Day 17: New Roads, LA to Bunkie, LA

Daily Miles: 65.2 Total Miles: 886.5

Flooded land near New Roads

On the road again! Today was a loooooong day, but a really good one. This morning we woke up at 6:30am and begrudgingly bid New Orleans au revoir. By the time we got everything together, stopped at McDonald's for a few Egg McMuffins, and drove the 2+ hours back to the route it was nearly 11am. I hit the road hoping to make the 65 miles to Bunkie, but I wasn't sure I would make it. We once again went slightly off the ACA route, saving ~12 miles, staying on Louisiana 1 all the way from New Roads to Hamburg and then rejoining the trail.

Louisiana country barn

Since it was Sunday the route was perfectly acceptable. Almost all of it had a great shoulder (minus 7 miles around Simmesport), and there was minimal traffic.  Once I got going, I realized I was flying! I made it the first 30 miles in exactly 2 hours and before I knew it had knocked out the ~48 miles to Moreauville to meet up with Mary. The scenery today was really pretty and different. I think we were in a floodplain, because there was water everywhere, usually right beside the road. When we weren't near water we were driving through really pretty farmland that looks different than the land East of the Mississippi.

These baby lambs arrived  just in time for Easter!

We also went through a lot of small towns and I met and chatted with a bunch of cute kids who were interested in me, the bike, and the trip. One little kid said, "Girl, I could never do that. My knees would up and give out on me." It was so cute, because he was just a little 10 year old! In Moreauville, we drove off route a bit and ate at an ice cream shack called Dadde's (pronounced Daddy's). The burgers were decent and the folks working and eating there were really nice.

More water along the route

We ate and chatted, and before long it was time to hit the trail again. I foolishly thought I would continue my blazing pace and told Mary I'd see her in a little over an hour in Bunkie, ~18 miles away. Well, I was wrong. As soon as I headed out I was greeted with a fierce headwind. My pace slowed to about 10 MPH, but I eventually made it to the hotel around 5:30pm. We are feeling rested and great and we're looking forward to continuing our adventure.