We Got Guts!

Day 42
Simmesport to New Roads

To start today we had to cross the Atchafalaya River, it was a pretty good size hill leading to the top of the bridge, one we have not seen in a while! The roads were extremely rural with very little traffic. The farm lands are getting bigger and bigger as we travel. Corn seems to be the predominant crop now (as compared to crawfish and rice). We found several old churches along the road that each had its own cemetery. We were approached by a farmer when we stopped (he wanted to make sure we were ok), and so we asked about the churches, and found that most of them date 50-75 years back when the plantation system was in place and that most people did not move very far from their homes back then. This is why they each had their own graveyard and were not far from homes.

It did not take but a mile or two of riding today to start seeing the levee system around the area, we followed levees all day on the roads. The farmer we talked to pointed out a spot where we can cross the top of the levee and get right up to the shores of the Mississippi River (legally at a ferry stop), so we headed out and did just that. We found the road and went to the shores of the Mississippi for some pictures. Our first encounter with the river and it is running high and strong.
After passing this area we were riding along a flood control area that was quite well flooded, and very impressive with amount of water that was contained there. After following several more miles of rural farm road s in the head winds, we were finally in New Roads, La.

We were now trying to find Jim’s bar and grill, and campground. It took a while but we finally arrived to find a very nice area on the false river. We actually had campsites right on the waterfront, it was a nice setup for camping, we had food on site, and local entertainment in the bar (I will leave it at that!) We set up camp, showered, did some laundry and finally were able to sit and eat.

After dinner we sat and talked, as this is the last night I will be with Jerry and Ron. Karman and I will head towards Baton Rouge tomorrow while Jerry and Ron head out on the Adventure Cycling route. Emilio went to Baton Rouge tonight, as he is looking to get his spokes replaced (3 of them broke) and true the wheel up again. He and Karman are going to try to meet up with me in New Orleans; I hope we can make this happen as that will be the last I get to see of either of them. I will be Leaving New Orleans on May 4th and riding 11 straight days to finish the ride on May 14th, while they are planning on finishing on May 17th or so. Right now it seems that Ron and Jerry are planning on finishing in that same basic time frame.

I would have really enjoyed finishing the ride with my new friends, but this is not to be as I have a mission of finishing this ride for Crohn’s, colitis, colorectal cancer, and ostomies. I wish them all luck and safe riding and hope that I will be blessed with more friends, experiences, and stories as I continue…..

Today’s Garmin information is as follows:

Day 42 Simmesport to New Roads by wegotguts at Garmin Connect - Details