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Update14 - 1/2/01
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We are in historic New Orleans, Louisiana, enjoying the hospitality of Bill and Erin. They are "transplants" from Seattle, where they were very active members of the Cascade Bicycle Club. Here in New Orleans their love of bicycling and cyclists hasn't changed as they are involved in Crescent City Cyclists bike club, and are on the "warm showers list," opening their home to touring cyclists. They have given us a fine tour of the city and surrounding area, and directed us to some of the best places to eat!
As predicted we "enjoyed" two wet days as we rode across western Louisiana last week. We missed most of the really heavy showers, riding into the KOA in Lafayette just as a real cloud burst struck. We were very thankful that we had reserved a cabin for that night.
Leaving Lafayette, we planned a stop at a local bike shop to replace Sharon's mirror that she lost a few days before. About a mile from the shop our Bob Trailer tire blew, answering the question, "How many miles will a trailer tire go?" - 4675! With a dollar bill in the tire to reinforce the blown out area, we rode to the shop and replaced the tire as well as getting the new mirror.
South of Lafayette, we followed SR 182 through sugar cane farms that had recently been harvested. There was a lot of mud and debris on the shoulder, making riding difficult. Thanks again to the folks at da Vinci for making such a great bike!
The route went through farms, small towns, and over miles of elevated roadway through low lying swamps as we approached the Mississippi. We continued to see a lot of wild life as we cruised along on flat roads with good shoulders. In Homa, we met Dick St. Romain, a local cyclists and club member. He helped us plan our route into New Orleans, guiding us around a bridge that is unsuitable for cycling. He is quite a character and we look forward to seeing him again someday soon.
We stopped in the middle of a high freeway bridge (I-310) just west of New Orleans and took photos as we crossed the mighty Mississippi. There were a lot of barges on the river, making the whole scene an impressive sight.
Coming into New Orleans, the front wheel dropped into a crack in the pavement next to the shoulder and we crashed. We weren't injured, but the bike was. The left brake/shift lever was broken, we blew the front tire, and bent the rim. We were able to put our spare tire on the front and rode the rest of the way to the motel. Shortly after we got there, Dick St. Romain called to make sure we had arrived safely. When he learned of our accident he contacted some local riders, and within an hour or so we were in touch with a bike shop to make repairs on Sunday (New Year's Eve). A little later Bll and Erin called and offered a room at their home until the bike is fixed.
We want to especially thank Janice, the president of the CCC bike club and to the fine folks at Adam's Cycle World who broke up a set of levers to fix our bike and get us patched up well enough to continue on to Florida, where we will need to make a couple of more permanent repairs during our extended stay there. We just can't say enough about all the love and hospitality that has been shown to us here. Another big star on our map for places we intend to visit again, soon.
George and Sharon Miner
Vancouver Bicycle Club, Vancouver, Washington
2000 da Vinci Global Venture towing Bob Trailer
Free as the Wind - Our one year self-supported tandem tour of the USA, Mexico and Canada
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