Shifting Gears

Day 35 10/24 Baton Rouge, LA 102 miles to New Orleans, LA; Day 36 10/25 “rest” day in NOLA – We knew we had an ambitious day of 95 miles planned from Baton Rouge to New Orleans (NOLA) but were excited for the rest day in NOLA, so figured we’d go for it. We also knew it was mostly flat terrain so should be doable. We had no clue today would be the most miserable day of our journey! It started even before leaving our hotel room when seeing that Heather had a flat front tire. Clearly an issue with the tube or tire, or both. I thoroughly checked the tire and seeing no issues, I changed the tube in the lobby. We left after this 40 minute delay. We added a few miles and time by heading over to the LSU campus for a quick ride through and to check out Mike the Tiger, their live tiger mascot. Mike was hiding, and we didn’t even get a sighting.  Cannot even see Mike! Riding to NOLA, we could choose the more direct route of mostly highway 61, with its shoulder littered with debris, or the longer,

 Day 31-34: 10/20  Coldspring, TX 68 miles to Kountze, TX 10/21 Kountze, TX 85 miles to DeRidder, LA 10/22 DeRidder, LA 77 miles to Ville Platte, LA 10/23 Ville Platte, LA 82 miles to Baton Rouge, LA –  Day 31 to Kountze was the least eventful day of the trip. (Notice how I try to lower your expectations of this blog.)  We were eager to leave our unwelcoming room in Coldspring and after 5 miles of riding, treated ourselves to warm cheese, egg and croissant sandwiches followed by blueberry muffin chasers to help put last night behind us. Food sets the mood! On a morning dog chase, I developed a new defense. Instead of my standard shout of 3 brief staccato NO NO NO, I found myself using two drawn out yells followed by the 3 short blasts. More like NOOOOOO NOOOOOO, NO NO NO. It was very effective.  With 10 miles to go, I was feeling tired so visited a general store to buy a Gatorade and for the first time saw a civilian shopping with a visible firearm on his hip. I felt like I was in the

DAYS 29 & 30: 10/18 Warrenton, TX 56 miles to Navasota, TX; 10/19 Navasota, TX 71 miles to Cold Spring, TX –  At breakfast in Warrenton, I had one of those aha, goose bumps moments. Speaking with the women with whom we shared a table, we discovered Cyndi had competed in the same equestrian category as Christopher Reeve, novice amateur, and knew a fair bit about his riding accident. She told us about some of the protective equipment now in use like an air bag, actually an air vest, that aims to protect a rider against such an injury and she thought his accident has helped inspire its development.  (Editor's note: please see here if you would like to donate to Mark and Heather's Reeve Foundation fundraiser)  Breakfast with Cyndi on my left  Today’s ride was the least eventful to date. We passed some ranches, a few had minor gas fields on them. But my mind was plagued by the story we heard last night of a teen driver who allegedly intentionally hit a group of 6 cyclists in Wa

 DAY 28: 10/17 Austin, TX 86 miles to Warrenton (Round Top), TX – Leaving Austin, we said our goodbyes to our wonderful hosts Amy and Adam and left around 8am.  Host Amy who bikes to work with her panier as carryall  Host Adam, our community organizer muse By the way, since a few readers of this blog asked what was up with my glasses, I’m happy to report I received my replacement order at Warby Parker in Austin. What should have been 5 days of processing, like the originals, ended up with delays due to errors such that they just about missed getting them to me in Austin. Thankfully it worked out. In the end, Nick the manager was brilliant in his client service EQ and IQ, and he even schooled me in how to surpass client expectations. Thanks, Nick!!  (Editor's note: Nick, I hope you're reading this blog and taking in this high praise. Drop a comment if you are, and thanks for helping my dad!) This supposed rest day in Austin was hardly that. After 31,725 steps, I was looking forw

 DAY 26 & 27: 10/15 Fredericksburg, TX 80 miles to Austin, TX and 10/16 rest day in Austin –  Leaving Fredericksburg, we cycled past a number of vineyards and signs for peaches and related items like peach cobbler and peach ice cream. I must say I was tempted to have some, but was still full from breakfast less than an hour ago. I guess I do have some dessert limits. We did manage a photo op that was a must since I’ve called Heather Peach or Peachy ever since our first date back in January 1991 when I thought her perfume smelled like peaches.  Just riding with my Peach The vineyard we passed was another sign to me from above that I’m on the right path as her old friends and I also call her by the shortened Heath.  Heather-branded wine A nice side route took us through the LBJ State Historical Park. It was pretty cool to cycle next to the LBJ Ranch. On a car road trip, I’d have taken the tour.  Texas-sized ranch We passed through Johnson City which is hardly a city. Although it’s wh