Day 37: Silsbee, Texas to St. Charles, Louisiana

Day 37: Silsbee, Texas to St. Charles, Louisiana
Miles: 77.61 ------------ Total Mileage 2,048.71
Theme: Crossing State Lines

Today was a big day - we finally left Texas and are now in Louisiana -- and we have ridden over 2,000 miles! Hard to believe really! How did that happen?

It's odd but the last couple of days of riding there has been a different feeling about the countryside - it felt as though we had already made the change to Louisiana. It is hard to describe the difference. In part it may be that it is more humid and muggy. The last few days when we started it was almost as though there was a fog in the air. Needless to say, once the sun is fully up - that sense of fog or coolness leaves quickly!

Today Tex, Kathie, Liz and I rode together. Like yesterday we started off at a good pace. It didn't take long to get to the 1st Sag stop. I enjoyed the first part of the ride. It gave me time just to ride, get into my own rhythm and sit with my thoughts. Today I was thinking about how everyone in our group looks out for one another. While this is generally a very good thing, like all things there needs to be a balance. It is easy for me to jump up if I see someone needs something... but I also need to learn to just let people take care of themselves. So while pedaling along, I thought a bit more about that. Amazing what we think about to keep ourselves entertained while riding.

We were all very excited to reach the Louisiana state line. But first we had a few more miles to go - and several logging trucks to deal with. Logging trucks coming speeding up behind you can be a bit unnerving. Also the logs extend quite a ways off the back of the trucks. We made it through without incident however. And then the state line. Of course we had to stop to take some photos of this historic event! Finally we had reached Louisiana!

We were all looking forward to getting off of the Chip Seal. The first few miles in Louisiana were anything but a relief though! The pavement was really bumpy and cut up. I was starting to think that Texas C.S. looked good. Fortunately however the roads good better and felt smooth as butter. Ah - what a relief.

We passed Alice around mile 50 or so today. She had a "bump" this morning and started after the first sag. She is loving this weather and countryside. Alice has such a great attitude - it is always a pleasure to see her on the road. We call ourselves the recumbent sisters.

One quickly notices that there are lots of bridges to go over in Louisiana. This part of the country has many more swamps - resulting in many more bridges. The only bad thing about that is there are no shoulders on the bridges, so you have to take the lane and make cars pass you. The Louisiana drives were very courteous today - so again, no problems.

We continued to move down the road at a good pace today. Because we were so far ahead, we outran the Sag. We had to stop at a convenience store around mile 60 to get water, etc. We fueled up and headed out again. We knew we had some long bridges to cross so we made sure to stay together for last part of the ride. All went well crossing the bridges and riding through the city of Lake Charles. Did I mention that we are in Louisiana!!!!! That must mean we get margaritas tonight!

PS: I just got back from dinner. I think I have mentioned what a wonderful job Linda does with the meals. Tonight was no exception. We were happily surprised at the end however that one of the riders from last year (I believe it was Kathy - I apologize if I got that part wrong) had an Cheesecake aired down to us. Now I am not a huge cheesecake fan --- but I couldn't pass that up. It was GOOD!. I like being in this sisterhood of cross-country riders. It definitely has it's benefits! Thanks Kathy - we all really appreciated it!