Day 7, Vicksburg, MS - 97 miles

What a great day!  Yesterday was a rest day in Natchez, but my research showed that there really wasn’t a lot to do.  So I did something I haven’t done in years.  I took a bath.   The terrain has been so flat that there is little opportunity to stand while pedaling.  No standing means more time in the seat, which means more pain.  The bath was great to soak my tired areas and sooth sore muscles.

Other than that, I did a lot of obsessing over the weather.  The forecast was for thunderstorms in the morning, progressing to showers in the afternoon, with a high temperature of only 80.  But every time I checked the weather, it seemed to get a little better. By the time I was ready to depart this morning, there was a 25% chance of showers at 9am, clearing soon after.  It was a beautiful day!  There was no rain and it was overcast so it wasn’t so hot.  On top of that, at about mile five we entered the Natchez Trace.

The Natchez Trace is an old foot path first used by native Americans, then by boatmen who had traveled down the Mississippi and were returning home to the Ohio River Valley.  It is now a 444 mile long National Park with a beautiful tree lined road dotted with informational stops, of which we biked the first 60 miles.  Also for the first time we encountered hills! Not big hills but enough to get us up out of our seats once in a while.

The original, sunken Trace.

After leaving the Trace, the road was not quite as nice but the weather held.  We passed the Historic Crossroads Store filled with local color.

Crossroads Store

I rode with Mary for much of the day and as we were chatting about how historic Vicksburg was, we decided we wanted to visit the Vicksburg National Military Park across the street from our hotel.  It sounded like a great idea earlier but by the time we got there (after 82 miles of riding) I was getting a little tired.  Well Mary was still full of energy so in the park we went.

The siege of Vicksburg was an important turning point in the civil war and is commemorated in the 1800 acre park.  Biking through the park is a wonderful way to experience it, despite the 11% grades on the hills.  I know Mary from both my Southern Tier and the Northern Tier bike rides and she is great company, even after 94 miles.  We returned to the hotel just in time for showers and dinner.

My roommate today is Moira who is enjoying her first trip to the US from her native Scotland.  She is having a great time on this tour despite her inadvertent 20 mile detour before getting on the Trace this morning.  When she got into the hotel she single handedly unloaded the trailer and sorted the luggage by type and color.

Moira and suitcases

Day 5, Natchez, MS - 86 miles

It is no exaggeration to affirm that a journey by bicycle is like none other; it is a thing apart; it has a tempo and a style of its own.
- James E. Starrs,
The Noiseless Tenor




It looks like we are getting into a pattern: Sweat-ride-drink, sweat-ride-drink. Or as our guide, Carol, puts it "sugar cane on the left, levee on the right, no shade overhead."  Yesterday we actually had a bit of a change in scenery as there was corn on the left.  Due to circumstances, we were more bunched together yesterday.  At mile nine we were advised to wait at "Not Your Mama's Cafe" for the SAG which would then escort us over the narrow Morganza spillway.  This was particularly exciting for those of us who did the Southern Tier four years ago as it was at this very same cafe where we had to wait for four hours to be shuttled across the Mississippi due to flooding. The same Pac-Man machine is there and from the thickness of the dust, I don't doubt our quarters are still sitting in its till.

At mile 20 the SAG was waiting as planned.  With this heat it is imperative that water bottles are kept topped off at all times and you have enough calories on hand so you don't run out of energy.  I rolled out of the SAG stop with Penny and Pat, two of my great friends from the Southern Tier, and we headed down the very empty road.  There was indeed no shade overhead and there were no services anywhere on this road.  Every time we stopped the heat would radiate up from the pavement, seemingly increasing the temperature by 20 degrees.  When rolling, the breeze would facilitate at least a little bit of evaporative cooling.  At mile 40, Lynne (our chef) had a wonderful picnic lunch waiting for us, and at mile 60 was our next SAG.  This SAG stop was at the edge of the only copse of trees seen for miles and, for our viewing pleasure, was accompanied by a bear (pig? wild dog?) pelt stuck on a nearby post.  There were also lots of animal bones strewn about and I was sure it was a voodoo camp or Yeti's feeding ground so I didn't stay long.  Besides, there was only 20 more miles to go.

At mile 80 we still weren't in town and, thanks to my Garmin bike computer, I knew we had another 5 or so miles to go. It was really hot but I had been staying well hydrated and I was even carrying an extra water bottle in my pocket just in case.  That "just in case" came in handy as I soon came across a rider who wasn't feeling too well and admitted she had been out of water for the last five miles.  I shared mine, flagged down the van which happened to be passing at that moment, and all was well.  We rode in together and arrived at the hotel about an hour before a big, booming thunderstorm hit.

Me and the Mississippi

We entered our second state, Mississippi, at the end of the ride.  Our hotel is the Historic Eola, one of only 60 hotels in America on the National Historic Registry.  Many of us gathered in the lobby before dinner to chat and admire Moria's new shoes.  You see, Moria is from Scotland and seems to have brought very beautiful but rather impractical footwear.  Someone in the group convinced her to order a pair of Keen sandals from Zappos and they arrived today.  She said she never heard of Keens and they are not available in her country.  She is quite pleased with her purchase.

Yesterday evening a tour bus full of people arrived at the hotel.  It's interesting to see the differences in our groups.  The bus people disembarked and made a beeline for the cookies and sat down to enjoy them.  Our group also made a beeline for the cookies but we stuffed our cheeks and kept moving.  I guess that's not so much of a difference but by looking at the expressions on people's faces, we were sure having a lot more fun.

Day 4, New Roads, LA - 36 miles

 

What a difference a day makes.  Everybody, myself included, was exhausted after yesterday's ride.  It's not the heat, it's the humidity.  Today we all decided to start a little later and take our time.  We were rolling by 8:30 and got to the first, and only SAG stop by about 10.  I had the opportunity to ride with Yolande and Bernadette.  Because they are from Holland, it is great hearing their take on what they see as they bike along. Today a bunch of us Americans were marveling at the built in locks they have on their bikes.  To them it was just the way bikes should be.  I was also riding with Jeanne, my good friend from Florida.  She is on her first bike tour even and so far she is loving it.  What's not to like about bike-eat-sleep?

I don't usually stop for lunch but we were nearing the hotel at about noon, and we passed a place called Ma Mama's Kitchen, so how could I pass it up.  It didn't hurt that Angela came out to see what the hell we were doing and how far did we say we were riding??  

Angela

Soon afterwards I pulled into the hotel and made a bee line for the laundry.  This was the first day that the luggage beat us to the hotel so we were able to settle in quickly.  Barb, who I met on the Northern Tier ride two years ago, is my roommate.  She is also the sous-chef so she is quite busy and out of the room a lot.  On top of that, she's a really nice person.  Life is good.

Day 3, Port Allen, LA - 101 miles

 

Today's ride was... interesting.  You could call it fun.  It was hot, it was humid, and it was long. But I am quite tired now and don't feel like blogging. Check out my photos to get a taste of the day. I will try to add details later.  No internet tomorrow. The hotel sounds... interesting.

Here are the details:

Today we started rolling at 7:30 and I didn't get in until 4:30.  In between, there was heat, humidity, road kill and a paucity of water.  Because the cue sheet said we were supposed to ride 96 miles, we were all up early and on the road right away.  Some were riding earlier, and some (me) couldn't find the snack table and started a little later.  Our first three miles were retracing our route back to the river from yesterday. When we hit the ever-present levee, we headed north again. 

In our map meeting last night, we were cautioned about two areas.  The first was the Gramercy bridge over the Mississippi at mile 16.  It turns out there was a very wide shoulder and plenty of room for bikes.  In addition to that, the police showed up and blocked the right lane so traffic was no where near us.  Unfortunately, three people got flats on this bridge from all the debris.

 

View from Gramercy Bridge

Police escort

The second area was a complex interchange where we met up with Interstate-10. There was no police escort this time but our support car rode behind each group of riders with flashers on keeping traffic at bay.  In addition, using Google maps I found a great way around most the traffic.  Overall, today's route was some of the calmest biking I have encountered.

In between, we saw plantation after plantation on the River Road.  Oak Alley Plantation was one of the most beautiful and is where many movies have been filmed, including Forrest Gump.  

Oak Alley Plantation

 Also along the River Road were many gas and oil refineries.  You might think this would be a bad thing for bikers but not so.  Because of the refineries, there were porta-potties about every 10 miles, which were relatively clean.  Because it was Saturday, there were no trucks on the road.  And the occasional building servicing all the facilities provided shade and, at one point, a cooling water spigot to drench my head and refill my bottles.  

So the day was hot, and it was long, but dinner was great and the company was, and is, greater.  Tomorrow is a short day but the hotel isn't exactly... good, or so we've been told.  There is probably no internet so I will have to socialize with my group.  You know, I might enjoy that.

Day 2, La Place, LA - 43 miles

After a good, hearty breakfast at the Ruby Slipper Cafe, we returned to the van and, to make sure the day was going to be a smooth one I topped off my tires with air. That's when I heard the "pfffft" sound as I ripped the valve stem from the tube. The first flat of the trip prize goes to me.  Carol, our guide, did a quick tube change then we headed down to the river for the ceremonial pictures.  Then we were off.

As we traveled through New Orleans' Garden District, the houses transitioned from elegant decay to cute bungalows called shotgun houses (because if you fired a shotgun in the front door, the shot would exit out the back without hitting anything). At mile 5 we started on a bike path on top of a levee that would last us the next 22 miles.

As the day went on the temperature and humidity climbed, and the cold water from today's support driver, Yolande, was greatly appreciated.  Yolande is from Amsterdam and she and her wife are on this trip as part of a multi-month biking adventure of North America. They have already biked down Route 1 in California and, after we get to Minnesota, they are continuing east to Montreal.  They are just two of the 30 very interesting women on this trip.

Shotgun houses

Some of the crew

Day 1, New Orleans, LA

We arrived in New Orleans on schedule and have been busily devouring the city sights since.  Our hotel is the Villa Convento on the edge of the French Quarter, a very cute and old building across the street from Le Croissant d'Or, a wonderful pastry shop.  We have been on walking tours (cemetery, historic garden district, river front); eaten gumbo, etouffee, and jambalaya; been on boats and streetcars; relived World War II; seen jazz performed on street corners and in clubs; and had flaming Banana's Foster prepared table-side at the restaurant where it was invented. What a wild time.

Today I will meet the woman of the tour and tomorrow we will take off for points north. Maybe then I can get some sleep.

Day 1, New Orleans, LA - 0 miles