Bogalusa, LA 4/17/08
125 miles today
2292.6 total
Things I learned on the road today:
I can ride 125 miles in one day despite head winds (riding mostly alone) and bumpy roads.
Louisiana isn’t flat. The hills were as big as those in some of the Texas hill country.
I can ride a road bike through loose gravel for a mile or so.
I can get across a closed bridge which is missing the floor boards for the last 20 feet walking on the railroad ties-like planking with 3 inch nails sticking out of them and the river about 50 feet below.
I am now persuaded by peer pressure in ways I wasn’t when I was a teenager.
Arda can carry bikes across planking without a second thought.
When a bridge is closed, neither the van nor the sag vehicle can get through so support services are sketchy for a while.
If you stop in Tengipahoa and meet Nathaniel who grew up there and is the same age is I am, he’ll put his beer down before you can take his picture.
When I’m too tired to outrun dogs, I stop, and put my bike between the dog and me. Once one of the dogs came around to my side and licked my salty leg.
When stretching on the side of the road after 90 miles or so, two thoughtful Louisiana drivers stopped to ask me if I was all right. Nice folks down this way.
When you see a McDonald’s at mile 100, a milkshake is a great way to restore oneself for the rest of the miles.
People in McDonald’s don’t believe that you can ride from California to Florida on a bike, especially if you are supposed to ride 125 miles in a day.
There are lots of logging trucks filled with wood chips that smell really good when they fly by.
If you ride late enough in the day, you get to see the school buses bring the children home, bunnies eating by the side of the road and your shadow straight in front of you.
Seeing the welcome to Bogalusa sign doesn’t mean that you are within a couple of miles of the hotel.
Pizza at the end of the day is a very welcome treat.
My bed is way too appealing at the end of a long day and makes my blog entry shorter than usual.
