March 5, 2025
Day 19: Simmesport to Chicot State Park
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
I think I mentioned that yesterday I got a cold. It made it a bit hard to sleep last night. I had trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep. I woke up about 6:15 to get ready to go, I had oatmeal, pecans, raisins, blueberries, a banana and an apple for breakfast. I packed a ham, cheese, and mayo sandwich, a kind bar and a couple of granola bars for the ride. I drank a cup of tea and a bottle of water.
I left a few minutes after 8. It was about 50. I wore my perlizimu bicycle jacket, tights, shorts, and a long-sleeve jersey. I started with the medium weight gloves.
It was super windy. The forecast was 15 mph with gusts up to 30 out of the WNW, and our route was mostly west. I stopped at a Dollar General and bought some nasal decongestant spray to help stop the tap that is my nose. The first 8 miles were really hard. I was going 10 mph. The surface as rough and there were a lot of expansion cracks. The road was a little better, but there was traffic in it. I switched back and forth as I went. At mile 8 we turned off to Moreauville. I caught up with SR, JE, JW, and PB at the turn. We stayed together until a convenience store at about mile 11 (1 hour into the ride). I stopped to go to the bathroom, fill my water bottle, and bought a white chocolate Reese's. I ate a granola bar. I rode mostly by myself. The going got a little easier as we headed south and not purely west. Not long after Cottonport we headed mostly west again. I stopped at a Dollar General near Bunkie to go to the bathroom and got a Payday, which I ate. I rode about another 10 miles to a truck stop near I-49. I ate my lunch there. Not long after the route turned south. At times I was cruising at > 20mph with a nice tailwind I caught up with JW, SR, and JE and ate a clementine. I then rode solo until there was flagman holding traffic near the entrance to the park. The 3 above caught me SR and I rode the rest of the way (About 5 miles) together. Inside the park were some nice hills. It was a hard day. I thought the cold would make me feel worse, but it didn't seem to. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight.
When I arrived I ate the rest of the food that I had (bars of various kinds) and drank a water bottle. BD and JE cooked breakfast for dinner so Bennie could serve us some of his homemade maple syrup. We had pancakes, sausage, bacon, and hash browns. It was a hard dinner to cook but was quite filling. I and some others helped them clean up and get ready for the map meeting.
After the map meeting I had a 30 minute call with my brothers so we can catch up.
Tomorrow is a shorter day (46 miles), and there are forecast to be no winds. I may stop in Mamou to eat breakast. I'd like to get some tissues and some diphenhydramine to help me sleep. I think I will try to stop along the way to see if I can get some.
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 930 miles (1,497 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |
1 month ago