the levy, frostop, and gunshots

October 9, 2021

Day One: New Orleans to Gramercy

I showered, shaved, and packed everything into my panniers, then went downstairs at 8:15 and asked for my rental car. After it was retrieved I realized that I can’t turn it in yet because they don’t open until 9:00. The person who got it, William, told me it’s fine to leave it in the upper garage for a while. He asked about my RAGBRAI jersey and we chatted for a few minutes, mostly about bicycling. His dad is interested in riding it someday.

I walked to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets and orange juice. It was established in 1862 and is famous for the beignets and café au lait.

Some additional pictures:

Jackson Square, the official starting point of my trip

I drove over to the Hertz agency where, unfortunately for the employees, their computer system wasn’t working. I dropped the car off then requested an Uber, which was kind of dumb considering I have a bicycle in my hotel room and could’ve just loaded it into the Jeep and pedaled back. In order to make it worth my while by having Hertz fill up the tank instead of me I needed to drop the car off empty. The gas gauge showed below empty when I stepped out of the car. Again, cheapskate…

At this point, it seems like you've been doing a lot of reading, and I haven't even started the bike riding. This is where it finally begins.

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There's something that happens every single time I take a bicycle trip. There's a lot of physical training, logistics and organization, getting to the starting point, then, all of a sudden I'm about to begin, this time at Jackson Square. Before the first turn of the crank there's a frisson with the dawning realization that "I'm in another state. On a bicycle. And I have nothing but the stuff I'm carrying... What was I thinking?!?!"

Then, on the tail of that thought, this: "I'm in another state. On a bicycle. And I have everything I need right here with me.... WOO HOO!!! This is FANTASTIC!!!"

Leaving town around 10:00, I got off to an adventurous start by missing a turn and had to backtrack to get back onto St. Charles, the ACA route. As it crosses the city, St. Charles Avenue follows the gentle bend of the Mississippi river and is mostly lined with massive, ancient oak trees.

After passing Audubon Park I reached the levee, where I remained for more than 25 miles. There was no traffic whatsoever, although there were a number of other cyclists, none of whom were touring.

One woman rode with me for several miles. She was around 70 and retired, and talked continuously about all kinds of things. Sometimes her voice would trail off into a whisper, like she was talking to herself, lost in thought. When someone wanted to pass she would speed up, then slow back down to continue talking, or whispering. At one point, she was 20 feet in front of me and appeared to be waiting for me to catch up (apparently she still hadn't realized how slow I am); however, after a minute or so she just sped off without a goodbye or good luck. An hour later, on the way back from her out-and-back ride, she did call out a "Safe travels!" as she passed in the opposite direction .

The levee is a very industrial area with a lot of refineries and businesses supplying their needs.

You can still see the effects of the recent hurricane all over town and, in particular, the blue plastic covering damaged roofs. In a surprisingly large number of areas, fully half of the roofs had blue tarps on them. This convenience store had the cover over the gas tanks blown over, and most of the windows are gone, which was not unusual.

The ACA map appeared a little confusing and I backtracked some, then weaved my way to Highway 61. I was eventually supposed to be on 61 but not this soon, and it was a terrible road. There was a lot of debris and because it was so busy the noise was overwhelming, but at least there was a shoulder. The temperature began climbing and was 88 degrees, with about a thousand percent humidity. At 1:15 and I began getting hungry, so I ate a protein bar and some fig newtons, then start looking for a place to eat.

I eventually stopped at the Frostop Drive In. The dining room was closed but there were a number of outdoor picnic tables. They only take cash but, even so, there was a line at 2PM.

I ordered a burger and a Frostop Root Beer, and asked if I could get my water bottles filled. The woman, who appeared to be the owner, stared at my bottles and said “I don’t think I can figure out how to do that.” I nodded, fully understanding that it would require a physics degree to unscrew the cap. I put the bottles back on my bike, realizing I was now destined to lose an arm from an alligator as I tried to collect some water along the way for my water purifier. I must have looked pretty crushed (and who wouldn’t, knowing they were going to lose an arm?) because when I went back up there she said, “Where’d those bottles go?” I grabbed them off my bike and brought them back up. She reached out to take them, then stopped and stared at them in concentration, as if they could unlock the secrets of the universe if only she had the right cognitive key. She then asked if I’d open them and, relying on my advanced mathematical degrees (I did take algebra in high school... three times), I was able to remove the tops. From outside I watched as she and her husband used a funnel to fill the bottles. I know I sound snarky, but did appreciate the water. Also, the burger and root beer were delicious. I forgot to take a picture so I got this one from the internet.

There was a young couple with a baby seated at the adjacent picnic table. She, in particular, was fuming as he tried to make light of her attitude. Their whispered shouts culminated in a “Fine!” After flinging their food into the trash and storming to their car, they spun their tires as they left the parking lot. Just as I was about to leave, a man with a big gut and a big pistol on his hip told me about a local bike ride he helps sponsor every year. I could see him sponsoring a motorcycle ride, but not a bicycle ride. That just shows my bias.

I half toyed with the idea of getting a hotel after only 45 miles today, and called one in town but the woman who answered said “all regional hotels are under construction.” Looking at the motel next door, which had no windows at all, I’m assuming “under construction” means the hurricane did so much damage that they’re all being repaired. So…. camping. I’m okay with that.

I started riding, keeping an eye out for a potential "stealth campsite" (hiding your tent so no one sees it). In this area, there’s nothing alongside the road but swamp water covered with thick green algae and cypress trees, or, in other areas, industries such as refineries. This isn’t a great picture, but the green stripe is algae-covered water, which is the only kind I saw. There's probably an alligator in there somewhere, too.

The road kept getting worse, with more trash and raised reflectors on the ever-narrowing shoulder, until it got to the point where there was no shoulder whatsoever. I stopped and stared at the road ahead and, after a few thoughtful minutes, decided I wasn’t going to ride on that section. The traffic was terrible, and with no shoulder it just looked too dangerous. Consider, this is coming from the guy who rode through Beaumont, TX, on Interstate 10. This, however? Just. Not. Safe.

I took an alternate route which directed me back to the levee and added at least a couple of extra miles. I also had to wait more than 15 minutes for a spectacularly long train, but was able to wait in the shade.

Shortly after the train passed, I was on 3179 and halfway back to the ACA route on 61 when I looked up and noticed a car stopped in front of me about 50 yards away. About a second later I saw two guys start shooting pistols into the woods on my right, about 12-15 shots in rapid succession over 5 seconds or so, then get into their car and speed away. My eyes wide, I stayed where I was for a couple of minutes, just in case there might be something in the forest that could shoot back. I was also wondering whether I should call 911. “Is this an everyday occurrence?” says the rube from Iowa. "After all, this IS Louisiana." I decided to call, and talked to the woman dispatcher for about 5 minutes. She asked all of the appropriate questions: How tall were they? What color were they? How were they dressed? Pistols or rifles? Both or one shooting? Do you need us to bring you some clean underwear? and a lot of others. (well, not actually the last one, but it would've been a nice gesture) I let her know there’s a bright piece of yellow plastic on the shoulder where they were, which would enable the police to find the spot easily enough. She ended with “Do you want to talk to the police?” I told her “Nah. I’m on a bicycle. It won’t be hard to find me if they have more questions.”

As I passed the spot they were shooting at I felt obligated to stop and bleated a tentative “h-hello?” just in case someone was out there bleeding to death. Thankfully (I think), no one answered. I continued on, and about two minutes later FOUR sheriff’s cars sped past me.

When I arrived back on Highway 61 there was so much cross traffic that it took a few minutes to cross the road to the other side. Once across, the shoulder was better, and gradually improved the farther I got from La Place.

I finally got off Hwy 61 at Gramercy and stopped at the convenience store where I bought a Gatorade. I thought the color was a little off for lemon lime and later determined, as I was swilling it outside the store, that it’s actually cucumber and lime. From there I found a city park in Gramercy and rode there to camp.

There’s a path all the way around the park and two women were walking laps so, after resting for a few minutes, I asked them if they thought it was safe to pitch a tent here. Both agreed that there’s “very low crime here.”

I took a “shower” at the children’s water park about 100 yards from the spot where I planned to pitch my tent.

Just push the button and water starts squirting all over the place!

The sugar refinery was half a mile away and produced a continuous vibrating hum the entire time I was there. I used an app to determine the volume and (if the app is accurate) determined that it’s 65 decibels (per the internet, the equivalent of "conversation in a restaurant/office, background music, A/C at 100 feet"). I was thinking that the people who live here for a few years will lose that particular notch in their hearing.

There was a nice sunset tonight.

Dinner was mashed potatoes and chicken (meh) and no dessert. I always eat dessert but just didn’t want any, perhaps because of the heat. As soon as I saw a single mosquito I pitched my tent and climbed inside, then wrote in my journal for about an hour. I had a headwind all day today but still managed some decent overall mileage.

58.8 miles
559 feet climbed
5.1% grade
8:33:48 total time
5:00:18 moving time
18.8 mph max speed
11.7 mph average moving speed
3526 calories
58.8 total miles

Today's ride: 59 miles (95 km)
Total: 59 miles (95 km)

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