Things I Bike About

Week Six

February 14th, 2021
Beaumont, Texas

This week started off with a wonderful tail wind, as I sailed down highway 90 to Louisiana. It was just cool enough to continue to wear a layer or two. The warm weather seems to be making a come back. I was immediately greeted by some nice bike path along the gulf. Sadly, about 10 miles in, it started getting rough and then unrideable. Oh well. Ride it till you can't.

The scenery seemed to change before my eyes, and then bam, Louisiana.

The show True Detective immediately came to mind. It really captures the feel of these dark, grey and brown swamps. I thought Florida was a swamp but I can see Louisiana easily taking the reigns.

Of course, in my never ending quest to regain all of my weight that I lost in Denver, I stopped by this little donut place called Grammys Donuts. My usual thing is to try out whatever fritter and old fashioned a donut place has, that is the control of how good a place is. I'm happy to report, these little guys are the best I've had so far on the trip.

I rode highway 90 all the way to New Orleans. There were some rough patches of road that looked and felt like they haven't been touched since it was first built. But that was just a warning sign of all the terrible highway soon to come. Both in terms of tarmac and unfriendly driving. But before that gripe session begins, here are some sights from New Orleans.

I'd be remised not to give a shout out to my amazing host, Eva. She is a French, a seasoned traveler, couch surfer and a lover of life. I'm not one to mention accents, but hers was intoxicating, as it kept switching from French to British, as she had learned English in London. She regaled me with stories from her many, many traveling experiences, her Gypsy roots and just life in general. I haven't gotten to have conversation that deep in a long time and it was great for the soul. I hope to see her and her family again, either in NOLA or in Paris, where they want to live.

After that, it was on to Baton Rouge. The ride was good, one of the last I'll have in a while for this week. On top of that, I happen to run into this holy place

If you haven't had Zapp's chips, you must. I believe you can only really get them in the south. Honestly, they're distributed by UTZ which is in Pennsylvania, so the fact you can't find these in the north is a shame. I've eaten a lot of chips in my life and these take the cake (or potato in this case). Once again, trying to just slam those pounds right back on! But heck, even on my most strict diet, I'd have to make an exception for this stop.

Not really much to report with Baton Rouge itself except my wonderful host Igor. I was Igor's first surf ever. I really hope he continues to host because he is great at it. Great conversation, very trusting and open, just an all around great guy.

Sadly, I didn't get pictures with Eva or Igor and I don't know why. I don't know if it's forgetfulness, shyness or both. But I wish I could've sacrificed one awkward moment to not forget a face. I guess I have them on Couchsurfing but it's not the same.

After Baton Rouge came a barrage of bad weather. Wind, rain and cold. Apparently there is a polar vortex that is ripping through the south. Temperatures are regularly in the 40s, 30s and below with the worse to come. As of this writing, I'm feeling pretty low about it. I'm going to keep pushing on, but it's pretty annoying.

The second hardest day (so far) of riding was coming into Lafayette. Unforgiving crosswinds, cold and rain. Lots of rain. The day started in rain and slowly dried up, only to come back in full force near the end of the ride. I started late that day as well, so I didn't get to my host until around 7, so it was rain and dark. Luckily, I was accommodated and greeted by this amazing man and his little dog.

Gene and Pistachio were quite the fun pair. Gene is a retired lawyer that has traveled around the world. He's currently in Lafayette for some medical procedures but normally lives in Thailand full time. Gene gets the award for best couch surfing cook. He made some fish and great sandwiches. In some ways, he made me nostalgic for my dad. Lover of small dogs, old TV shows (we watched an episode of Gunsmoke, which is for sure a show my dad would watch) and a great sense of humor. A great guy all around.

Then, it was on to Lake Charles. On my way, I stopped in Jennings. Apparently, this was the Jennings from the Jennings 8, which is a series of unsolved murders. I know this because I befriended these fine folks.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a small Mardi Gras parade going on that day. I was so ready for it! After seeing things canceled in New Orleans and all the stories of Mardi Gras past from Gene and others, I had to get in on the action. As you can see, I did. All those beads were mine! Andrea and her staff fed me delicious soup and sandwiches as well as chocolate covered strawberries they were preparing for Valentines Day. Such a great experience and such wonderful women. If you're ever in this neck of the woods, I recommend the potato soup! I ended up wearing those beads all the way into Lake Charles as well.

Initially looking at the map and the temperature, I thought a hotel might be in order. Luckily, a surf that initially declined my request (they no longer live there) recommended Common House, which is a meditation slash place for travelers of all ilk to come and decompress, help out and keep the good karma rolling. Dee was an amazing host and told me stories of her travels and how she came to be the caretaker and her vision for the place. What a beautiful vision it is. Maybe I'm biased because I directly benefited from it but the more I travel, the more places like this make sense and how important they are to the culture of traveling and just alternative lifestyles in general. Thanks for having me Dee! Also, thanks to David, who was great company as well!

And here we are, the place where I'll be spending the rest of this month and a good part of next month

I do hope it warms up soon because after Austin, it'll be a whole lot of nothing. No surfs that way, or really anything, until El Paso. So that means it'll be a lot of stealth camping and a lot of refried beans and tortillas. Stay tuned!

In this section, I talk about things that have really helped me and things that have frustrated me, both surprising and expected. Here are some from this week:

Headwinds:

• Food - Simply put, I'm not eating all that well. The food deserts are real. I long for the days of Publix chicken and canned veggies. Yes, this is on me. I know I can get similar nutrition from Wal-Mart. But especially in the mornings, I'm seduced by gas station hot bars and the like. I'm not gaining weight but it do

• Lingering - There were some hosts this week that I wish I could linger on and get to know more. On the spectrum of getting in miles and connection, I feel like I'm in the miles camp. Generally speaking that's good, but I guess it means I'll have to plan another trip to catch up with some of these folks.

• Cold and rain - As mentioned above. Blah. I'm getting to not mind wind or cold as bad but the rain. It's easy to get warm, but it's a bear to get dry. I've been lucky with a long string of hosts, all of which accommodated me with a working dryer for me to use. How you'd go days like this without shelter is really beyond my skill level. I have a respect for homeless and homesteaders, who likely just waded out these weather spurts somewhere at least dry and wind protected.

Tailwinds:

• Actual tailwinds! - Had at least one this week. It was beautiful! Enjoy them while they last, limited time offer!

• Amazing hosts - As much as I want to linger, I'm not going to complain about the beautiful people I have met so far. I'm continually amazed by their generosity and I'll keep writing about it until I'm not. I don't feel like I will be any time soon and if I was, I think that would the sign of some developing mental thing. So you'll hear about it!

• Hot Hands - I used the day after Lafayette to incredible results. I wish I knew about them before. 2 dollars for a full day of warm feet and hands? Sign me up! They're not crazy warm but they also don't leech out heat, which may be just as important. These will definitely be getting me through this next week of cold.

• Wal-Mart - Sigh...this one is very reluctantly given. Wal-Marts abhorrent labor practices and other things aside, the fact that they're positioned the way they are in rural America has made it very convenient for this trip. I've used their hand dryers to dry clothes and got some wool socks that far surpass the ones I brought with me. Damn you, Wal-Mart...only getting a point out of convenience.