Feb. 5th – March 11th – Central Texas to New Orleans, Louisiana

It has been a little over a month since our last update. In that time, we’ve traveled 829 miles (1334 km) on our manual steel horses. This puts us at around 4,219 miles (6,789 km) in total for the trip thus far. We have around 650 miles (1046 km) before we reach the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, Florida. We left Juneau 236 days ago. If anyone is counting, that is approximately 17 miles per day. The route page has been updated to reflect these metrics. I am feeling a bit numbers heavy.

After our two month trek through Texas (including the two+ weeks of our mechanical break in Mexico) we rolled into Louisiana. I am not exactly sure how to phrase it, but this place and its people are the soil that sets forth all things living, green, and good. We’ve only been in Louisiana for a little over a week, but I feel like we’ve come home in a way. The people have been so giving, open, and kind, there isn’t no way we can repay our debt of gratitude.

We are often asked questions along our way – we do look like a traveling circus, so it is understandable. Most of these questions involve inquiring about how dangerous the roads are, or how terrible the drivers are, or how scary it must be from time-to-time. I wish I could take them with me. This world is big and beautiful, and it has people everywhere that shine like the sun and nourish like the rain. Instead of folks asking about dangers and wishing us safe travels, I want to share the goodness of strangers and the beauty of living on this misshapen blue wet ball. It is astounding and we should cherish it and its people.

Happy Travels,

– Latvian Alaskan Family

Feb. 5th – Vanderpool to 29.96, -99.45 (South of Hunt, TX)

25 miles. Woke early and began cleaning up the hurricane that is our family on vacation from a cycling trip. While wrapping up, office manager called Ance, “Maggie said she’d pay for another night for ya’ll to stay at the cabin.” Incredibly nice people here. We politely and humbly declined, indicating we’d be hitting the road after our 3 day hiatus.

First 4 miles or so, breezy. Then we hit a 500 foot hurdle of a hill that did not waste time with switch backs or other niceties. After clawing our way up and dropping a bit, we pulled off into a low lying wash for lunch. While lounging and mawing, Joe pulled up on his bicycle – going west. He’d started in St. Augustine, Florida. Just graduated college (Commercial Real Estate). He wore a smile like a perfect fitting glove and chatted with us for about 40 mins and off on his way he trucked. I am not old, but after chit-chatting with the 22-something-Joe, I felt a bit like a rusty bolt.

Packed up our lunchtime vagrancy and plugged on for another 10 miles or so. Texan hill country continues to throw epic rolling hills under our round rubbers. We need water for the evening and tomorrow morning, so we pulled off at the first river crossing with actual water – the Guadalupe. Setup tent near the road, filtered some water, and set to making some grub.

After the sun slinked behind the western knob of a hilly ridge, the 25 degree forecast began pushing down the mercury. Off to bed. 

Feb. 6th – Guadalupe River Crossing  to Kerrville KOA

22 miles. Frosty morning in the grass. Slow moving due to the cold that slows the flow of blood to muscle. A rusty feeling in the joints, the cold sapping most ambition. Coffee sipping and chasing sun light trickling through the trees. 

Setoff. The latest ice storm has cast small tracks of icy stretches under the shadows of stately oak trees. One particularly long stretch brought down Ance and Augustine. Sheer ice on the side of the road with a slight slant was their undoing. Ance hurt her knee a bit and Augustine was a bit shaken up, but overall nothing too serious. Shoved onto Hunt for a short snacky lunch.

Peddled onto Kerrville with a stop at Dollar General for some rations and then uphill to the KOA for the evening. They had a Rec. Room with a kitchen, which we totally abused our privileges to. 

Feb. 7th – Kerrville to Pedernales River Crossing (Morris Ranch)

20 miles. Departed KOA right at 11 AM. Bit of a downhill to start the day – oh, yeah, baby. Pulled off into walmart for a restocking. Had to mess with Augustine’s bike due to a front derailleur shifting issue. Moved on with some headwind coming from the north. One hell of a steep hill for, perhaps, half to three-quarters of a mile. Totally kicked my testes. 

Summited out and commenced with a scenic ride on a ridge line through ranch land. Found a spot that seemed pretty awesome with access to water and had an accompanying pile of downed trees that served as a north wind block. We called it a day 14 miles in. Then the sheriffs’ deputies stopped by to let us know we were on private land. Oopsie daisy. Apparently, there has been some meth-head action along with folks digging up the ground looking for arrow heads to sell off. So, the owner of the property wanted us out. Packed up and set off at 5 PM to a bridge crossing about 6 miles off.

Wrapped up the day around 6 PM, with the cold setting in quickly. We’ve entered Texas private land now, casual camping is probably going to be difficult from here on out.

Feb. 8th – Morris Ranch to Fredericksburg (Lady Bird Park)

14 miles. Owner of the nearby ranch stopped by in the morning. First, to let us know our tent was on private land (his property) and then a second time to ask us if we needed anything. Ance sweet talked him – though we didn’t actually need anything. Flew the coop after having to fix a flat on my bicycle. Great.

Took an easy (the one we were supposed to have yesterday, until getting booted from our wind block haven). My lower back hurts something fierce today – did the old man shuffle for most of the day. Fairly gentle day with typical hill country rollies.

Feb. 9th – Lady Bird to Stonewall (Gillespie Rest Area)

22 miles. Airplanes buzzing in and out of the nearby airport. Cyclists rolled in last night. I went to say hello this morning while they were loading up to depart. From Germany, father and son pair. The son had recently graduated from college and wanted to celebrate – his dad asked to tag along. They are on their way to Los Angeles.

Headed to town (Fredericksburg) around 11 AM. Had to stop at the laundromat – Ophelia had a little accident. Augustine and I did school work in the parking lot, Ance and Ophelia headed to the store for a minor resupply. After clothes washing and schoolwork, we swung by the Fredericksburg Brewing Co. for burgers and fries. Ance and I downed some tasty brews. Finally got out of town around 2:20 PM. About a mile from the brewery, you are thrust instantly back into ranch land. Sheep milling around, horses cautiously staring at you.

Only 20 miles more to the rest stop, but the steep rolling hills really sock it to ya. When joining the 1, I got another flat. Fantastic. Repaired and trucked on for another 3 miles through the LBJ state park. Showed up at the targeted rest stop to find a sign that read something about a fine for erecting a shelter or tent. Gave the Sheriff’s office a call. A deputy called back “we aren’t going to bother you out there.” Some reading and then off to bed.

Feb. 10th – Stonewall to Pedernales Hills

18 miles. Woke to the sounds of the nearby highway 290. Stumbled out of the tent to the coffee alter – amen. Packed up most of our gear relatively early (for us). Though traffic was heavy, there is a bit of a shoulder, so  we’re cool with that. Pounded into Johnson City. Grabbed some supplies for dinner tonight at Julia’s – our warmshowers host this evening. After a quick snack, continued on for another 5 or so miles to Julia’s. 

Her house sits about two miles back from the main drag, in the hills. It is heavenly forested with cedar and oaks. A bridge that sits nearly plane with the Pedernales river glides over the crystal water. White stones jut from the gentle moving membrane of water like rough hewn ancient heroes. Around .5 miles from Julia’s, I got another flat. Something weird is happening, so I took out the tire liner. Continue onto Julia’s.

Her property and home are magnificent. She bought 5 acres in 1985 and slowly but surely built her cabin while carefully and judiciously clearing her plot of earth. What emerges on her piece is a sauna bath house, her home, and a little cabin she hauled from Austin years ago – now serving as the warmshowers cyclist lodging.

We made a Latvian meal and Julia invited over her Alaskan neighbors. What ensued was a night where the girls fell in love with Julia while Ance and I found that her Alaskan counterparts (Cindy and Chris) actually lived in Southeast Alaska for a spat. We ended up having friends and stories in common. After our fill of beer and meandering conversation, it was off to bed in the brightly moonlit yard, nestled in sleeping bags and the old song of dreams behind fleshy lids.

Feb. 11th – Pedernales Hills to Long Branch Valley

27 miles. Woke to the joyous chaotic twitter of screaming birds. The sun trickled through the cedars noiselessly. Ate breakfast with Julia and took a tour of her property. She has enough swings to serve a small army of elementary kids. Our own kids have latched onto Julia, very much in the same manner that they’ve attached themselves to their adopted grandmother, Lorrie, back in Juneau. We said our good byes and made plans to meet up in Austin for a tour with a local. Julia also setup us staying with friends of hers in Austin proper. 

We arranged via warmshowers to stay at Micheal’s house some 27 miles away (just west of Austin). The first 6 or 7 miles from Julia’s were a rollercoaster of insanely steep hills that mellowed out into only marginal ass kickers. The traffic picks up on Fitzhugh road. A couple of angry commuters blasted their horns at us – owing to them wanting to get to their destination faster and us having no shoulder to get out of their hurried way.

We arrived at Michael’s beat. He greeted us to his delightful home overlooking a mass of trees. We hopped into the shower and then set off to the Jester King brewery – a little treat for my birthday. We enjoyed some craft beer, pizza and BBQ sandwiches over conversation. Michael was educated as an engineer, then did that for a spell, and then turned to being a patent lawyer. He has three sons, all of whom seem to be geniuses that work in fields that involved words I can’t pronounce nonetheless spell. It puts 5th grade long division school work in perspective.

A quick car ride back to Michael’s house and then a free fall to slumber in real beds.

Feb. 12th – Long Branch Valley to Central Austin

22 miles. Breakfast bagels with Micheal in the morning. Got to meet one of his genius sons before setting off on the road. Fitzhugh road continued to be just as insane as yesterday – no shoulder and a ton of fast moving traffic. Things began to improve when we got off onto Circle Dr. for our approach into Austin.

Stopped in at Costco for a cheap, calorie rich, lunch and some clothes replacements – we are all looking pretty ragamuffin these past couple of weeks. When we got back outside the windy overcast day turned to hail and rain. Fantastic.

Loaded up and put some rain gear on for the final 10 miles to Jim’s house. The temp seems to have plummeted some 10 to 15 degrees. Toes wet and numb. By the time we got to Jim’s house it was like nothing had happened. We met with Kathryn, Jim’s daughter, Aly (close friend of the family) and Jim. They set us up in the dragon house – a screened little house in the backyard, so named for a dragon kite that made the place home.

Soon after, Julia showed up and we piled into her maraschino red car for a tour of Austin. We stopped at the edible forest where Aly has worked as a volunteer to provide the city and its visitors with some wild and natural edibles. We then tooled through Julia’s old stomping grounds, finishing up with some BBQ and beers.

Went back to Jim’s for a fire in the backyard. I had a bottle of birthday Jack to share around and then I clumsily went to bed around 9:30 PM – some two hours before anyone else did.

Feb. 13th – Austin

0 miles. Spent the day meandering around Austin. Took a bike ride on the hike and bike trails along Lady Bird lake and the Colorado river. Girls went swimming for an hour and then we headed off for some mini-golf at the Peter Pan course that has been around since 1948. We then retreated back in the golden soupy light of evening to Jim’s house. 

We arrived in time to catch the last half of the Super Bowl on the couch. We watched in despair and heartache as the Bangles lost to the LA Rams. Had a good evening of conversation about life and its twisted knots of luck, then off to sleepy dragon town.

Feb. 14th – Austin to East Austin

16 miles. Swung through downtown Austin on loaded bikes. Picked up a general delivery package sent from Lorrie for girls’ valentine treats and some birthday items. Sweet sweet sweet. Rode by the Texas capital, standing stately in its sandstone brown. Great clean town. Also stopped in at a HEB to get COVID vaccines – booster for me, first shots for the girls.

We then jumped on cycling trails for the rest of the afternoon. Pulled into KOA around 4:30 PM. The girls ran off for shower time. Light dinner and then off to tent house. The daughters apparently stayed up to watch Aladdin on the tablet, Ance and I were out 5 minutes in.

Feb. 15th – East Austin to Bastrop

30 miles. Washed clothes, bacon and eggs for breakfast. Mounted up around 11:45 AM. Google navigation being a bit eclectic. Lots of trucks and traffic but (for the most part) a little bit of a shoulder to make it bearable. Pulled off for lunch at a grassy gate entry while trucks of every make roared on by.

Feeling a bit slow and creaky, likely side effect from booster shot. Took some Ibuprofen and Tylenol – shipshape. Headwind seemed to be more severe and consistent in the latter afternoon – 5 MPH on relatively flat terrain.  We tried to call it a bit earlier than planned by pulling into the Bastrop RV park, however, they don’t allow tents. Nice. So, we bucked through town to the state park. Traffic absolutely insane and, for some reason, google nav brought us through, quite possibly, the most dingleberry route imaginable. Stopped in at a convenience store for some essentials and trekked on for another 3 miles.

Last steep uphill then entered the Lost Pine area of Bastrop State park – loplolly pines. Love the name. Seems like a term of endearment or a slur for the local drunk. Paid our afterhours fee, setup camp, took showers and made food. Bedtime in the loplollies.

Feb. 16th – Bastrop State Park

0 miles. Weather rest day. Supposed to blow 20 to 35 miles in our face with rain suggested. Not our type of cocktail. Decided to hang out in the park for the day. Spent the time catching up on school work and Ance calling Latvian side of this family.

Feb. 17th – Bastrop to Buescher State Park

14 miles. Night was humid and warm. Felt like summer. Morning was also warm – light sweater. It’s been awhile. Pounded through school work – with the Austin visit, we slacked off a bit. We bargained for a pretty easy breezy beautiful day. At 12 miles or so (we needed a short day to make it to the next available campsite), we were contemplating an early arrival with some sun sitting and afternoon wine drinking. Well, the latter did happen, though, it still took a full 2 hours and some change. 

The roller coaster road was striking and essentially devoid of any traffic. Buffeted with pines, the asphalt curved like the body of a woman, both up and down and left to right and all the other curves. At one humiliating point, I was forced to push the bike/trailer up a particular vertical curve. I sweat and wonder about the crumpled blanket of mother earth. 

After pounding out the fairly grueling miles to Buescher, we lunched outside park headquarters, paid our camp fee and went to setup camp around 2 PM. Augustine continued school work catchup, Ance and I played dice. Ophelia, somehow, entertained herself. By 4 PM, the humid warmness miraculously disappeared. Dropped like a stone onto a frozen puddle. Early into the tent and the comfort of synthetic bags of sleeping.

Feb. 18th – Buescher State Park to La Grange

27 miles. The chill that settled last night endured to the morning light. This caused us to bundle up, eat, and pack up camp fairly quickly – for the Kvasnikoff family. Off onto the 153 with a cold Northerly wind. No shoulder and lots of traffic until 153 took a hard turn east where the highway branches off between Paige and Winchester.

After turning off onto the less busy road, we were coming down a hill, probably at 15 MPH. Augustine caught her front wheel on the edge of some jagged asphalt, which ploughed her into loose gravel. She lost her balance and fell left, into the road. She slid a good 2 to 3 feet. I witnessed the whole thing. There was a momentary silence after she slid to a stop. After slamming my breaks, I jumped off my bike and began yelling like a tyrant, “off the road, now! off the road, off the road!” She got out from under her bike and limped to the guardrail. I grabbed her bike from the road. The silence was broken by a wild fear and pain scream, where she uttered through cries and tears, “I don’t feel good.”

I am sure all parents go through moments of pure dread like this. As it happens, it turned out to be ‘just’ a scrapped knee and knuckles – could have been a lot worse. After bandaging her up and giving her a Tylenol, we re-saddled and peddled off like nothing had happened. Not too many miles following, Augustine was singing out loud to the Disney songs blaring from the speaker.

Stopped off for lunch onto an abandoned looking drive. The sun is out but, the northerly wind is cold. We made 13 miles in about 2.5 hours – crash time included. The miles felt slow.

The latter half of the day went by much faster – owing to the easier hills and mostly downhill, and us turning south for a steady tailwind. Pulled into a Dairy Queen. The Girls’ first time being in one. Some Blizzards, chicken nuggets and fries before setting off to our campsite for the evening. After setting up camp, a woman rolled up in a mini-van. Tamales for sale. 12 for a dollar. Absolutely. They were delicious. The wind began to die down, and so did we.

Feb. 19th – La Grange to Carmine

25 miles. Playground action early. Showers for Ance and I. Blue skies and sun. We are technically out of hill country and into rolling hill country. It sounds pedantic, but on a bicycle there does seem to be a difference. In hill country, you have these steep wackos with a downhill payoff. With rolling hills, you get pushed around a bit, not too forcibly, and then, nothing happens. You don’t scream downhill, you just sort of plod along at your 5 to 6 MPH pace without anyone really knowing the difference.

We peddled our way 14 miles to Warrenton for lunch. The grocery store was closed, but we occupied the nearby grassy lot/turn around spot. The whole area seems to be solely supported by the sale and sales tax collection of antiques. Manically slow rolling hills pretty much the whole way into Carmine.

Had a surprise get-your-drink-on party with Lynette – the RV park manager. Oh, the stories we could tell. To protect the innocent, we’ll just say there was hooting and hollering and whiskey involved.

Feb. 20th – Carmine to Lake Somerville

23 miles. Sunday rose with a tired gray light. The girls made the best out of it. Augustine fastened together some custom bow and arrows, while Ophelia tried to tear down a whole patch of tall reed grass with her bare hands – like a crazy wild animal.

Packed up and headed out for some more rolling hills. It all started with rain drops and continued on in a humid windy humbug sort of way. We were going to stop for lunch on the side of the road, but no good spot availed itself, so we just pushed onto Somerville Lake through Gay Hill without a lunch break.

A U.S. Corp. of Engineer’s reservoir, Somerville Lake stretches out into a 17 sq. mile gravy boat under gray skies. The southerly wind continued to whip throughout the night, bringing thick warm humid blankets of air into the belly of night.

Feb. 21st – Somerville to Navasota

33 miles. Little rain spurts throughout the night. Augustine had a minor freakout in the morning. She was not a fan of the resident green frogs and spiders in the shower stall – it’s a big deal if you are ten, apparently. The facilities haven’t been cleaned since, perhaps, 2019. The local amphibian and arachnids have decided to setup shop.

Took off and pounded through 2-3 miles of terrain we already scooted across yesterday. We then turned NE with a good tailwind. One link in my chain has begun to fail. Stopped a couple of times to use the chain breaker (which I think should be called ‘fixer’) and pliers to squeeze it back together in somewhat of a working fashion. Just before Independence had lunch and a chain squeeze. Ance setoff to the nearby store, snagging a treat for the girls and some IPAs for us.

Continued onto Navasota. Called the fire station during lunch to confirm we could camp there. Resounding yes. Rolled into town, the southerly gusts seemed to be dying down, until we were setting up camp. 30 to 40 MPH gust wingers began blasting around – the tent was pancaked nearly flat. We opted for a wind shield behind one of the Fire Station’s buildings. We were also accosted with the ability to use the shower and bathroom. After setting up camp, showers, and a frozen pizza dinner (ovens are the best) we set off to sleep. 

The three train tracks nearby made for an eventful night of wakeful sleep. Coupled with the gusty furious wind, dreams came mingled with the sounds of pending war.

Feb. 22nd – Navasota to Cagle Rec. Area

37 miles. Wind died down during the night. Firefighters called out about 7:30 AM. Attempted school work in the morning, aborted early to try and make some miles.

Left fire station just after 9 AM. Chain came completely off during the 2 mile ride to Walmart – repaired in the parking lot, no nearby bike shops. Ambled across the street to a 7/11 for 10:15 AM hot dogs like olympians. Blonde tall boy split, chocolate milk for the girls.

Out of Navasota by 10:45 AM. Pounded out 21 miles to Richards before stopping at a local general store/restaurant for a lunch of a BBQ burger, fries, and grilled cheeses for the girls. Last 17 miles took just over 2 hours and, boom, we made our stated goal for the day. Sam Houston National Park with a mess of pines. A recent fire still smoldering on the side of the road.

Feb. 23rd. – Cagle Rec. Area to Double Lakes (Coldsprings)

30 miles. I caused a flat on Augustine’s tire while inflating it to proper pressure this morning. Awesome. Ate leftover breakfast with eggs. Replaced tube on front wheel. Her tires are still in good shape since Missoula, MT – I am guessing some 2,500 miles? Met a guy who saw us cycling to the Buescher state park – he was day riding while hanging out in the area.

Slow and relatively easy rolling hills all day. And cold. High of 45 degrees and not a hair warmer. Stopped in at Evergreen Community Center parking lot where we threw down a sandwich and generally froze our butts off.

Another 8 miles into Double Lakes. Stopped for some Whisky to make hot toddies before pulling off onto the park road. Deserted campground owing to the delightful weather. Camp-host super sweet, been hosting for 11 years. “Last night a few homeless wrecked the bathroom, bless them.” 

Hot soup and then off to bed.

Feb. 24th – Double Lakes to Thicket

41 miles. Big day. Started off by taking some gated and off-route roads that connected up with highway 150. Super pretty and scenic. Got back on the highway and coasted into Shepperd where we stopped in for some cinnamon rolls at McClain’s and a quick resupply.

Then we left to Romayor, some 18 miles off. Limited shoulder, rough road, and a stretch of a single lane. Construction zone. Stopped at a food truck for lunch. Philly, BBQ sandwich, BLT, grilled cheese with bacon, and fries – thank you, very, very, much. 

Another 14 miles to Thicket. Ance, for the first time during this trip, lost her temper at a honking mad motorist blaring at us. We had no shoulder, nowhere to go, except, on the road. Maybe they are pissed because we didn’t pay our fair share of Texan taxes? I know that driving can be stressful, I don’t even like driving, but let me just say that blaring your horn at us while you pass us on the road is probably not doing anybody any good. You just come off as an asshole and we are just still the worthless bums traveling at 8 MPH on the side of the road. I don’t think you would treat a tractor traveling, at about our rate, in the same way, so lay off. 

Getting dark around 6PM, with the “Happy” song blaring from the speaker and then kaboom – Ophelia’s right side tire blew. As in, a hole was blown straight through the tread. Sweet. A little duck tape and an under pressure pump job and off we hobbled the last 1.2 miles to Thicket. 

Ended up staying at a newly opened men’s recovery shelter. Ken welcomed us with some tortilla soup with chicken and a covered awning to pitch our tent. Had the pleasure of meeting Ken’s father as well.

Feb. 25th – Thicket to Silsbee

33 miles. Woke. School work. Cold. Gray. Ken set to work finding a spare 20” tire – which he did find in a barn. It looked to be about 20 years old with brittle rubber, but it had the advantage of not having a huge hole blown threw it. We thanked Ken profusely and hit the road.

The cold gray days for the past 4 or 5 days had been wearing us down. That and the bigger miles we’ve been attempting to post to get to New Orleans by the 10th. We ended up trying to reserve a $60 dollar hotel online. I say ‘try’ because the location pin for the so-called hotel brought us to the middle of a highway with no buildings. It turned out to be a fraud. We went to the hotel the fraudulent Oyo was supposed to be representing, Ance lost her mind a little bit with teardrops descending. We coughed up another $100 bucks for a warm shower and a heated room.

Feb. 26th – Silsbee

4 miles. We attempted to skip town but the two miles to Walmart, heaped with headwind and drilling rain, caused us to call it for the day. We headed to the Red Cloud RV park. The manager, Reta, turned out to be insanely nice. She brought us a pot of vegetable soup, 4 peanut butter cookies, and some Rolo brownies. We ate everything, every crumb.

Hid out at the heated clubhouse – where we played Monopoly. I dominated and was totally not humble about it. Retreated back outside for some camp fried rice and then off to bed.

Feb. 27th – Silsbee to Jesse J. Lee County Park

38 miles. The pending and forecasted break in the cold gray did not arrive with the onset of morning. Instead, we were treated to a monochrome chilly film with a steady north wind. The chill rose us in the morning, chilled us in the afternoon, and tried our spirits until the evening light. 

To Buna, breaks in the clouds did start to split the gray stoney sky. Still, headwind. We made it to a gas station with a wind block and sunshine. It felt of summer there in the un-judging protected corner of earth. Setting back off, the 6 miles to Kirbyville were slow, boring, and monotonous. We stopped in at a trashy Dollar General and opted to just pound out another 9 miles, instead of stopping for lunch.

After turning onto 350 East, the wind relented its face blow and the sun began breaking through the clouds. In a soupy emotional orange, we rode to the destined camp spot on the big cow creek.

Made pasta for dinner while listening to Heavyweight – an excellent podcast by Jonathan Goldstein. Off to bed with the ambling cold setting in.

Feb. 28th – Jesse J. Lee, TX to Deridder, LA

35 miles. Crystals melting from branches. Glittering droplets of frost sparkle in rainbows of light as the sun thaws the earth and trees. Breakfast bagel sandwiches, some school work, and then load up time. Last 7 of miles of shoulder-less 353 highway wasn’t too bad. Not a ton of traffic. Minor hill before turning onto the 190 federal highway. Back to a wide shoulder, traffic a bit heavier. Just outside Bon Weir, crossed into Louisiana. Today, marks two months cycling through Texas – if you don’t count the two weeks or so hiatus in Mexico.

After the week or so of rain, headwind, and general chilliness, the sunny and warm Maryville, Louisiana lunch spot outside the tourist info/Sheriff’s office ended up being a two hour vacation retreat. Jumped back onto the mechanical horses and pounded out the last 21 miles into Deridder. Couple of bridges with no shoulder and passing log trucks made for a bit of a butt pucker.

Pulled into Pine Grove RV around 5 PM. $10 dollars to camp next to the gazebo? Sign us up. Dinner of boiled potatoes and gravy. Shower before tent bed.

March 1st – Deridder to Oberlin

35 miles. Cut off onto a mellow scenic route to the main highway to start off the day. Sun is out and it is warm by 9 AM. The 26 highway has a wide shoulder, so the consistent traffic isn’t too bad. Peddled out 17 miles to the Cajan Corner Cafe. There, Tammy has all the character and smiles to play every actor in every movie and show you love. Lots of regulars in for lunch, which Ance handles better than I do. I always feel like an idiot, she always shines. Local gossip and banter made us feel we’d been living there a coon’s age. 

A cajun burger, a chicken fried stake burger (the ‘dawg’), a BLT for Augustine and some fries later, Wendell entered our lives. He frequents the corner twice a day and is the local bachelor. It also happens that he knows pretty much everyone. We were heading to Oberlin, he works there at the lumber yard. Asked about camping. Wendell calls the president of the Oberlin parish council. Naturally. Larry, the president, then calls the fire chief and confirms, yes, we have place to stay tonight. All arranged, with Larry’s number on hand, we went on our way. 

Little rollies and flats all the way to Oberlin. Right when we got in, the local Madi Gras parade was just finishing up. A costumed horseback riding beer drinking horde of men. We met Chad, who invited us to the VFW for a party. We were treated to gumbo (not a soup) and beer. The festivities reminded me a lot of New Year’s masking back home. We danced a bit and then called it a night. The fire hall floor was flat and the room was heated. Slept great.

March 2nd – Oberlin to Lakeview RV (Eunice)

26 miles. Setoff out of the Fire Hall to the heat of 10:15 AM. The 26 highway east of Oberlin narrows, with the rumble stripes it is a bit of an infuriating ride with the trailer. After 5 miles Ance got a flat. At 12 miles, my chain snapped, again. Stopped and chatted with a west bound cyclist who started in the Florida Keys.

Getting onto highway 13 my chain broke, again. I should clarify, to maintain the chain length, I’ve just been using the same tired link and pin. This time I lost the pin. Removed a link and clamped it back together. Another mile to a convenience store. Boudin snack and a Moscow mule for our sorrows. Pulled into the Lakeview RV park. Mosquitos are back with vengeance. Haven’t gotten bitten in months – now I have half a dozen itchy papules. No swimming at the lake allowed, but they had an inflatable jump pad which the girls thoroughly abused. Ophelia jumped so much she said she had a stomach ache, turns out her abs were sore – Ance figured it out, not me.

March 3rd – Lakeview to Lafayette (KOA)

38 miles. There are certain days where the terrain, the breeze, and a good feeling body all come together for a glorious day of riding. Made 22 miles before lunch, which is truly flying for us. Had a calling and planning session with folks back in Juneau for Ance’s pending trip back to Juneau for work. 2.5 hours later, we hit the road – after repairing a flat on Ance’s bicycle. Person Manroe swung by and gave the girls each $5 bucks, for no good reason other than his sweet and affable demeanor. Brandon and Annette stopped by to consult the map with me and gave the girls a Mardi gras football and beads. Louisiana folks.

The last 8 miles into Lafayette were a bit of a nightmare – no shoulder, robust rumble stripes, and we hit the section during evening rush hour. To our amazement, not a single driver honked at us or gave us the bird. Folks waited to pass us, gave us room, and were just generally considerate. Try pulling that off in bigger cities in Texas (or anywhere really). You’d see a flock of birds honking so loud and angrily, you’d question your own will to keep peddling.

Pulled into KOA around 5 PM. Augustine needed to finish school work. I swung by the nearby Billy’s Boudin for some famous Boudin balls. A bit on the expensive side, but they were delicious.

March 4th – Lafayette to New Iberia (KOC)

30 miles. Strange comical day. After the fog lifted off the lake, the temperature quickly ascended into the 70s. While riding into Lafayette proper, over a 4 lane bridge, we must’ve passed up to 70 to 80 cars in bumper to bumper madness. A truck had crashed and was in the middle of the road. A wrecker worker was sweeping up and talking on the phone cracking jokes. We got the sidewalk and the whole road to ourselves.

Stopped at Capitol Cycles to get some new chains (finally). Also asked the smiley mechanic to tighten down Augustine’s break lever – since her crash the other day, it has been loose and I don’t have the proper long Allen wrench to tighten it. Well, a comedy of errors later, the rear break stopped working properly. So, we left her bike at the shop while we headed to lunch at a Mexican place. We also discovered Louisiana daiquiri shops. For $24 dollars you can get a gallon (a gallon!) of an icy cocktail – To-Go. Like, there is a drive through – it’s like McDonalds, just for alcoholics. You can buy a regular cocktail while sitting behind the wheel. We were informed that if your straw is still sheathed and the lid still on, you are all good. You’ve got to be freaking kidding me. We didn’t get the gallon, but enough to feel giddy and confused on the existence of such an establishment.

Back on the bikes we rode the rest of the way through town. Louisiana drivers continue to be the kindest and most courteous drivers we’ve encountered in the states. After getting out of town, got onto the 90 frontage roads all the way to the KOC (Kamping of Cajun) campground outside of New Iberia. 

We met an Irishmen (Phillip) traveling across the US with his family in a camper and truck he bought from friends in Billings, Montana. Pitched us two Coronas while we chit-chatted. Turns out, he did his masters work in Southeast Alaska and had spent quite a bit of time in Juneau. Small world.

March 5th – New Iberia to Four Corners

17 miles. The wind blew something fierce today, amplified by us riding directly into it, some on the side. After a decent few miles to start the day, the wind picked up and we were going through open sugar cane fields – no trees to soften the blow. Took us nearly 3 hours to get 13 miles. The pace at times was ground down to 3 to 4 MPH. And this was on flat terrain.

Pulled off for lunch feeling sorry for ourselves. Not going to make it much of anywhere today. Called up the local St. Mary’s sheriffs office. After some deliberation and meeting of the lieutenant in-person (probs they wanted to make sure we weren’t wackos) we got hooked up to stay outside the District 11 fire station in Four Corners – 3 miles from our lunch spot.

Loaded up and pushed on. The wind seemed to blow harder, which didn’t seem possible. Got to the fire station. The wind whips crazily, but it is oddly hot and humid. While lounging, Petrice and Sara showed up on an ATV, “ya’ll can’t be sleeping in the dirt, come on over to my house. It’s nice.”

What commenced was a late afternoon and evening of a home cooked cajun meal, wine drinking and the girls got some playtime in with a bubble bath to boot. Delicious food and the most gracious company. Petrice  and Sara had me laughing so hard at times, I nearly had to change my underwear. They have this ability to heckle each other while talking to you and another person, at the same time. The conversation ebbs and flows in all directions, you just have to hold on.

March 6th – Four Corners to Morgan City (Lake End)

35 miles. Pushed out at 8:40 AM. One of our earliest departures. Chatted with Gary before checking out. The wind still bucking, but our route wound through towns with ample wind blocks – for the most part. Took 3 stops throughout the day, roughly every 9 or so miles. In Bayou Vista, grabbed a daiquiri and plopped down at the local park. 

Ambled on after a short 40 minuet break for the last 6 miles into the Lake End campground. The girls swam in Lake Palourde until night consumed the skylight. Cypress and oak trees, blanketed with Spanish moss, sway with the song of wind.

March 7th – Morgan City to Chackbay

45 miles. The chatter of birds in the rich Lousiana morning is a chaotic melody of glee. We set off onto our Petrice Planned and Approved route, bering toward the Gramercy bridge to cross the Mississippi. About mid-day, Petrice texted to notify us we had a place to stay, and dinner. 

The riding, for the most part, was fantastic. To start we bore southerly until about Amelia, where we turned and rode with the wind in a northerly way – feels like the first tailwind in about a million years. Rode at a galloping clip of 13 to 15 MPH. Somewhere around midday – near Labadieville – the bayou swamp gods determined we were traveling too fast. The wind stuttered and then abruptly switched from SW to NE. Even given that, it was fairly light and extremely bearable. 

As we approached Chackbay in the late afternoon, the road narrows and evening rush traffic picks up. Once again we were treated to Lousiana driving courtesy. Even with the consideration though, the nerves get a bit rattled with the zero shoulder and folks trying to get home.

We showed up to Keith and Valerie’s home around 5:30 PM. We were greeted with hugs from Val and pretty much instantly set to work meeting their family – Grandma Cybil, daughter Reily, granddaughter Marly, grand baby Amelia and grandson Pason. Keith broke out the LSU picnic swag and we set to work on some beer, wine, and conversation while Marly and our girls cannon balled the pool. We were brought in and treated like family, it felt good.

We then sat down for some gumbo, which was delicious. Three servings for myself, Reily beat me by downing four bowls and she’s no bigger than an alder sapling. The drinks drank, the gumbo eaten, and swimming swam, and the night settled in for sleep wrapped in bayou hospitality.

March 8th – Chackbay to New Orleans KOA

51 miles. Treated to biscuits for breakfast by Val – she also made little angel necklaces for the girls. Ontop of that, the girls were treated to enormous bowls of Lucky Charms. I got stuck with finishing Ophelia’s marshmallow-less remains. 

After hugs and goodbyes, we loaded up and set sail for a long day. The 20 highway continued to be narrow and, even at 9 AM, was busier than a squirrel on a nut hunt. Though the drivers were considerate, at some points its unavoidable to get into close calls with big trucks. One passed so close I instinctually buckled my elbows inward. When big rigs pass you that close, there is this weird slow motion silence that skips your heart around the block and back.

After turning off onto 3127, a shoulder availed itself and we could breath a little easier. The bridge that Patrice picked for us was indeed perfect. Big shoulder and the traffic was light. After crossing the Mississippi, we spent the majority of the day cycling through industrial plants and riding on a paved trail along the levee. West of New Orleans, all along the Mississippi (at least the 25-ish miles we rode) there are these enormous feats of industrially engineered architecture. With the gray low laying clouds, these structures of wrought metal seem like space ports straight out of Star Wars.

Stopped for lunch along the trail, got a flat on Ance’s front tire. We plodded along and got to the New Orleans KOA (actually in Kenner). We posted 51 miles for the day – our biggest milage of this trip.

A thunderstorm kicked up in the evening and dropped down gallons of sky water. It put us into a deep sleep.

March 9th – 25th – New Orleans

No milage to report. I am future dating this because we’ll just be hanging out for a couple of weeks. On the 9th we made a bus trip into Kenner for some light shopping and a non-camp cooked lunch. Ophelia posted a 7 mile walking day. On the 10th, Ance and I did some camp cleaning and then we set off for lunch for some Poor Boys, just before she caught a ride to the airport for her flights back to Juneau for a little over a week.

So far, it has taken me 3 days to type up this last month plus of cycling madness. The girls have a playground and movies to occupy our time – as well as school work. As I type right now, Augustine is making pancakes. Life is pretty rough.