George: Wednesday, 4 OCT’17 – Kinder, LA to Livonia, LA

Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink,

Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

From San Diego to East Texas, the riverbeds and creek beds were mostly empty, save for the dust. Here in Central Louisiana, every recess without exception is filled with water whose colors vary from olive green to mud brown to black licorice. One of these bogs, larger than most, was being fished by a gentleman in a boat. It made me wonder what he was catching and it made me wonder where the crawdads served up in restaurants come from?

It was another good day to be on the bike. But let me regress. Last evening we went to the highest ranked restaurant within a 50-mile radius of Kinder (pronounced as in kindergarten). The motif was replete with LSU photos, memorabilia and philosophical football tidbits. There was even a photo of LSU playing the OSU buckeyes. It was not flattering to the Columbus team. The food was nothing that I have ever seen, nor was it anything that I would reorder. It is a shame as there were lots of choices for meat eaters. So be it. I ran on fumes the next day.

So it was that this morning we departed Kinder for a ride to Livonia entirely on US 190. It was much like riding east on US 50 out of Owensville toward Fayetteville with homes every so often. Google maps stated the elevation, not in feet up and feet down, but with the comment “mostly flat.” And it was with one glaring exception, the bridge over the Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs, LA. Approaching Krotz Springs from the west at a distance of two miles one can see the bridge rise from the horizon in an impressive sight.

We have been in Louisiana for two days and the contrast has made me change my mind about my first impressions. The road berms today were a little rougher and a bit more littered. The traffic morphed from the very benign to a shade more aggressive. And the 5-10 mph headwind was its same old self. We wrestled with it for the entire 90 miles. Drafting tamed it somewhat, but as Sara mentioned in yesterday’s blog, it is bo-ring. The concentration on the draft takes your mind off the scenery.

As you know, we have had our share of flats, maybe two dozen of them. The number has diminished greatly since we left the Interstate system in Van Horn, TX. However, we have had two major equipment failures up to this point. On the first day of riding out of San Diego, I had trouble with my rear derailleur shifter. Through my own fault, the cable jacket was cut. I fixed it in Jucumba Hot Springs, our second stop. I carried with me a spare shifter that is currently being used to power the bike. Sara broke a rear wheel spoke yesterday. I had several options to remedy the situation, but since the bad spoke was on the non-drive side, I chose to replace it.

Tomorrow is another 80+ mile ride on Louisiana back roads. Stay tuned.

Leaving Kinder this morning on US 190

Crossing the Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs