Day #14: Simmesport LA to Opelousas LA. 62.0 Miles

We just checked into the Ritz Carleton in Opelousa.  Well actually it is the Comfort Inn in Opelousas but compared to where we stayed last night it might as well be a Ritz Carleton.  As we rode today at every rest stop people would ask where we were coming from.  When we told them Simmesport almost all of them said - Oh we used to live there but had to move, or,  we would never stay in the Sportsman Motel.  For us, I'm hoping it was the most memorable motel of our trip.  All the Comfort Inns blend together but the Sportsman Motel will always stick out.
Today we followed the Adventure Cycling maps which provided a great quiet ride through quiet neighborhoods.  We stopped at Miki's Main Stop in Moreauville, LA, where Nick (who is now following our blog) told us about the area and pointed us in the right direction.  Later we stopped at the Old Cane Market in Old Cane (of course) where the very friendly shop keepers let us fill our water bottles.  Because this convenience store is along Adventure Cycling maps route, they had a book of bikers signing in that dated back 30 years.
We know we have been talking about the heat and dogs every day and today again we had both.  What made today different was that we had our closest encounter with dogs yet, and we unintentionally caught a little bit of on video below.  In the last few seconds of the video below you can hear  dogs bark followed by rapid acceleration.  Coby was behind me so they had a better shot at him.   The dogs had to cross the road to get to us.  At some point one was parallel with Coby's front tire, but with an oncoming car the dogs stopped chasing us.  Coby thinks that things did not end well for one of the dogs - better them than us.
Along with passing through a lot of farmland today, we also passed through some very poor towns.  Port Barre LA felt like the poorest.  We stopped at a convenience store whose shelves were practically bare.  There were many vacant houses and lots of signs advertising "house leveling" services.  At that convenience store many people stopped to ask us where we were headed and they couldn't have been nicer - many offered us their blessings.  On a typical day we would have past by a neighborhood like Port Barre without slowing down - perhaps speeding up, but we were tired and thirsty and ended up discovering the goodness and kindness of people who in other circumstances (I'm embarrassed to say) we would have chosen to avoid.
We stopped at a Walmart a half mile away to pick up food for our day of rest - bread, Sabra Hommus etc...  We just used our first washing machine of our trip.  We have two to three pairs of everything - bike shorts, socks, shirts etc...  and although we have been hand washing stuff along the way,  in the last few days things have gotten a bit seedy.
After six days of riding in 100+ degree temperatures - Shabbat takes on new meaning for us.  A day to recover physically as well as spiritually from a long week.  Shabbat Shalom to you and your families.




Thanks for coming along for the ride!!!


For those who were wondering...our total milage has been 676.8 miles!!!!! 


Check out a video from our route today at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Elliotsloyer?blend=7&ob=5#p/a/u/0/J13DZHwbevw


Check out our route at the link below: Simmesport to Opelousas, LA