Sunday, March 21, 2010

Southern Louisiana; Highs and Lows

Day 5

Miles today: 255 Total miles: 1,339

First something I meant to post yesterday but forgot until mike
reminded me. When we were in New Orleans, he introduced us to the
North Carolina state toast. I feel like a better north carolinian now
that I have participated in this fine ode to the Old North State. You
can find the toast
for your next party or social gathering here: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina_State_Toast?wasRedirected=true

Yesterday was a bit of a challenge. I got a late start kit of the city
and was feeling pretty tired after not sleeping much the night before.
I took US-90 across the southern part of the state, which was nice for
most of the way, but the road was in pretty rough shape and was pretty
tough on me and the bike. Mike filled me in on why this is - he said
that Louisiana would not raise its drining age to 21 for a long time
after all other states had done so. Becuase the federal government
couldn't do anything about this directly, they decided to simply
withold funds for road construction and repair until the state
capitulated in the mid 90's. I thought this was a great story until I
had to ride 5 hours on said roads. I also saw a few drive-thru daqueri
shops, which got my mind spinning about the logistics of a daqueri on
a motorcycle. I have seen some Honda goldwings with cupholders, so
maybe something like that with a camelbak straw might work. One of the
fun parts about this trip is that I get to thunk these scenarios all
the way out and come up with solutions to pressing social and
political concerns like how to drink a piña colada on a bike.

When I got close to lafayette, I took LA-14 to avoid the city, and it
was one of the nicest roads I've taken yet. The land is now extretmely
flat with farmland for miles. Thus means that I can now see large
storm systems on the horizon, which is one of the coolest things about
being in the central US. Living in the east, your view is always
obstructed by hills and trees, but out here you can sometimes see the
horizon for 360 degrees around you. It really makes me feel small when
I can see a huge storm system bearing down on me.

Today was full of highs and lows. Leaving New Orleans and dealing with
those roads was not a fun experience, but the chance to ride LA-14 was
just awesome and more than made up for the rough start to the day.

I had visions of getting to Texas in my mind this morning, but it was
not to be. Mother nature decided that 40 degrees, 30 mph wind gusts
and rain would be just perfect for a Saturday night. So I'm at a motel
in Sulfer, LA. The plan is go get to Austin today, and the weather
looks cold and windy. Hopefully the afternoon will be nice to make up
for it.

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