More Louisiana

NEW PICS ADDED
Day 38
a short 43 miles from New Roads to Clinton.
Stopped to see the Rosedown Plantation then we crossed the Mississippi River today! Not a major mileage feat but a milestone nonetheless. The bridge is the new Audubon bridge completed in 2011 and has a great, wide shoulder making it easy for cycling over.
We also stopped in the town of Franklin, LA. Very nice, very well preserved historic town. As you will see from one of the plaques, us cross country cyclists would feel right at home here.
Stayed at the Wildflower Inn in Clinton.. To be honest, the riders stayed in the "art Workshop" (read BARN here) while the staff sacrificed themselves and stayed in the B&B's rooms but let us filthy riders use the showers therein...
Stayed up late during a massive cold front with embedded massive thunderstorms, driving freezing rain, and watched the Paris-Roubaix One Day Classic bike race on TV in the main room of the B&B.
Temps are supposed to drop into the low 40s by morning an the mid 30s by Wednesday morning which would make Thursday the COLDEST day of the entire trip...

Middle of Louisiana=Republic of West Florida... who knew?

Cyclists welcome since 1847!

Jackson B&B!

Audubon Bridge  over the Mississippi 

The Mighty Mississippi

Rosedown Plantation

The Wildflower Inn

Our room in the "Art Workshop" for the night

relaxing

the ceiling from old barn siding

The dump the staff had to stay in

Day 37 from Mamou to New Roads

Uneventful 68 mile ride to the town on the north side of False Lake, an Oxbow lake (thanks Blake!) that was formed when the Mississippi changed course in 1722 and cut off this "meander" section to become a lake.
We had to cross a rather dangerous bridge and elevated highway with no shoulders at all for 7 miles so we had a police escort.
Staying the night at a "lake front" establishment that has definitely seem better days... like it saw better days in the 1940s...

Had to hit Wal-Mart to buy a temporary cycling computer since my expensive, techno-geeky, Garmin Edge 800 GPS enabled HRM and cycling computer par excellence DIED completely 20 miles into yesterday's ride.... I can trust that none of my friends will tell anyone that I am crossing the country with a cyclo-computer from Wal-Mart, right????? RIGHT????

Shhhhh.. don't tell

Police escort needed!

Ferdi and I ready to ride!

False Lake

Day 36
We are headed from DeRidder to Mamou, Louisiana.
Mamou is home to Fred's Lounge, the home of the Cajun music revival after WWII. The bar has a live radio broadcast every Saturday morning and closes at 1:30 or so in the AFTERNOON! so, since it was a 65 mile day we had to hustle to get there in time to listen to any music.
Most riders got there in time to hear at least some music. some of us made it in time to listen to a LOT of music and freeze our sweaty selves in the coldest AC I have ever been subjected to. The music was actually quite good, although I am certainly no connoisseur of Cajun music. Voted one of the best bars in America in 2012 by Esquire Magazine!

The campground was the local baseball field and was OK except there were no showers so we were shuttled back and forth to the hotel in town where the staff was staying....