After crossing the bridge and pulling into a gas station, our second goodbye was brief. Marcia gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek, as well as a box of raisins. She also gave me a letter and asked me to read it later.

I pedaled off, taking one last look over my shoulder as I sang to myself,

Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
It’s the eye of the tiger…..

At my first water stop, another gas station, I met Charlie. Within a few minutes we discovered that the houses we grew up in were less than a mile apart, both in the same Houston suburb, almost four hundred miles from where we were both standing. 

From five feet away I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and I wondered if the morning drinking had anything to do with where he was from, or where he was currently living. 

Charlie was very generous in his offer for assistance from him or his brother, Sammy, and asked me to call one of them if I had any trouble. I kept his number for future reference. One never knows.

At my second water stop I talked to an attractive woman in a bathing suit sitting outside the convenience store. I didn’t ask WHY she was seated there, or why she was wearing a swimsuit. It seemed impertinent. I told her my route and she let me know that, “Alexandria has a higher crime rate than New Orleans.” 

After leaving, I noticed that all of the drivers today seemed angry. Was it because they were in Louisiana? Or because of their proximity to Alexandria? I wondered. 

The lead car for one of those Wide Load transports passed me. The road wasn’t terribly wide so I pulled over and stopped until the actual Wide Load passed. It ended up being a mobile home, swaying all over the road. I don’t think it would’ve hit me, but it was close and I was still glad I’d pulled over.

I bought some fruit from a roadside vendor who said,

"Anybody who would ride that thing across the country is about 3 ounces of crazy."

He said it with a smile and, really, guilty as charged.