April 30, 2021
Day 22 - Denham Springs to New Roads
West of the Mississippi
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We decided to get an early start today as there was a 50% chance of thunderstorms. The rain chance was lowest before 10AM, so we thought we'd try and get some dry miles behind us. I set my alarm for 6:30 and we were rolling by 8:15.
We left Denham Springs and rode west, staying just north of Baton Rouge. We like to avoid urban area as much as possible on the bike. The route was several miles through an industrial/warehouse area. It wasn't scenic, but it took us where we needed to go.
After an hour, we stopped for a break. Kerry went in search of a restroom and I stayed with the bike. That gave me the chance to talk with Eddie. He was an interesting guy and I had fun telling him about our trip. He also told me a little about our upcoming route, as he was from "across the river" and knew that area well.
From that stop it was only about five miles to the Mississippi River. It started to sprinkle rain and we decided to pull over and put on the rain covers before it got any heavier. Kerry found a very convenient church with a covered portico and pulled in there. There was a City of Baton Rouge police officer also parked there. We chatted with him while Kerry put the rains covers on our panniers. Our magic rain covers worked as expected and we never had another drop of rain the rest of the day.
On the east side of the river was a huge Exxon-Mobil oil refinery. It must have gone on for at least a mile.
As soon as we passed the refinery, we crossed the Mississippi River. There were two lanes each way, but no bike lane. The traffic was not heavy and everyone was patient and courteous, but I didn't get out the camera on the bridge. I wanted to stay focused on watching traffic and being aware of everything happening around us.
Once across the river, we turned north on North River Road. The river has lots of bends here, but there is a high levee all the way to New Roads, so we got no river views. We were on this road for 25 miles today. There was almost no traffic until we got close to New Roads.
The first thing we noticed on River Road was a herd of cows on the levee.
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On the other side of the road, we saw a lot of this crop. I have no idea what it is, but Kerry thinks it's sugarcane. Fields seemed to be in differing stages of growth. These were the smaller ones - always planted on these rows of three.
This is what they looked like larger. They had tall grassy looking leaves.
Another interesting thing on the River Road were these concrete structures on the the levee side that appeared to be some kind of drains.
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Also seen along the road, closer to New Roads.
The roadside was covered with grasses like these.
And some purple and yellow flowering plants.
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http://www.namethatplant.net/plantdetail.shtml?plant=1439
3 years ago
We got to New Roads early - before 2:00 - and our room was ready. We have enjoyed a long afternoon after our early morning. Tomorrow we continue west to Opelousas and then have a rest day there.
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km)
Total: 988 miles (1,590 km)
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3 years ago