Bike Ride to NOLA

Biloxi to NOLA: 71.6 miles plus a van ride

Total mileage: 859.6 miles + 5 mile ferry ride

Durango unit morning route meeting we were told to check out the Friendship Tree as we headed out of town. I did grab an acorn on my way out just like the sign suggested. It is amazing that tree survived the hurricane because water and winds destroyed the University which houses the tree.

 

Then it was all aboard the pain train! Apparently the name stuck to the group who average low to mid twenties as they cruze down the road. Marcus did a great job ramping us up to a cool 25 mph and the train took turns leading. While I was not quite as fast I held my own at 23 when at the front. We were flying and coved a lot of ground in a short period of time. It was amazing to see how many empty lots there were along the route from homes which had been taken out Katrena.

Lunch stop which was along the Parkway to Space (yup the real name of the road because there is a NASA complex along the road)

From lunch we were supposed to hit the state line in less than 10 miles. A few bikers who had left a little earlier informed us that there was no sigh, but thankfully they made one for us so we could take a Louisiana state picture.

As we headed over our first bridge in Orleans Parish, I saw a fort out of the corner with my eye and since we had some time to kill until we had to be at the host I convinced my group that we should stop. Turns out that we stumbled upon Fort Pike and after chatting with the park ranger and the archeologist, I was able to DM our admission fee.

 

Joe gave us a brief run down of the fort which was build before the Civil War and could considered the first government bailout. One of the builders ran off with a large sum of the money for the project and because the other one coul don't pony up the money he was thrown in jail. It was at that point the government came in and finished the rest of the work. The plans were made by Napoleon's designer. After the Civil War the fort was no longer used and was later turned into a National Landmark. Another fun fact is that the location dates back to prehistory.

 

Before we headed in Art (remember this name as he will pop up several more times) told us that there was an alligator hanging around the mote. Some of the people in our group had never seen one before so Art started coaxing him out of the water. Tador was his name and we were all surprised he responded to his name and came to hang out for a bit.

 

A good deal of time had passed and we saw several other bikers come over the bridge. A couple had stopped by the party going on at they park so we decided to do the same before finishing the last 30 miles. Turns out that one of the local Mardi Gras float groups was hanging out and having a crawfish boil. The first group got us all invited to share in some crawfish - another Bike and Build bucket list item.

We got a full tutorial of how to eat crawfish and then got a picture with some of the members. It was great getting to hear about their lives, share with them about our trip and eat some great food. The l day poking over Ben's shoulder was AMAZING and she offered up her church as a host next year if we could not find a place. I am constantly amazed at how friendly and generous people have been in the south.

Destruction of some crawfish. We did have some help here folks

Feeling totally full we headed out to conquer the last thirty miles. Sadly on the way I got a flat tire which I had to take care of. I was almost finished and then the guys decided that they were going to take over because they could not sit still for a few more minutes longer.

The road was pretty rough and twice my tire got stuck in a crack. Thankfully I was ablew to get myself out before I went over. After a quick break I had made a comment that things happen in threes and something was going to happen before we got to NOLA. I must have been a premonition because a few moments later a crash befitting the Tour de France occurred. We had all broken the line to avoid a tree limb and when we go back together two bikers tires collided which caused the person in front of me to go down. Sadly I could not get out of his way and ran right over him landing on my temple; the rider behind me busted up his shoulder pretty well too. Two of us were pretty banged up so we called the van to come pick us up.

Now remember back to my friend Art. Well as we were sitting on the side of the road waiting for the van he drives up and says something to the effect of "y'all aren't going to make it to the west coast if you keep going this slow." It definitely helped to lighten the mood.

I was feeling okay and definitely not like I had a concussion so when I got to the host I just iced my shoulder. Unfortunately my symptoms went from zero to a million after my shower so I made the decision to go to the ER to get checked out. The trip to the ER revealed that I had a mild concussioin, but my CT scan cameo back clear which was good. The rash could not come at a better time because I will have a few days to recover until our 95 mile ride into Baton Rouge.