Day 42: Hammond to Bugalusa, Louisiana

Day 42: Hammond to Bugalusa, Louisiana
Miles: 56.90 ------------ Total Mileage 2,385.97
Theme: A Change in the Air

The journey continues, though there is a definite change in the air. People are starting to talk about home more, about the ride coming to an end soon, about what it will be like not to get up, go down to breakfast, put together our snacks for the day and ride out. Some are mentally ready to be done, some are physically tired. We are all at different places in the journey. As you know I have loved every minute of this ride. And I continue to do so. Home creeps in a bit more, but I am not wishing to be back there yet. There are still two weeks left in this ride and I know that this is a once in a life time experience. I don't want to let these last two weeks slip away.

Today we headed out to Bugalusa. The funny thing about Louisiana is that there is a definite divide between the East of West side of the Mississippi River. The west side has a French influence, while the east has more of the Spanish/English influence. In the west side of the Mississippi --- when riding on the roads there were remnants of beads from Mardi Gras. I haven't seen many bead remnants through the towns east of the Mississippi. Again going slowly via a bike rather than a car allows one to really notice these differences.

The ride today was once again beautiful. We were often on tree lined roads. There were various wildflowers on the roadside. There were fields of freshly mowed hay, cattle and horses, etc. The miles went by quickly. One of my favorite sights of the day was a sign at the corner of a small road. The area was not densely populated in the least - but there was a sign that listed all the churches down the road. It included the Lee Valley Baptist Church, Mounty Zion Baptist Church, New Hope United Pentecostal Church, Pleasant Valley Missionary Baptist Church and the Osceola Church of God in Christ. I think there was a different church for each family! There is no question that we are in the deep south!

The only negative thing today was the number of dogs that ran out at us. We had been warned about loose dogs in Louisiana - and today we experienced it. Some much more up close and personal than others! I rode with Tex, Liz and Kathie M. today. At one point a dog did seriously chase us. It got close enough to Liz that as she pedaled the dog got chopped in the jaws by her foot. Fortunately that was the extent of the contact by dog or pavement! Other than being on close watch for dogs, the four of us enjoyed sharing stories and what we considered our greatest accomplishments. We ended up getting in by around noon, it was nice short day.

While I am feeling great, I know that I am getting a bit tired because I am more forgetful. In the last few days I have misplaced my glasses case, the case for my phone, and now I realized I left my cord to download photos to my computer. Hopefully a good night sleep will take care of the forgetfuls! I promise to be careful on the bike!

I think that is it for my blog today. Tonight Carol is cooking. Dinner at 6:00. Can't wait!