View from the back of Tim, Mark and Matt’s cabin at Shallow Fork Lake and Cabins.

We spent a wonderful night in the swallow fork cabins and now we are 1 mile into our ride on Thursday morning sitting in a Hardee’s waiting out the rain. Everyone loved the shrimp spaghetti that we made on the salad that we had for dinner last night. Let me tell you it’s hard to enter a blog post on your iPhone and Hardee’s restaurant. But I wasn’t able to do it last night because there was no Internet and I had to test Beth on a name that tune contest of classic rock from the 70s. Let me tell you she knows her stuff. She even stumped me a bunch of times on old 70 stuff.  Today’s ride might be the hardest one were going to attempt. Matt is amazed at how fast I can type while posting this blog. Alright let’s try to add some media into this post.

A neat town we rode through on LA 10 which is called a LOUISIANA SCENIC BYWAY.

Brian and I drove to this bike store in Hammond. Great store and Mike, the owner is a wiz. He replaced the spoke, trued the wheel and installed a new tire in no time at all.

A view of the traffic on today’s route.

Everything looks like it is at flood stage as it has rained non stop for a few weeks. The locals say the mosquitos will be bad this year.

Yesterday was a rest day and Tim and I drove to a bike store in Baton Rouge to replace worn out and flat tires and tubes. We didn’t see much of the city and what we did observe kind of reminded me of Camden, NJ but my impression is based on a brief visit on a cloudy, dreary day in a bad part of the city.

The place had quite an inventory of tires and tubes in all sizes but not much else. No clothing or warm rain gear. Helpful staff, though

Tim’s son, Matthew has joined the ride. He flew into Baton Rouge last night after a long day of travel. It was great having another rider. He has passed his audition and has graduated to full membership in the Brothers Bike Ride club. Actually, he led a pace line of the four of us most of the day and we averaged about 5 mph over what we usually ride. I loved the fast pace and we got to Amite before 3 pm, right before the skies opened up and dumped buckets of rain. Tim actually let me pick the route for today’s ride. He kept trying to change the course all day long but Matt and I stuck to the original planned roads (straight on Rt. 10 E for 56 miles and then 7 miles on 51 S ). I kept telling him that the diagonal road he thought was better had dogs lurking everywhere so we stayed on Rt. 10. The only mechanical mishap was a broken spoke on Brian’s back wheel. Matt wrapped it around another spoke and taped them together and we were able to continue riding. We distracted ourselves by trying to sing old rock n’ roll classics from the 60’s and it helped. Brian and I had to carry the tunes. Tim and Matt don’t sing so good.

Ducking under an awning 15 minutes into the downpour.

It was with a good deal of trepidation that I began riding today. It was cold and raining and we had lots of miles again today. The Adventure Cycling maps route from Ville Platte to St. Francisville is over 100 miles. Tim (the mapman) found a different, more direct route using Rt. 190 East. Brian and I always defer to Tim when it comes to directions. Well, there is a reason why you should not use 190 unless you are riding on a Sunday with light traffic. It’s called the Atchafalaya River Wildlife Refuge and it was 4 lanes of high speed hell with no shoulder for 5 miles.

It was completely unexpected and like dummies we just got into it and there was no turning around so we blasted on through. I tried to keep the three of us together as I was leading but Brian fell behind and Tim wasn’t waiting around for stragglers. I kept hogging the whole right lane so trucks would move over and they did. Brian kept falling further and further back so finally I gave up and just like Maverick in “Top Gun”, I left my wing man behind. It was the noise that distracted us the most because there are metal expansion joints every 100 feet. Cars on both sides of the road hit one every 10 seconds and provided a constant banging in our ears. It was scary noisy. When we reached the end, there were lots of smiles and high fives and stained shorts to go around. Tim and I were incredulous to hear that Brian actually stopped to fix his saddle bag in the middle of the bridge. He’s nuckin futz!!

I didn’t realize that we would be crossing over the might Mississippi River on the ride today. Wow. What a milestone. We saw some other cool stuff, too. We saw a River Otter that must have been hit by a car. They are like dolphins. You hate to see them harmed.

I think those flooded fields are actually crawfish ponds and not rice paddys. There are Mardi Gras beads littered everywhere. Lots of cattle ranches and farms but no dogs bothered us today. Water and swamps and bayous abound with bald cypress trees standing in the water. They say there are many snakes here but they will leave you alone if you don’t bother them. Well “duh”. However, it is pouring rain as a write this and there isn’t much dry ground. I remember an episode of “Naked and Afraid” (a brutal survival show where people are dumped in jungles or deserts or deserted islands without clothing or tools and left alone for 21 days) in a Louisiana bayou and all the snakes went to dry ground whenever it rained. We need to watch where we walk today. What about the alligators?

Other than the Atchalafalaya Refuge, the ride was great, with lightly traveled roads or roads with decent shoulders. There is a huge Walmart distribution center and even on Sunday, Walmart trucks come and go. Churches are everywhere; Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal and all other Christian types in all sorts of old and new buildings; store fronts, stand alone metal sheds, old wooden buildings and the occasional standard brick building with steeples.

We eventually turned onto Rt. 1 along The False River and rejoined the Adventure Cycling route near New Roads. Unfortunately, when the roads surface is wet, bicycle tires get sticky and it’s hard to see debris. I got one flat right before the Mississippi and Tim got two flats right after the big Bridge. Bad way to end an otherwise good day of riding. We are staying in a B&B called The Butler -Greenwood Plantation, built in 1796 and is still occupied by the descendants of the original owners. The house has a formal Victorian parlor but isn’t open for tours anymore. Huge oak trees draped with Spainish moss and formal gardens from the 1840’s make this one of the few remaining Antebellum gardens in the state. St. Francisville is one of the oldest towns in Louisiana. It was established near the site of a monastery built in 1785 on land granted to monks by the King of Spain. This part of Louisiana was not granted to the U.S. in the Louisiana Purchase. It was part of Florida still ruled by Spain. In 1810 planters attacked and captured the Spainish fort in Baton Rouge and 74 days later American troops arrived and declared West Florida and St. Francisville part of the original Louisiana Purchase.

Today is a rest day for us and thank goodness as it is pouring rain. We completed another map section and tomorrow we will begin Map 6 on the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier ( there are 7 maps in all). We will do some bicycle maintenance and get ready to reach Mobile in another 4 days. I will also be making a “Name that Tune” playlist to test Beth’s classic rock knowledge. God Bless Spotify!

Oil derricks are in this state, too.

Worst rest stop in the world. But good privacy for when nature calls.

It always seems like we ride next to railroad tracks. It’s been like that since Arizona and Texas.

The end of the bridge across the Western edge of the Atchafalaya Refuge. This was one long stretch without any road kill. Animals would have a hard time climbing onto the concrete surface and we certainly didn’t wish to join that club!

The Route 10 bridge over the Mississippi.

Top of the bridge over The Big Muddy.

The Butler-Greenwood Plantation main house. Tim and I are in a small 2 bedroom cottage with a full kitchen and Beth and Brian are in a pool house with an upstairs bedroom and a downstairs bedroom/living room. The pool is nice but the water is unheated but with all this rain it’s gonna feel like we are swimming anyway.

Must be an entrance to some of the formal gardens. I don’t want to bother any snakes so there will be very little exploring today.

Tim pumping up an inflated tire.

A flooded rice paddy.

Break time. No place to get inside to warm up today.

The mornings are the worst. I didn’t sign up to ride with frozen water bottles, toes and fingers. My face looks like I wash it with beet juice. But we keep slugging away and we will make it. Oh, did I tell you that it won’t be in the 30’s when we start tomorrow ? Overnight low temp is 50! It will be raining all day but heck you can’t have everything. I just got my rain gear out of my bike case from Silverster so I’m ready. Speaking of Silverster, I saw a red minivan on a shoulder of the road ahead while riding today and I thought Beth was waiting with hot chocolate for us but then I remembered that last year’s car was red. All the years rides are coming together. The riding, the cars and the hotels are one big Deja Vue.

Today was 50 shades of grey. The sun came out for about five minutes. It was cold until the last hour. I’m not having as much fun as any other Leg. So spank me.

We saw flooded rice fields and cows and squashed turtles. And egrets and herons and pine trees and logging trucks.  Only one dog chased us. The dogs in Louisianna are either chained or fenced or too tired to bother with bicycle tourist. Tim had half a flat because he just likes to stop and pump up his tire for something to add to the fun. If he does it again, I’m gonna spank him!

So here today’s pictures. They ain’t much different from the other days.

“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

So I won’t bore you with words. Tim and Brian can do that. Here is a photo pictorial of what today was like.

Brian, I gave up fruit cake for Lent

Thursday October 16, 2014, 50 miles (80 km) – Total so far: 404 miles (650 km)

Had to get at least some input of hotel art into this blog. How does this rate? It’s in the room Tim and I shared at The Round Top Inn.

Another great week of riding has ended. It started with hard, long days of terrible weather, and then ended with 3 perfect bicycling days. Today was the best day so far and the pictures will tell the story.

We were on the ACA route again today. The road east of Round Top has no shoulder but traffic was light.

We crossed The Brazos River a few miles west of Navasota . This bar is 40 miles away from the river. It’s a wide river for Texas and the bridge is narrow. There is construction of a new wider bridge but it’s in the early stages and has a way to go before it is completed.

The views kept improving the further east we rode and we paused frequently for pictures. Texas keeps surprising.

We are on The Texas Independence Trail. Many historic markers today and structures from the 19th century. Near the town of Independence we saw this place and the one in the next picture.

Go Speed Racer.

We are nearing the town of William Penn where we turned onto William Penn Road. It was 10 miles long with very little traffic. I think the map makers at ACA take the time to find as many of theses back roads as possible to try to keep riders safe.

We will see you next time when the brothers ride again. We hope you enjoyed reading the posts as much as we enjoyed writing them. Catch you later.

Tuesday October 14, 2014, 60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 354 miles (570 km)

Guess which one of us didn’t have to walk up any hills today? Give up? Me and my awesome Bike Friday! It’s am amazing road bike, by far the most comfortable bike I own and the most dependable one on this trip and it takes only 30 minutes to assemble and even less to pack up. The baggage handlers in the airport can’t even break it.

Baxter State Park has the steepest hills we have encountered so far. More than 15% grade in some places. There was a forest fire a few years ago and the unique Loblolly Pines were decimated but are starting to come back.

The no car bridge over the Colorado River leaving Bastrop this morning.

Wonder if Patrick Swayze works there?

Entering Baxter State Park and then enjoying no traffic for the next 18 miles but the hills were killers.

The remains of the burnt trees. We talked to a local who thought the fire started on Labor Day weekend in 2011, the result of a lightening strike.

Beautiful Monarch butterflies were flying south for the winter in Mexico all day. This one was in the park

A group of cycling ministers who prayed for our safety. It was touching and moving and I said, “Thank you” instead of “Amen” and they forgave me.

I love second lunch, too. I already had a sausage cheese sandwich earlier, and a candy bar and a granola bar, an apple and a banana and Beth still tells me I’m skinny and need to eat more. I’m trying Beth! I had a cheeseburger and a large coke at Sonic and probably could have had another.

Another Texas bike ornament. This one is near La Grange about 10 miles from Pound Top. I take all these shots by pulling out my phone and clicking away on the fly.

I remember all these oil and gas company signs. It was before WaWa took over the market. Back in the day.

Our home for the night. Only 2 rooms so Tim and I better not keep each other awake snoring tonight. I’ll let you know tomorrow how I slept.

Tuesday October 14, 2014, 48 miles (77 km) – Total so far: 294 miles (473 km)

There is nothing like second breakfast (although shower beer is pretty close) to fuel up for riding for 4 or 5 hours. We really wipe out the food in these hotel breakfast rooms. This picture was taken in my room while I packed for today’s ride.

We used Google maps for a slight detour from the ACA route to avoid back tracking along I 35 to the center of Kyle. It was easy and saves 4 or 5 miles from the route to Bastrop. It was a perfect day for riding in terms of weather and the first sunny day so far, with only slight winds and rolling hills. We took our time and enjoyed stopping for photos whenever we saw an opportunity and there were many today. Most of the roads had no shoulders, so if you are reading this looking for route descriptions, be careful on Rt. 21 and again on Rt. 20, as traffic can be heavy and fast. We were only on 21 for 3 miles but they were not pleasant miles and 20 had less traffic but enough to make you need a sharp alertness at all times.

Perfect riding weather.

Beautiful yellow wild flowers before we reached Rt. 21.

There are many of these little General Stores in the middle of nowhere. We sometimes go in and buy cookies or candy or even get directions to find out how far to the next mapped landmark. The other day we saw one that still had a Fall Out Shelter symbol on the entrance. We used to see them everywhere as kids during the early sixties.

Another Texas farm or ranch. We stood near the fence relaxing but then Tim noticed poison ivy and carefully stepped out of the weeds back to the road.

This looks like the dog that came out of nowhere and chased each of us in turn. He was so happy to run and jump but he scared the hell out us and Tim told him to ” Get the f… out of here.”

A shot of Brian getting a shot. This was on Farm Road 1854 which had very little traffic but a few dogs. Almost every yard had a dog and some were fenced while others were free to give pursuit to crazy old men on bikes.

Like I said, crazy old men.

Just a beautiful day to ride. Another view from Rt. 1854.

Texas tea ranch.

Texas lawn ornament.

Arrived in Bastrop mid-afternoon and relaxed before dinner at Baxter’s on Main in old downtown Bastrop which is a neat town with a good mixture of shops and restaurants.

Tomorrow we ride to Round Top and will be closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific.

Monday October 13, 2014, 47 miles (76 km) – Total so far: 246 miles (396 km)

This morning the plan was to ride at 7:30 but it was pouring rain and this is what it looked like when we left 30 minutes later.

So it began with a downpour and we left in a light drizzle which ended quickly but left the roads wet and my shoes and back soaked because my circus bike doesn’t have any fenders and the water splashes right up my back and down into my shorts making them very squishy and soggy. I really should get a saddle bag like Tim’s which acts like fender over his back wheel. The roads today were the best so far in Texas in terms of asphalt quality and I hope we never have to ride on a chip seal surface again but don’t count on it. The weather started brightening and the wind was mostly a cross or tail wind.

The sun is just about to break through the morning clouds.

The ride into Wimberley was fast and downhill. It looked like a cool town with a bunch of neat places to shop and hang out but we didn’t get the chance to visit any as we made a quick entry and exit because when you get a tail wind the bike Gods are on your side for a change and stopping might anger them and that would not be good.

After Wimberley the road veered north (into the wind) and became quite hilly for the next 10 miles and some of those climbs were really steep and hard. Fortunately the road turns slightly south about 10 or 11 miles from Kyle and drops about 500 feet in elevation so we made great time but since Kyle is right on Interstate 35, traffic increased significantly and the shoulder is pretty narrow in spots. We averaged at least 20 mph in this last stretch and photo ops were few so I apologize for today’s boring shots. I didn’t see anything worthwhile, even the ranches had nothing of interest to see today. I’ll get some better images tomorrow.

Sunday October 12, 2014, 77 miles (124 km) – Total so far: 199 miles (320 km)

Last night was a good sleep at The Diamond H Bed & Breakfast was great and Sharon and Jim were enjoyable and entertaining. Jim had many a story about his race car driving days. The weather was not what was predicted. Cloudy and rainy all day with cool temperatures in the mid 60’s all day but no wind which really made all the difference. I’d rather ride in rain with no wind. We are back on the Adventure Cycling route having rejoined in Comfort, TX. We will stay on the route all the way to Navasota. Tim mapped a great alternative route from Brackettville to Comfort. We experienced Texas hill country without being completely overwhelmed and today for the first time in many miles (like maybe 400) we had some smooth, sealed asphalt. You don’t realize how bad the roads have been until you ride on nice ones again. Here are today’s Kodak moments.

1931 Chevrolet ranch pick up with 60 miles on it. Completely original. Jim drives it in Bandera parades and festivals.

The courtyard at our B&B.

Always nice to eat with taxidermy staring at you. Don’t order the buffalo.

Had to get a riding selfie.

Near Camp Verde this morning. Wet and rainy but no wind.

Fog and mist in hill country.

Deserted Texas Ranch Road. We take short 10 minute breaks every 10 miles or so. It’s not a race but Tim didn’t stop at any historical markers today. That’s a first.

Good old Interstate 10. This overpass is in Comfort. There are some cross country bike riders who use I 10 all the way to San Antonio from Phoenix.

Wind mills are everywhere from big ranches to small backyards.

Fill ‘er up.

Can’t explain this Navy jet and how it got here.

Some barn finds. These old cars are in lots of places along the back roads of Texas. A 55 Chevy and a 64 Ford, I think. Kevin or Ted would know for sure.

I didn’t see any arrows or scalps.

The best ranch in Texas!

Tim makes a friend.

Gomez, Morticia and Lerch. Downtown Blanco after dinner.