to Lutcher: along the Mississippi River Trail - Racpat RTW 2015-2017 - CycleBlaze

July 24, 2017

to Lutcher: along the Mississippi River Trail

On Sunday we drive about seven hours from Victoria to New Orleans.

"I don't mean to be difficult, but could I have another cup of coffee, this one is dirty" Rachel asks the waitress at the Waffle House where we stopped for second breakfast. We've cycled through 43 countries and who knows how many dirty dishes we've eaten from, Rachel had to laugh at herself for now being picky.

The route is fairly straight forward with one route change in Houston. The only thing worth mentioning is the huge storm we pass through shortly after crossing from Texas into Louisiana. We cross the Mississippi at Baton Rouge and follow I-10 all the way to New Orleans. The car has to be returned at the airport, so we reserved another Motel right nearby. It is also only half a mile from the Mississippi River and the bike trail.

Today after a Day's Inn breakfast buffet, we load up our bikes in the room, take the elevator down and roll-out. A few zigzags and we climb the levee to the Mississippi River Trail. The first part is nicely paved and gives us some nice views over the river and all the industry along it. There are large grain terminals loading huge ocean ships, there are fleets of barges tied up along the banks. "Oh a rainbow, we always see rainbows when we are together" Rachel hears her mom say. And Rachel says, "Mom is welcoming us home."

At the Bonnet Carre spillway the trail disappears for a while, but the road carries very little traffic. On the other side of the spillway is another trail, but it is crushed rock and rough. Being on top of the levee also exposes us to the wind that is blowing pretty hard against us, so we drop down to the River Road and continue on to Lutcher. We have been in touch with a "Warmshowers" host who has received a couple of mail packages for us. He hosts his guest in a garage that has a bathroom, sink, power and a bicycle workshop. He is not there though, so we first head for the post office to mail home a box of souvenirs that we carried through Central America. We mail the hub and spokes of the front wheel that went bad in Honduras to our friend, Anita, in Illinois. Its a long story that we'll explain later, but the hub will be built into a new rim that is waiting for us there.

Back at Dale's "man cave" we wait a while longer as a big thunderstorm dumps lots of rain. Finally we manage to track Dale down and he tells us how to get into the garage. We settle in, clean up and wait for him to come greet us a bit later. There is a tent trailer parked in the garage that has AC and sleeping places.

Dinner at a local restaurant falls through when we discover they only open a couple of nights a week, and Monday is not one of those. Patrick ends up riding a couple of kilometers back to Gramercy to find some Big Mac meals.

On the Mississippi River Trail. The trail is not continuous, there are sections where the trail is not yet paved and signs direct you back onto the River road.
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Passing grain loading facilities along the Mississippi River.
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A rainbow to wish us well.
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On the Mississippi River Trail.
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Passing a refinery along the Mississippi River.
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Crossing the Bonnet Carre Spillway.
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A section where the paved trail disappears. We try the gravel for a while, then head back down to the River Road below. Traffic is light and the drivers are courteous.
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Old house. It would almost be a shame to paint it now.
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Above ground burials. Necessary when the groundwater is right there.
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Some hills on the Mississippi River Trail.
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Garden ornaments and patriotism.
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The San Francisco Plantation. Amazing what you can do with free labor.
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Passing under one of the Mississippi River bridges.
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Lutcher is our goal for today. We have been in touch with a warmshowers host here.
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Dale's "man's cave" is used to host passing cyclists.
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Inside the garage is a camper trailer in which we sleep tonight.
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With our host Dale. He has quite the collection of bikes.
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Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 35,789 km (22,225 miles)

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