make Orange Beach before it gets too hot.

The Longbike Begins

The longbike has begun! I departed home at approximately 10 AM this morning after several days of prepping, moving out, and packing up supplies. I haven’t yet weighed rig, but I’m reasonably certain that it is on the far side of 85 lbs loaded down with water. It is reasonably sleek and handles well though, and it barrels down hills with the quickness. Too bad the entire trip isn’t downhill…

Anyway, here are a few pictures to start things out. 

Fully loaded and ready to go

Obligatory pose-with-bike photo

I doesn't take too much imagination to figure out what was going on here!

I'll be seeing this view a lot in the coming months

It took roughly two hours to make it back into Pensacola. I dropped by the recently-vacated house on utopia, took a two-hour nap while waiting for my mom to make it into town for the day, and then went to a late lunch at Tu-do.  After I finish posting this I’m heading downtown, visiting with my grandmom, meeting with some people for dinner, and making my way over to my grandmom’s old house on the west side of Pensacola, where I’ll spend the night prior to riding to Bear Point. 

I'll be posting via text message from my phone at least once per day from this point on, and will be making longer posts whenever I can find internet, power and a comfy place to sit.