Adios, Amigos

Bayou La Batre, Alabama

bridge to Dauphin Island

Ferry at other side of Dauphin Island.  Natural gas rig in background

Coming into Pensacola

Bike trail in the town of Gulf Shores

Hey, friends and lurkers.
We're done. 2500 miles.
Saturday's 90-miler put us into Gulf Shores, Alabama. Some beautiful riding, ferry crossing and conversations with locals that made us feel like senior rock stars.
Sunday was a brisk 50 or so miles, much of it on Scenic Highway 90 around Pensacola, built for cars, not bikes.
Tourist traffic was heavy. A few extra inches' width of asphalt would have made the ride pure pleasure. We had clear skies and nice temps.
At the east end of Pensacola, a Quality Inn beckoned. We succumbed.
So, sister and brother in law are team driving our car and theirs to join us tonight. We'll load up the tandem and head northward, tomorrow. Maybe dip a tire into the Gulf of Mexico just to make our C2C official.
We didn't cross Florida. We know we can, but the effort was not worth the ride description for today: no shoulders, broken road, heavy traffic. Defensive riding. Beyond Milton is probably flatland and parklike riding.But we're ready to return from Oz. There's no place like home.

Simple Pleasures in Jackson

Best bath on the trip. Whirlpool hidden.

(continued from previous post) Our wrong turn was fortuitous. The horse van driver was a deputy sheriff, who put his inmate (borrowed for the day) companion in the back of his truck, loaded our tandem into the attached horse van, drove us eight miles in Jackson, and bought us lunch. He introduced us to a retired law enforcement officer, who made sure we had a room at the Old Centenary Inn, a 1935-era, 8-room restored piece of history with a New Orleans-style courtyard. And a local winery (yoohoo) a half-block down the road.

Best bed on the trip too!

Our experience with Deputy Sheriff Dan Klein deserves a separate post. From the agreeable inmate to a story about a 600 pound hog, I need to get my writer's wits in order before I tell those tales.
It was a good day, friends.

Following is a loong summary of our Cheaper Than Dirt experience in Franklinton. Can't keep it in order and put in a separate post. Sorry!

After leaving the luxurious Old Centenary Inn has its only guests Tuesday night (the innkeeper actually left for the night and we had the entire place to ourselves!), we locked its historic door and proceeded to Franklinton Wednesday. Staying at the only lodging available,the Liberty Inn Motel, I was excited to see in the adjoining shopping mall: Cheaper Than Dirt, the Salvage Stock Grocery Store and Dollar General.
Avoiding the popular gas station for a meal plan, I decided to try to make dinner in the room and find fab food buys at those swell stores. The salvage store (it's a chain!) buys mostly expired and past due date canned and boxed goods. Lovely. I still cannot believe I bought milk, orange juice, organic pecan crunch snack there, all dated "reassuringly" for June 2011. Dollar General was better, finding Healthy Choice microwave soups, foil bagged salmon in lemon and dill sauce, Quaker quick oatmeal and...Bugles. I skipped Cheaper Than Dirt.
I think it was a step up for dinner and breakfast.
Anyway, it got us back on the road Thursday to Poplarville. With none of the listed stay overs available, we contacted another Warmshowers host just outside of town. I am thankful to Steve and Tanya Panella because our only option was to camp out on the side of the road. Without even a Cheaper Than Dirt store adjacent.
The Panellas are great hosts. And they like vegetables! Tanya stir fried garden fresh zucchini and onions and steamed some spiced chicken sausage. We had rocky road ice cream for desert.
Afterwards I watched Tanya collect eggs from her 20 "girls," feed her two mules and four goats and try to learn the names of her five dogs and assorted cats.
Her passion is "animal socialization," but she's working on an R.N. Degree. Both she and Steve have been cyclists. During the cycling part of our chat, Steve asked out of the blue, "Have you ever heard of Lon Haldeman?"
It was fun to tell a few stories about Lon and promote PAC Tour. And Steve is a good candidate for their tours.
Today brought us to White Sands Campground in Vancleave MS. We finally put up our tent. Um, it's out on a covered porch that surrounds a gazebo that's up on stilts. I have a floor fan blowing cool air into the tent. The campground manager offered use of his cable tv in a screened tent adjoining his camper. He likes cross-country cyclists.
And the riding? Pretty good. The humidity in Louisiana and Mississippi creates a languid feeling in the afternoon. And a lot of fog to ride through in the morning. The hill rolling is much gentler. At times, I can even read the map notes as we roll along.
Tomorrow are ferry rides into Alabama, after 40 or so road miles.
Looking forward to a little change in transportation.

From Oberlin to Opelousas

Today.
Eighty miles yesterday got us into Louisiana, but I don't remember too much about the ride.
Cycling while sick is well...sick.
David and I are trading a virus back and forth, so today was his time to suffer.
When things go wrong, it tends to pile up. We'd planned to take it easy today, staying at a B&B or at the worst, the campground listed for Washington LA on the Adventure Cycling map. For the record, the town itself is pretty, founded in 1720 and has what is reputed to be an excellent restaurant, the Steamboat Warehouse.
If you plan to visit, know that the Steamboat only serves until 2 pm on Sundays, the cute little Cafe Opera is closed Sunday and your only other option is the fried chicken at the corner gas station.
Also note the Donut Queen in Mamou, en route to Washington, is a sweet little bakery and I had my first kolinache there. No beignets though.
But back to Washington. The five B&B's to which we were directed by the locals were closed. The two cottages at the Steamboat were occupied. And "Willie" was nowhere to be found at his campground. Which was okay, because it isn't much of a place.
So, we headed south off route to Opelousas next to I49 and found my now favorite Super8. WalMart is fairly nearby. I want yogurt. Fruit. Unfried vegetables. I like it RAW!
I do enjoy the scenery here. Pine trees, blooming catalpas, even the flooded rice paddies are neat to view. Terrain is forgivingly level, some headwind, but nice to have while we're less than optimal.
Locals, although somewhat clueless, are querying us at our every stop, and we are getting lots of encouraging hand waves and gentle horn toots. The dialect is hard for David to understand, so I am the interpreter. but I still haven't figured out what sounds like "Chicagoport" is.
Only downside is getting back on route, but, like dear Scarlett, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

A hundred miles

And we're STILL in Texas.
no matter. The first eighty or so miles was nice tour-worthy roadway. From Coldspring, we passed through Double Lake Recreation Area, Big Creek Scenic Area, and edged through a bit of the Big Thicket National Preserve.
Mini marts are operating about every 20 miles on the route. Traffic was fairly light and road surfaces were reasonable.
At our final stop in Silbee, a local walked up, gave us two pins with the city logo, and told us about a shortcut to continue the route eastward.
We are such suckers. We saddled up and went for stupid.
His directions were fine. It put us on the ACA mapping of Route 96, another four-lane divided highway with logging traffic and early weekenders hauling boats and assorted off-road vehicles.
We did have a wide shoulder, though, and dead level terrain. A roofing nail punctured our rear Gatorskin tire and the "garden hose" slime filled inner tube, so our arrival in Kirbyville was a bit delayed.
Tomorrow, finally, we'll be in Louisiana. In the spirit of the Mighty 400 miler that some friends are doing today through Monday, we'll try another high mileage day tomorrow and possibly Sunday, to beat the forecasted flooding. Nothing like a little water to keep us focused.

Dare I say it?

Another nice day of touring.
Now in Coldspring TEXAS, 65 miles closer to the border and 2200' climbing.
We reallyreally could have endured another 22 miles but couldn't get confirmation at the America's Best Value in Shepherd. Besides, we've found our best riding is from after breakfast, to about an hour after lunch.
Traffic and heat increases as we ride later in the afternoon.
So many ask how fast we're going and how many miles we do each day. I've mentioned the spacing between towns, but it also depends on the extra considerations.
For example, today we started out in tights and jackets this morning, then stopped to strip down and apply the obligatory white paste sunscreen, stuff gear in panniers and check for possible dragging brake. Factor in water, snack and restroom breaks (you cannot hide in the woods here) and we're spending a fair amount of time off the bike.
I have heard about a father/daughter tandem who rode 100 miles each day on this route and put up a roadside tent for the night, wherever they reached their daily goal.
Good for them!
For us, we're happy to absorb this experience as it happens. We never know what's around the next bend
Today's route took us through miles of national forest, relatively peaceful, only a few logging trucks. We also passed through Cagle Recreation Area and Lake Conroe. Wildflowers all around. Hello Texas spring.
NO roadside carnage, either.
We also want you to know we have unconsciously adopted the Atkins Diet, with way too much protein and too few carbs. Our available breakfast options are eggs and/or sausage, ham or steak. The potatoes are always fried, so we've been going easy on that side. Lunch salads have ranged from decent to "Is head lettuce the ONLY thing grown around here?" Dinners: this is red meat country. Chicken gets mutilated. I ordered a baked potato last night, and it was heaped with sour cream, butter, cheese and bacon.
The result: a little retirement/winter waistline spread has disappeared. Talk about reward for bad food choices.
But David still gets in his red wine and I explore the beer selections, so I guess it balances out.
Can't wait to see what my Mother's Day meal is. Enjoy yours.

Primo Tour Day

Carmine to Navasota, still in Texas, and the first great tour day! Road surface good, light traffic, weather beautiful. The fourth factor, winds, was not in our favor, and there are still hills, but why quibble.
We briefly considered going on to a Harley Bed and Breakfast, having "only" rode 51 miles. A conversation with the B&B owner revealed we would have more challenging hillage for 22 miles so we reined ourselves in and stabled at the local and luxurious Super8.
Just finished dinner at a real cowboy bar. Yes, Mike, the obligatory John Wayne pic was on the wall, but no Lone Star Beer. And a shortage on other brews too. Bar conversation revolved around what went on the previous night, and I think their stock was depleted.
Navasota is a pretty town. Some beautiful old plantation homes here and a taste of what this area was in its prime.
Our lunch stop was at Independence, a tiny place that is busy recreating some Texas history. Cotton was king here once, with a gin operating 24 hours/day. Impressive restoration sites of log and stone buildings are roadside.
I also noted many McMansions on the route, reminiscent of the TV program "Dallas" era, for sale. I was told by a local they weren't built by locals. "They had lots of money, then they didn't, so they left," he said.
David's working on the brakes and needs my glasses, so guess I'll have to sign off. We are done with Map 4, on to 5. #7 is the final one!

MIA for a Day

But all is good. Yesterday's route was self-determined, so of course we got lost in Austin. Cloudy day, rolled in to Bastorp one hour before the rain and higher winds came in. Ran barefoot down the street, in the rain, to a Chinese buffet for dinner. My shower shoes that do double duty for street wear were too slippery, and I am a KY girl, after all.
Today's ride ended at a Warmshowers host in Carmine. Rating: B for the ride, A+ for hospitality here. We started the ride through two state parks, Bastorp and Bueschler, hilly and quiet and pine forest pretty. But a riding day in Texas isn't complete without at least a few miles of intense traffic.
Lunch at LaGrange was a surprise. We met "Laura Long," formerly of Newport and Cincinnati. She had seen our tandem on the road and gave us a big attaboy for doing this trip. When we left town, she was parked at a gas station, cheering us on.
Figuring out mileage for the day is always a challenge. David and I factor in the usual: probable weather, how we feel, projected elevation, amount of traffic (!), and distance between towns with real lodging.
Our Warmshowers association is invaluable. Today, the destination was Round Top. But it's a weekend town, although it's listed as having full services. No campground available, either. So we called Carol Montgomery in Carmine. She rode out to the main route to pick us up in her truck, taking us over six miles of gravel road to her own little piece of paradise.
She sets up cyclists in a barn loft, with sleeping area for up to seven people. It boasts a wood burning fireplace, efficiency kitchen and bath. An open deck overlooks the countryside.
You'll just have to visit to find out the rest. It's enough to say that she has built her home herself, and I think she has done most of the work in this loft as well.
That has to be it for now. We have an early start planned for tomorrow.

Having Fun Yet?

Some feedback indicates my daily descriptions don't sound like I'm having fun.
Let's see: I get to ride a bike everyday, I sleep at least nine hours every night, eat and drink whatever I want (or can find that doesn't bite back first), talk with lots of people who are fascinated with our tandem, and learning so much about this country I'd never known if I weren't on the back of the bike.
Pret-ty good return on the time investment.
Looking back over my posts, I've tried to be realistic. This cross country ride is NOT a walk in the park.
For example, leaving Blanco this morning, we had reasonably decent road, manymanymany rollers and low traffic.
Twenty-five miles later, we're leaving Wimberley and fighting for road space to get to Austin in one piece. No shoulder, higher hills and ridiculous traffic. Before 10 AM on a Sunday morning.
There was a nice part, however.
Meeting "Ray" on his Cervelo at a gas station snack stop and accepting his offer for tonight's stay over.
We followed him to his home in Manchaca outside Austin and was welcomed by his wife Angela. We've already enjoyed conversation and looking forward to dinner tonight and yet another comfy place to sleep.
So yes, I am having fun. But is getting there half of it? Sometimes, yes.
Will I be happy I've done it?
Ask me again when we get to Florida.