Have we mentioned how few cyclists we’ve seen cycling the Southern Tier? We’ve ridden for days on end without seeing anyone. Yet this route, which was first mapped by the Adventure Cycling Assocation in 1990, is supposed to be one of its most popular. Where was everyone? Back home during the summer months you are…
Cajun Country Cyclists…. Bunkie to Oberlin
“You be safe,” was the familiar parting cry as we left Bunkie fire station this morning. Thanks to a not so rare moment of foresight by Terry, our trip to the Dollar General last night meant we could feast on Fruit and Bran (fibre is sadly lacking in the American diet) and while we ate the…
Incoming! Who let the Dogs Out? Morganza to Bunkie
The owner of the Maxey Care RV camp had told us there were no diners in Morganza. He’d obviously never spoken to his next door neighbour, or in fact visited any of the eateries alongside the railway line that runs through town. Perhaps if he’d spent more time putting up posters of the nearby amenties…
From a Chevvy to a Levee…. St Gabriel to Morganza
It says something about the variety of long distance cycling that yesterday we were staying in the Marriott Hotel just a stone’s throw from Bourbon St and tonight we are in a rather low rent rv park eating our dinner of noodles and beans in the launderette and toilet block because it’s freezing outside. On…
Party Party Party! Zero miles and maximum smiles…. New Orleans
In the two days we were off the bikes we discovered the real New Orleans and the true spirit of Mardi Gras. Walking along Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday is like nothing any of us had ever experienced before. It was hard to believe you weren’t moving through a film set. We visited Congo Square,…
Toughing it out on the road to the Big Easy – Pearlington to New Orleans
Since the first day of our ride we’d been struggling to get to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras. So I don’t know why we were surprised when the last 40 miles did everything it could to stop us, including a energy-sapping headwind, terrifying traffic and a falling out over Jayne Mansfield. Yes, you…
Son of a gun, we’ll have big fun on the Bayou – Davis Bayou Campground to Pearlington
I woke up in my tent at the Davis Bayou Campground just before six and immediately wished I could spend the entire morning in bed and to hell with the zip-tugging racoons. Fortunately my right leg, which had been playing up for several days, hadn’t caused any issues during the night, but I’d woken in…
Trump, Twitter and Time Team!…. Fort Morgan to Davis Bayou Campground
After our night in the man cave we were dry, but lots of our kit was damp due to the previous evening’s drenching. That said, sleeping in a dark, dank old fort proved much more comfortable than expected, although we decided not to leave a review on Tripadvisor! Surprisingly, the only wildlife that visited us…
Under Siege in Alabama – Big Lagoon to Fort Morgan
If you’d told us at the beginning of the day we would end up spending the night camped on a plastic sheet in the pitch black bunker of an Alabama fort dating back to the civil war, we’d never have believed you. But so it is and I’m lying here on the concrete floor with…
Soccer Mums, cookies and Trail Magic…. Pensacola to Big Lagoon State Park
I was rudely awoken from my sofa slumber by a flash of lightning and the crash of thunder. It was only 5am and it was sheeting it down outside with the forecast predicting it would continue all day. It was also promising thunderstorms stretching out across the rest of the week all the way from…