Cycling Ellen

93.3 miles
1943.3 total

In the last couple of days, I have received two e mails from friends who have friends (both young) who are dealing with breast cancer.  Doing this ride, I have heard so many stories and I ride for all the women and their friends and family.  It can be discouraging to hear of the challenges, but I was so heartened today at lunch when I stopped to talk with some women at a table nearby.  They were curious about a bunch of older women in bike clothing in a restaurant in Kirbyville and we got to talking about our ride.  They were from Louisiana and headed for a bluegrass festival in Jasper, Texas.  They asked if I was fundraising and when I told them yes, one woman reached into her pocketbook and made a contribution on the spot.  Thanks so much!  Your picture is in the Texas, Part II album to the right.  You made my day.

Another highlight was arriving in Louisiana!  Tonight will be festive as Linda, from Lake Charles who did the Southern Tier last year, and her friend Lise were here at the motel when we arrived bearing gumbo, pralines, Mardi Gras beads and some local beer.  Add those ingredients to our state line margarita party (even though this is another dry county) and we’ll be celebrating tonight!

We were all surprised when we went outside this morning to find that the humidity and temperature levels had both dropped overnight.  It was comfortable weather for riding all day and beautiful blue skies overhead.  Like our entry into Texas, both the chip seal and the headwinds were strong presences.  It seemed fitting somehow.

We started the day with a smooth road and a glorious shoulder going out Rd 1122 and 92 to Silsbee and Fred.  I stopped at the Fred General Store (my dad’s middle name was Fred – how could I miss that?) where I met Gracie who was on her way to a T ball game.  She likes to ride her bike too.  Do you like your picture, Gracie?  I hope your game went well.

In Kirbyville, many of stopped for lunch at Elijah’s where we chowed down on Texas chowder (with corn and potatoes and optional hot sauce) and big baked potatoes loaded with extras.  It was good fuel for a long day, especially with our water bottles filled with sweet iced tea.

As we crossed the Sabine River into Louisiana, the wind picked up and a bunch of us settled into a pace line to help block the wind.  Phyllis, our sag driver for the day, happened by at mile 80 to give us a chance to refill our water bottles and stretch before the last pull into town.  As we got close to DeRidder there was a car accident that had just happened a few minutes earlier when a couple of our fellow riders were nearby.  Three sheriff cars and a couple of ambulances went flying by us as we road into town but the two doctors riding with me said it looked like everyone was alright.

Our cue sheet didn’t quite match the miles on our odometers so we stopped for directions.  I knew we were in the south when the woman’s response to our question was “Baby Jesus! I just moved here and have no idea!”.  All day we had been riding by churches.  There were three Baptist ones just in this town that I counted on the way in.   The local paper Candice was reading in Fawil, had a Faith and Values section.  Welcome to Louisiana.