I forgot to mention how stressful the dogs were yesterday and today. Western LA and eastern TX are living up to their bad reputation of having bike-chasing dogs! Steven already ran out of “juice” in his airhorn, and I’m running low! Thankfully Jody already bought more at Walmart. These small horns (used often by boaters) have proved to be 100% effective stopping the dogs in their tracks! However, by using them, I am probably hastening my eventual need for hearing aids! 😩

Started out on a chilly, dry morning from Kirbyville and enjoyed three very satisfactory TX roadways even with log truck traffic! Winds were a little squirrelly but mostly from the N/NE so that was highly favorable for our W-S-W travel! Finished today before noon 😊 48.2 miles and 767‘ elevation.

Visited the Big Thicket National Preserve Visitor Center in the afternoon. Google it and learn about bushwhackers! And so exciting the carnivorous pitcher plants were blooming! First time seeing them in “the wild”! Did a 1 mile walk to see them. 💪 😆 Cooking dinner “in” on our camp stove in our first rate 2 star motel.

I have learned that if you want to see the videos in my blog, you have to click in the email notification you receive of my Post – “Read in Blog” Enjoy! If you just read my blog in the email you receive, you won’t see the videos I add. Thanks for following along!

Happy Easter today and Passover earlier this week. Huge storm all last night but it cleared for us to cycle this morning. Saw a lot of pine plantations today and no crawfish ponds. N/NE wind was not too bad in our W/NW direction, even with a tailwind a few times when we turned south (!), and Sunday morning always has less traffic. For a SW Louisiana highway kind of day, the shoulders were mostly wide and clean! 403.8 miles in LA & approx 3500‘ elevation gain. [I sat out one 75 mile day and cut short another day by 12 miles.]

Good bye SE U.S. – a little more than 2 weeks and 1085.7 miles – Florida ✅, Alabama✅, Mississippi✅, Louisiana✅ Now on to Texas for more than 2 weeks of cycling and 1000 miles or 1/3 of the trip.

Texas

• nickname: The Lone Star State
• bird: mockingbird
• flower: bluebonnet (which is actually lupine)
• motto: “friendship” – and every TX driver on this first day was very courteous!

Finished the day: 88.6 miles 1306’

In the heart of western Louisiana. We had been warned of more dogs here mostly because we are cycling on less busy highways. We’ve already encountered a few prior to today, and the new device for this TransAm – the high decibel mini air horn – is quite effective, especially when cracks in the road don’t bump the button while it’s hanging on your bike or you grab it and shoot it into your hand instead of into the air. From here through Texas, I will be carrying it “side holster” in the left pocket of my bike shorts! Already had to use it about 5 times in first 30 miles this morning, and then more the rest of the day.

Beautiful cycle on a quiet Saturday morning through ag country and Chicot State Park with an arboretum and the largest natural lake in LA. Road surfaces were favorable too! Coffee at a cute shop in Ville Platte.

Unfortunately Steven’s bike broke a spoke on his front wheel 😩 41 miles in. The past few days of rough patches of road will do it to a bike!! He and Jody had to drive all the way to Lake Charles to a bike shop for repair. Mission accomplished!

Roadkill today: raccoons, armadillos, snakes, skunk, turtles and frogs. I was not expecting to cycle through miles and miles and miles of rice patties and crawfish ponds! At mile 66, the rain found us. We temporarily took refuge during a squall under a Simplot trailer parked next to a crawfish pond. Then onward to our country Airbnb via some wet gravel roads. 74.9 miles, 650’ elevation gain. Last night in Louisiana! My aches and pains are slowly going away.

Bunkie, LA seems to be a busy little ag town.

835 miles for me since leaving St Augustine; (guys: 922) one more night in LA then a long trek across Texas!

Nice to sleep in, stretch, use the TheraGun, rest, do some paperwork, check and re-check upcoming overnight reservations, write some cards, take a nap and talk to family and friends. And of course, clean my bike and change the rear tire tube.

Thankfully mostly cool and mostly advantageous S wind today. Still quite humid with thunderstorms all around. Sadly one of the least fun days on a TransAm ever. The first 20 miles was the most unpleasant 20 miles of the trip so far leaving Baton Rouge on “scenic Hwy” 61 – horrible road surface, tons of debris, tons of industry. One highlight was crossing big John James Audubon Bridge over the Mississippi River! We’ve been near or along it for quite while. Good bye for now as we head west! Finally at mile 57 a lovely country road west of the Mississippi river into Simmesport with mostly a tailwind, but that only lasted about 18 miles. Then we turned on another equally bad road for 10 miles with cracks every 5-10’! We did cut off some mileage during the day by not taking a few suggested loops and stayed on the main highway. Then finally in Cottonport, 12 miles from our destination, and after 91.4 miles, 994’ elevation and off and on cloudbursts with lots of rain, I had a flat tire…. again! Crappy roads will sure do it. Brand new tube was faulty with a split in it! Didn’t have any more with us and started pouring again! I called it quits at the gas station where we had taken refuge… it was called “Y-Not Stop”! Figured that was message enough for me! Boys continued on. Jody came to my rescue… again. Thanks Jody!! Boys finished with 103 miles. We are in the very small town of Bunkie, LA in a very 2 star motel for 2 nights. My aches and pains are lessening, but my upper left leg and hip looks about the same deep purple as the LSU Tiger colors!!

Well I got back on the bike! 👏 (no joking!) As my friend, Steve Boyer suggested, my hip/thigh would probably feel better and heal faster cycling rather than walking. True that! Of course, every big bump I went over caused pain in my left wrist and rib, but hey, beautiful ride of 41.3 miles, 150’ elevation gain. The last third was on the Mississippi River Trail which is on top of the dike. Short day so we could see a little of the very busy river town of Baton Rouge, LA capital!

Well no cycling for me today. 😢 Steven and Tom took off as scheduled, and the forecast thunderstorms aren’t expected until after they should arrive in Burnside, LA on the Mississippi River. They get to cycle quite a ways on the Mississippi River Trail west of NOLA. Sorry to miss the cycling and the Trail.

Urgent Care visit and xray of left hip, pelvis and thigh. No fractures apparent. Left rib area was hurting a bit this morning too. Jody got in her morning workout, and then we went grocery shopping. Finding a Trader Joes in NOLA was great. Thanks friends for reaching out to me about my condition. ❤️

Gulfport is a big port city. We enjoyed some good bbq last night and watched UConn upset Duke in men’s March Madness bball. More cycling west along the Mississippi Sound in the Gulf of Mexico. MS drivers and roads have been as good as FL and AL, other than the rumble strips that are wider and take up a big part of the already narrow shoulder.

Calm and cool start through the pretty Gulf town of Pass Christian (Google the origin of that city name!) and Bay St Louis (the town) and St Louis Bay (the Bay). Cute coffee shop stop and onward. Mississippi ✅ Very quick visit to Mississippi’s gulf shore. Total MS mileage during late yesterday and early today: 89 miles

Then headed SW into Louisiana and New Orleans for a short overnight! We enjoyed an extended stay in NOLA a year ago and loved it. Today’s ride was the best yet at least for the first 60 miles.

Louisiana

• motto: “Union, Justice & Confidence”
• bird: brown pelican
• flower: magnolia
• nickname: The Pelican State

Finished at 81.5 miles today, since I sadly and stupidly went down on the street pavement slipping on very wet multiple interlacing trolley tracks at Harmony Circle on St Charles Ave! 😩 I know better! Should have been walking my bike. Probably will have a good looking left elbow and left hip tomorrow morning after lots of ice and ibuprofen. Everything else seems fine. Steven and Tom were great help, and of course Jody came to the rescue for a pick up the last 5 miles. The rain had begun again in earnest, too! Don’t hold your breath about me cycling tomorrow. We’ll see how the hip, elbow and wrist feel. Out for LA bbq soon! 😋

As forecast, the S/SE wind leaving Dauphin Island was strong and unsafe for me to cycle across the bridge to the mainland. Although the winds were a lot less than yesterday. Jody drove us 10 miles north to Alabama Port where we hopped on bikes and took off with a lovely tailwind the rest of the day. Cloud-covered skies were also appreciated. And have I mentioned that Sunday morning traffic?! It’s the best cuz there usually isn’t any! Total today 76.2 miles, 991’ elevation. Alabama ✅ Thanks for the short coastal visit of only 61 miles (would have been 10 more without the car ride this morning). In another small Airbnb house in Gulfport tonight.

Hello Mississippi

• motto: “Virtute et Armis” Latin for “By valor & arms“
• flower: magnolia
• bird: mockingbird
• nickname: The Magnolia State