Skip to main content

Day 43- Franklinton LA

 Sleeping at Perry’s bike hostel was pretty magical. Frogs and peepers, leaves falling, and acorns hitting the metal outbuilding roofs and sounding like gunshots. I slept until about 1 AM and could not get back to sleep. It stayed 1 AM for a really long time because at 2 AM we turned the clocks back. Sleep did come eventually.

We intended to head out as a group for our 73 miles today, but fate slapped the tandem riders again. Their electronic shifting stopped working and the bike would not charge. This meant they’d have one gear for the entire ride. Not great on a Sunday morning. They did find a place a bike store that was open in the afternoon in Baton Rouge and headed out. 


Sue and I headed out for the first 20 miles. I didn’t take many pictures as the scenery was mostly open fields or thick woods. The day got warm quickly and by lunchtime it was 83°. Outside our lunch stop the zinnias were growing as if it was July.

We are seeing more water but no gators so far. I’m a little disappointed. Maybe as we move east? Also fewer cows today, but the ones I did see were amusing. 


What was also amusing was the scene set up in a field Santa watching over a flock of sheep and waiting for the Resurrection.  I don’t remember that story from  the Bible but maybe I missed it.

Our route took us up and down and up and down all day. I think my legs have forgotten how to climb. By the last 10 miles we decided we were hot and tired enough for a beer. The Sunny Hill Grocery and Grub had no craft beer which is my favorite, but a Budweiser did the trick. I may have to drop drop my beer snobbery.

Tonight we are sleeping in a field behind the Franklinton police department. They have been very accommodating and we’re anticipating a good nights sleep. Tomorrow is our last day of this 12 day stretch. I think we’re all ready for a rest.

Things I learned today:

  • Herrs Hot Sauce potato chips make a great mid morning snack


  • Franklinton Louisiana, population 3581 is the home of the worlds largest free fair. Between 20 and 50,000 people attend this week long event each year.

Comments

  1. I loved the picture of the Christmas decorations. Debbie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 50- Mexico Beach FL

 We worried about the cool temps predicted for this morning, but the truth was, 46° in the sunshine was pretty pleasant with the right layers. I had a chance to work out some navigation because ride with GPS gave me an old route that didn’t start at the La Quinta, but at a point 7 miles away. I would’ve done better with a paper map, but struggled enough with the phone to figure it out. Even a little win feels good. We rode the 18 mile Timpoochee trail. It went past several lakes and state parks and through some rather fancy planned neighborhoods.  Ankur made a statement yesterday about how much of what we’ve seen has been man-made or planned by men, often as a result of hurricane damage. I found this to be a great contrast to parts of the southwest where nature seems to be taking back the land, growing up over abandoned houses. When I turned onto 98 E. I noticed beach access and headed down to look at the water. There was a kiosk there about artificial fish reefs that caught m...

Day 37- Silsbee Texas

 It’s Halloween and I’m sorry I could not pull together any sort of costume. I did take a stab at it in Austin, but Target let me down. Ann, however, managed to get her friends to take her somewhere where she got pieces to make a very patriotic character. It was fun to ride with her as the drivers honked their approval. As we prepare to leave Texas tomorrow we are beginning to see more water. This morning we crossed the Trinity river right off the bat.  We made a stop after lunch at the Honey Island General Store and met Chuck, the owner. I asked him how the town got its name, and he said “here’s the story I believe…” The people of the town did not own slaves during the Civil War, and as such, did not want to fight for slaveowners rights. The powers that be didn’t approve and decided to set fire to the area they thought the resistors were hiding in. This area was known as the big thicket, a Jungle-y type area with such thick underbrush that it still has not been developed. The...

Day 35- New Waverly, Texas

 Today’s ride was more of the same — farm fields, horses, cattle, even some cows with floppy ears that made them look like they had been mixed with sheep. My day’s regret was not getting a picture. It’s too bad the weather was still gray when we left because the lake and the beach in Somerville would be great in the sun, but with 71 miles ahead of us we were up and out early. Our first stop was Independence, home of the original Baylor University. It started as a girls school, then Baylor Academy (coed- you go, progressive Texas!) and finally the University before it moved to Waco. Locals told us that the current dean has freshman and seniors come to the site each year; freshmen to learn the history, and seniors to say goodbye. The site also included some early Texas homes from the 1820s. One was called a dog- trot house, called that because it has a breezeway in the middle. The center area was often used as a dog kennel. They also had examples of other homes from the 1820s which i...