Last Night

Tonight we are in Liberty, TX  as we bring this adventure to a close.  We will arrive home in Baytown on my 70th birthday.  Perfect!  The last two days have been relaxed with wonderful leisurely breakfasts, the best of the trip.  Today as we tried to start riding I had a flat.  I lead the pack with 2,  Doug 1, and Janie one in the garage before starting out..  My latest flat was caused by a bit of wire no bigger than a whisker.
Today, we rode by an area that John has worried about since we were here before. He had been told that there was a pit bull along the route that loves cyclists legs.  About a week ago he bought an air horn in preparation for this animal.  Low and behold the dog was a "no show".
Two events that were not fun today was being yelled at for being on the road and as a result being called "dumb asses".  The other was really tragic.  We came upon an accident, where we think that at least one person possibly two lost their lives.  Being caught up in accident traffic was a first for us in all of our riding.  Hope it is the last.
My thoughts are really disjointed as I write this while watching Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown.
I have not been taking many pictures lately be John is so much better than me and he will share.

We woke up this A.M. to the worst weather of the trip, cold and rainy. However, the weatherman was very accurate about the clearing time and the day turned out to be wonderful. We rode on roads with rolling hills, good surfaces, and the wind at our back. On route 190 we did ride with an unnatural occurrence, the shoulder was smoother than the road. We, also, came to two construction areas. One had the bridge out, but Doug and John asked if we could get through. This was a bridge over a culvert not a river. So we ended up slogging through the mud to get around. Some in our group thought this was much better than riding a couple extra miles. The other was also a bridge, but it had one lane open for a dry passage. The remainder of the day went without incidence. We arrived at our motel in Kirbyville,TX. in time for cocktail hour with snacks, don't know how to spell the hors word. It was fancy snacks. Notice we are in Kirbyville, TX. A highlight of our day was crossing the State line. We are nearing the end of this adventure.

Return to Deridder

With our casino winnings in our pocket we headed to breakfast. To our surprise there was a cafe in town that served breakfast. As we have so often found the food was cheap and good, along with interesting conversation with the locals. We learned that what we had been hearing that to us sounded like gun shots were booms to frighten the birds out of the rice fields. Evidently they like to eat the seed. With fuel in our belly and wind at our back we, for us, sailed over the rolling hills into Deridder. Upon arriving here we have now completed 600 miles. As we are now on a leisure ride we had a casual lunch followed by an afternoon nap. Life is good!

Oberlin, LA.

We are treating ourselves to a leisurely return to Baytown. We hadn't planned to spend over an hour at lunch, but we had stopped at a local cafe that was bustling mainly with take out orders. The food was great and cheap, but slow and once again the people fun. We are now in Oberlin a town of about 2000. We inquired where the best restaurant was in town. The reply was "we are a small town", which means we do not have a restaurant. "However, the casino four miles down the road has several restaurants and I will drive your there". We did not hesitate. I, for one, am not a casino person but I sure do like to eat. So off we went. We had a fun dinner and then decided we should play $10.00 at the the quarter slots. I came away with $24.00. So it was a lucky day from start to finish.

Ville Platte

We arrived at the Best Western, an upgrade from the Sportsman, in Ville Platte, LA. late afternoon. We had started out the day with the wind working for us, the rest if the day not so much. We did get caught in a brief heavy down pour. Quiet frankly, we were not smart. We depended on technology when we should have just simply looked out the window. Sometimes days on a bike does something to the brain cells! But all in all it was a great day on the bike. Pretty scenery with enough trees to block the wind. We had a great leisurely Mexican dinner with a jumbo margarita to go with it to celebrate achieving 500 miles on the road. Last night with our Best Western upgrade I could not get on the internet, The Sportsman had come through for me. The problem was not the margarita.

Sportsman Motel

 Sportsman

 Our Room

Beside Our Room

On The Way Home

Today, we began our way back to Baytown.  The day was pretty uneventful except for the fact that the wind actually worked for us .  We are currently in Simmesport, LA. staying at the Sportsman Motel.  Hope to post some pictures.  This is a motel that we would never stop at except on a bike as there is not another motel within 50 miles of here.  This is our third stay here.  The plumbing is a little weird, the furnishings a little strange, and we assume the electric has to meet some kind of code.  However, it is clean and the service is most gracious.  In what other motel can you stay and order dinner in the associated convenience store and have it delivered to your room.  I had a delicious  grilled chicken salad with 2 wonderful rolls. I had trouble eating it all. It  cost $4.99