What a great day to be riding in Louisiana! Fortunately for us the bad weather has skipped over us and left us with several days of blue skies, cooler temperatures, and flat riding. Today's milestone was crossing the Mississippi river on the st. Francisville ferry in the late afternoon.
We spent the day meandering along the levees of the mighty river and its tributaries. Off to our left on the far side of the mississippi stood the infamous Angola penitentiary with its own access ferry. Steve mentioned that our total climbing distance was 800+ ft. Small potatoes compared to the 6000 ft we were climbing a month ago. Most of the group road together as we stopped at a local diner for a southern lunch. I had fried chicken and cole slaw. I had easily decided that the PBJ I made for lunch could wait another day.
The most interesting encounter I had today was with a pack of dogs that were riled up by the riders that had passed before. I was sweeping about 1/4 mile behind the group and saw that they had been greeted by a pack of dogs. By the time I had arrived on the scene the dogs were in the middle of the road waiting for me! An odd pack of 5 dogs with 2 more trotting down the dirt path. All were all mangy mutts, half with one blue eye and one brown eye. I believe they were all related. All were barking furiously so I decided to dismount and put Thelma between the pack and myself. I stood my ground and did not move. Eventually all but one lost interest as I wasn't moving and I sprinkled the pack with water from my bottles. The remaining dog and I just conversed for another 5 minutes. I mounted Thelma and said adios. I quickly caught the group of riders and thanked them for the experience. They all smiled.
The Mangy Pack of Pooches
We completed our ride for the day with a ferry crossing of the Mississippi (about 1 mile wide at that point) and a nice cruise through beautiful St. Francisville. The Magnusson Motel was very, very nice and the home-cooked meal at 8 Sisters Restaurant was a delight. The catfish niecy, turnip greens (and extra helping), cornbread, and sweet tea capped off a wonderful day on tour.
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| Meandering along the levees |
Bovines Browsing Along the Levees
A quick blog update from Joe before boarding the Ferry.
