Day 19: Oberlin, LA to Merryville, LA

Daily Miles: 56.7 Total Miles: 1008.1

Today we saw lots of canoe rentals instead of farms

We hit 1,000 miles!! Today was a race to beat the rain, and while I didn't quite make it to Texas, I put in a valiant effort. I really tried to focus on my nutrition during today's ride. I ate a good breakfast, had something small every 30 minutes, and drank lots of water and Gatorade. And I was feeling MUCH better. I woke up early today, at 6am, because I knew some serious weather was heading our way. By noon there was a 50% chance of severe thunderstorms that would increase to 100% and last through tomorrow morning. I was on the road before 8am and enjoying a great tailwind. I was making great time on really nice roads, until about mile 17.

The storm starts to roll in

We moved into a new parish, the road got much worse, and the rain started. I was still able to hold a good pace, but slowed down a bit. Still, before I knew it I was meeting up with Mary outside of DeRidder, LA, 34 miles into the day. I had a snack and chatted a bit as the rain let up, but then decided to press on because I still had a feeling the big storm was coming at noon. At about the 50 mile mark, the road turned south, directly into the howling wind, and the sky darkened considerably. I slowly made it the ~5.5 miles on to Merryville, and when I got there Mary was no where in sight. I said, I guess I'm heading on to Texas, and pressed on. Within a mile of passing the Merryville sign things got much worse. The sky went pitch black, the rain started coming down in sheets, the temperature felt like it dropped 10+ degrees in a matter of seconds, and lightning lit up the sky. The next thing I know, Mary pulls up and we decided to call it a day.

Safe in the car

Fortunately we found an awning to pull under to load up my gear. Even despite the strong headwind the last ~6 miles, I finished the day at a record pace, 13.6 MPH, knocking out the 56 miles in just over 4 hours, and finishing at about 12:10pm, right when I had predicted the big storm would come. The terrain today was different than yesterday. There were very few farms, and tons of rivers and creeks. The only real industry we saw was tourism, mainly in the form of canoe rentals. We drove on about 30 miles to Jasper to find a hotel and decent places to eat. We had a great lunch at Fratela's Italian restaurant, and might just go back there for dinner. We're spending the afternoon staying dry, resting, and writing postcards (one can be yours for a small donation at http://camo.donorpages.com/CyclingforCAMO2012/CarriePerdue/). I am hoping the rain lets up early tomorrow, so that we can get back on the road!!