January 15, 2007
I woke up around 7 am, said goodbye to Cristina, took a couple pictures with her (what a cutie!), and hit the road. Getting out of Baton Rouge was confusing (much like Pensacola), but in my misdirection I ended up passing the Pentagon Buildings which are a historical army post.
After asking for directions at a trucking company and being stopped by a (nice) cop for taking a picture of the Exxon-Mobil refinery, I made it to Hwy 90 and pedaled west. About 5 minutes later I had a flat tire and rain was threatening to fall.
There wasn’t much to see today but I did pass by a neat gas stove refurbishing shop. They had old ovens from the 50’s made by Chambers and other obscure companies that are probably no longer in business. The owner recommended that I stop at a cafe about 15 miles up the road called “Not Your Mama’s”. I did, and ordered a fried crawfish salad. It wasn’t small, but for $10 it could have been a lot bigger.
About 5 miles from Port Barre I had another flat, in the pouring rain. It was then that I had a revelation that went more or less like so: “Fuck this, where’s a motel?” I found one about 10 miles down the road. It was $45 well spent.
January 14, 2007
Riding out of New Orleans was great for the first 15 miles. I stopped at Whole Foods Market to stock up on trail mix, and when I got to the river there was a bike trail on top of the levee. It went all the way out of town and then some. And when it ended, the road that cut north to Hwy 61 also had a bike path.
Unfortunately, after leaving the New Orleans area and riding the highway the route got boring. On the northbound side of the highway lay swamp for miles and miles, and on the southbound side it wasn’t much better. The trip took longer than I had expected and I didn’t arrive to Baton Rouge until 6 pm.
Cristina welcomed me into her home, showed me to my bedroom for the night, and gave me a towel to shower with. I took a nice hot shower that was much-needed since the temperature today was around 80 deg F during most of the day. After I cleaned up, we went to drop off her god son and at dinner at an italian restaurant.
I ordered the largest salad on the menu and couldn’t even finish it no matter how hard I tried. Cristina was nice enough to pick up the bill, too. We went back to her place, met her (very talkative) neighbor, and then I crashed out to get some Zzzzzs.
January 12, 2007
Laura went to Vegas today around lunch time, gave me the keys to her house, and told me to make myself at home. I went out to meet up with Benjamin Harlow (fellow couchsurfer). We rode bikes around town, sat by the waterfront, bought a couple beers, split a grilled shrimp po-boy (18″), walked around the French Quarter to enjoy the art and music, and generally had a great time.
On the way back to the house, the rough New Orleans roads took a toll on my bike. The rear fender came loose, got caught up in the wheel, and somehow simultaneously caused my rear disc brake caliper to fail. Well, it’s a good excuse to stay another day in New Orleans, right?
January 11, 2007
Riding from Mississippi to Louisiana on US 90 is definitely the most boring stretch of road I have encountered so far. Literally there is nothing but degraded forest, lots of trash on the side of the road, swampland that never ends, and a few stilted houses.
When I thought I was about 10 miles away from New Orleans I stopped on the side of the road to call Laura. As soon as I hung up the phone I heard “HEY!”. Out of nowhere, another cyclist appeared to say hello. He was biking from New Orleans and going east for 4 days, then flying home to Pennsylvania or somesuch. Darryl, you gotta stop sneaking up on people like that.
An hour and a half and 20 miles later I finally made it to New Orleans. Traffic was light. Most of the stores and shopping centers on the east side were still closed. The French Quarter was quiet. I got to Laura’s neighborhood and met her at a coffee shop. She took me home so I could unpack and shower, then we talked as I watched her clean her rollerskate bearings in preparation for a derby competition in Vegas this weekend.
After she finished cleaning the skates we walked a few blocks up the street to grab some pizza at a place called Slice. I ordered an entire 14″ supreme pizza and an Abita amber beer for myself. The next morning, I finished it for breakfast.
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Hurricane Katrina damage along the Mississippi coast. Nothing remains but the sign and an empty lot — the buildings are gone. The turn lanes go nowhere. This is a ghost town.
Photos taken January 10, 2007.