Baton Rouge, LA to Kinder, LA (62 miles)

Friday May 16, 2008

I had gone to bed with the Weather Channel saying "All is well, Dan. Clear skies ahead". When I woke, the same channel was speaking to me as if we hadn't been friends for the past three weeks. The news: No longer clear. 60% chance of rain. Clear skies to the west (or so they say). Not wanting to lose momentum by staying another luxurious night at the casa of Ron and Lauren despite uncertain skies, I chose to head out as planned.

Ron, Phil, and I left the house at 6am and went to breakfast at Frank's Restaurant - "Home of the best biscuits in the world." After a hearty oatmeal and a biscuit (of course), I headed west with Ron, while Phil headed up to Ron's hunting land to work on a water problem in his trailer there. Ron took me over the Hwy 190 bridge crossing the Mississippi River. He went further and took me over the Achafalaya River (and Mississippi River spillway 7-mile bicycle unfriendly bridge) and started me near Krotz Springs on Hwy 190. This beats coordinating a police escort over the Mississippi River Bridge and maybe hitching a ride over the Achafalaya. Thanks to Ron for that generous boost.

As I was getting started, there was just a little drizzle coming from the sky. Cool and damp, feeling my creaking knees in this weather, I chose against rain gear in hopes it wouldn't amount to much.

Through flat Port Barre and on to Opelousas, home of the Spice Music Festival, not far past Mama's Fried Chicken I met two other clearly geared up long distance cyclists aiming east. Not wanting to pass the chance to chat with them, I crossed traffic and we talked for a while. Oris, age 75 (if I recall correctly) is from Claremont, CA near Los Angeles, and he was traveling with Bob, age 55, from Massachusettes. Each traveling alone, they met a week or so ago and began biking together. The more I was talking with Oris, the more his stories seemed familiar. Turns out I had read part of his blog on http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/, where I have another blog. Oris has trekked across the US 4 times counting this trip and had a lot of good info to share. One item in particular: how to deal with the chasing dogs. Oris advised "Stop on a dime as soon as they start chasing" insisting the dog wants the chase, not the catch. Bob backed him up on this advice as well. Seemed a bit self-sacrificial to me, but their unwavering confidence in the tactic was convincing. Oris and Bob also advised steering south to San Antonio to go around some of the peaks in Texas Hill Country as well as staying on Hwy 90 near Alpine as I headed west to avoid Fort Davis mountains. Glad we talked!

Heading down the road, I stopped in Lawtell only for a drink and snack before reaching Redlich's City Cash store in Basile, Louisiana where I needed the same things in addition to a bathroom break. This was deep in the Cajun country, or is it Acadian? Anyway, hearing a different accent from the girl at the register directing me to the bathrooms at an out-building across the parking lot from the store (da batroom is ova dare), I found myself the victim of what must've been a bathroom-cleaner strike. Only after I did what I needed to do, did I find there was no TP (damn), no handtowels (double damn), and no soap (triple damn). I just started laughing. What else could I do? After finding a solution to each of those issues in my handlebar bag (which I carry with me everywhere when away from the bike), I went back to the store and got a snack and drink and settled into a rocking chair out front to celebrate my wise stash of supplies I had just found so useful moments earlier. In the purple and gold LSU rocking chair next to me was a 36-year old black man named Houston. I saw Houston had biked up on his single speed BMX bike when I was heading into the store. After talking with him, I found out Houston bikes to the store, gets the keys for one of the cars, then takes the car to go wash it, and returns for the next car. "I take care of all their cars here" he said proudly. After learning I was from San Diego, Houston told me about having spent age 17 to 36 in Richmond, California (San Francisco Bay area). He left many friends back there to return home to Basile, Louisiana recently. He would like to go visit one day but he is convinced half of his friends are likely dead. I chose not to ask why, instead easing my way into the request for a photo. After allowing his "picture to be made", he asked me to send him a postcard from San Diego when I get there. Giving me his address (which he got from his wife using the store telephone), he also requested a San Diego t-shirt be sent. Though I am riding a bike and not a sleigh, I took his Christmas wish down. Thanking me, he read me his phone number from a note in his wallet in case I needed to call for anything down the road.

Continuing west on Hwy 190, I went through Elton where I saw many rice dryers along the side of the road. I passed many rice fields, and catfish farms on this stretch of the highway, so a rice dryer seemed logical. In this lowland wet stretch where catfish and rice thrive, I often heard motion in the tall grass just off the shoulder of the highway. Based on the roadkill I had witnessed, the primary candidate were frogs, snakes, or armadillos, and I still don't know what that otter looking creature really was.

From the town of Lauderdale almost until Kinder, the paved shoulder disappeared causing me to recall Mississippi roads, but the grass and gravel shoulders were still passable.

I stayed at the SmartRooms Inn at Kinder on Hwy 165 and 383 for $55. The room was small, clean, but lacked thresholds between the carpet and linoleum. Stepping on the carpet tackstrip twice barefooted, I likely cursed and then created my own threshold with a towel. The place wasn't great, but was half the price of anything else on a Friday night here. The remedy for a bleeding foot is a big meal at the Catfish Hut next door: catfish, crawfish etoufee, sweet potato, hushpuppies, and cheesecake.

starttime: 8:00am (?)
end time: 4:00pm
time on bike: 4:34:05
miles: 61.62
avg spd: 13.49,ph
max spd: 21.72 mph
calories: 4,604
terrain: flat and easy
weather: overcast, 80F, humid, but no winds.