That was a big state, y'all

What does Bienvenue mean anyway?  Pedal faster?

In the immortal words of our 35th president: "Today I am a Louisianan".  What?   Oh.  Berliner, Louisianan, what's the difference?  Anyway, Today I am a Louisianan, a DeRidder, Louisianan to be exact.  We are holed up in the camper waiting out a monsoon.  Bummer, you say?  Not so bad.  Try this in a tent for comparison.

Anyway, Louisiana.  To begin with, the folks around these parts sure are friendly.  When we arrived we found the only campground in town full. (Hey, wait a minute, no place to stay, impending storm, this all sounds vaguely familiar.  See Circle, Montana, last bike trip.)  It didn't take long to arrange an impromptu meeting of the townsfolk on the side of the road to find us a place to stay.  So large that we created a traffic jam.  And find us a place they did.  We are still getting calls this morning (the day after) from folks to see if we got settled.

Hey, do they know how to sell insurance in these parts or what?
Do you think they offer ark insurance?  How about Black Plague coverage? 

In DeRidder the churches outnumber the houses and the Baptists have a strong lead.  We did find a Methodist church, however, and enjoyed a nice service this morning.  Everyone, I mean everyone, introduced themselves to us and we made the "Joys and Concerns" as well (as a joy, I think).  

NAVASOTA, TEXAS.

We blew (or rather were blown) (or rather the wind did its best to keep us from reaching) into the little south Texas town of Navasota on Tuesday March 28th.  With only 35 miles beneath our wheels but facing 20 + mph winds, and with the next place to camp another 35 miles we decided to stop.  Rhonda was in need of some emergency dental work and was able to see a dentist in town.  By the time Joe and I arrived Bev and Rhonda had found their way to Classic Rock Coffee Company where Joe and I caught up with them.  The manager, Mandy Lavender, was delightful and helpful and as a "just because gift" gave us a canister of freshly ground coffee.  When in Navasota, Texas stop to enjoy the town and stop in and say hello to Mandy.

Thanks, Mandy

MORE MILES.

With my strength increasing, my knee behaving and the hills disappearing the daily mileage has begun to increase.  I brought two bikes, the touring bike I used for my last ride and my light-weight road bike.  Now that the big hills are now in my rearview mirror my lighter bike is now getting some more consistent use.  Sixty-odd seems to be the new minimum day's ride and I now have a century under my belt (100 mile ride).  Nevertheless the wind has an easterly component almost every day!  It's not supposed to be that way.  Fighting the wind sure gets old quick.

East of Austin things sure are greening up.