LaPlace to Port Allen, LA -- 92 miles

Again, an extremely hot day today. Outside of town we crossed the River for the first time. We are biking on the west of the river heading towards Port Allen. I wish I knew how post photos and will get them done sooner or later. I have photos of the expansion joints on the bridge as well as a view of the river from the bridge. We passed many sugar cane fields and plantations. I have one of Oak Alley Plantation which was in the film Forrest Gump. You view the photos on Facebook.

New Orleans to LaPlace, LA -- 41 miles

Again, an extremely hot day today. Outside of town we crossed the River for the first time. We are biking on the west of the river heading towards Port Allen. I wish I knew how post photos and will get them done sooner or later. I have photos of the expansion joints on the bridge as well as a view of the river from the bridge. We passed many sugar cane fields and plantations. I have one of Oak Alley Plantation which was in the film Forrest Gump. You view the photos on Facebook.

Bike pick up and Orientation

Today I picked up Ben at the bike shop. The shop is one busy place with all the bike rentals. People are here for the Jazz Festival. I am glad to be getting out of town tomorrow. The streets are crazy here with cars zipping around. At orientation this afternoon I finally got to meet all the ladies on the tour. There will be 30 of us, plus two guides. This time we have an international group; one from Australia, one from Scotland and two from the Netherlands. The US gals come from Ohio, Florida, Vermont, Texas, New York, Maryland, Minnesota,Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, South Carolina, New Mexico, Hawaii, Connecticut, Idaho, and six from California.

New Orleans

Yesterday was travel day...flying from Fresno to Las Vegas to Houston to New Orleans and arriving at my hotel at 11:30 pm I did get in some good reading time. For inspiration I picked ups a book about one young man from Scotland who decided to cycle around the world. Starting in Paris, France he cycled for 195 days, alone and unsupported, over 18,297 miles through numerous countries on four continents to break the Guiness World record by 81 days. He did it by cycling over 100 miles a day.

Instead of reading the book from the beginning, I jumped to the sixth leg of his journey which is cycling across the US. He starts in San Francsisco and rides to St. Augustine, Florida. From San Diego to Florida he rode the same route we took in 2008. In fact, he was just two months ahead of us. I had to chuckle a couple of times knowing the same frustrations in trying to follow the maps by Adventure Cycling Association.

Well, this morning it poured, but by the time I finished my coffee, it stopped. Today is my day to go sight seeing. I always wanted to visit bourbon street and now I can say that I did. At 11am it is pretty quite, but I can only imagine how wild it can be at night.

Meandering the Mississippi

Long before the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, it travels 2,500 miles through the heartland of America.  We will follow this river by bicycle -- south to north -- across the country.  We will meander through the blues-singing south and the farmland of the great plains until we reach the River's source deep in the woods of northern Minnesota.

With any luck, we'll have the wind at our backs the entire way.  We will bike through ten states, cross the river several times by bridge and by ferry, and pedal along parts of the National Great River Road, the Millennium Mississippi River Trail and the historic Natchez Trace.

Leaving New Orleans, the terrain is flat and we'll make our first ferry across the river at St. Francisville, once a flourishing port before the arrival of the railroad.  We'll stop in Natchez and enjoy a stay in an antebellum home before picking up the Natchez Trace to Vicksburg.  There, we'll be reminded of important Civil War battles.  The gentle rolling hills give way to flat farmland as we enter the Mississippi Delta.  We'll roll past seemingly endless fields of cotton, soybean and corn, and quite pools filled with catfish.

A stop in Memphis will give us a history of the blues and a taste for ribs on Beale Street.  Farmland becomes filled with sugar beets, wheat and sunflowers as we bike further north.  In St. Louis, we'll stay across the street from the welcoming Arch.

We'll begin to understnad that the Mississippi has always been a "working river," still providing hydropower and an important transportation route for the country.  A series of 26 locks and dams from Minneapolis to St. Louis continue to maintain water levels for safe navigation.  Just the mention of "Mississippi" brings forth Mark Twain images of paddle wheel steamers, barges, and youngsters floating down the river on rafts.

We'll reach some hillier country with steep bluffs as high as 500' before they give way to gently rolling terrain and the flat territory of Minnesota.  The glaciers of the last ice age carved the many lakes of Minnesota and flattened much of the terrain.  Some of the last part of  our journey will be on bike paths, like the Paul Bunyon Trail and on routes marked just for us.  We'll celebrate our expedition with a farewell banquet on our last night together.

Ben and Me

My next big trip will be coming up soon and as I prepare myself for this undertaking, I have decided to take Ben with me. The Diva will hang around in my garage this time. Who is Ben? Ben is my Serotta. He has a triple up front and a big derailer in back. The handle bars are wider too. Of course The Diva is lighter but I have been training on Ben, so Ben it will be.

Rio Rico to Sonoita - 37 miles

Today we ventured out and upwards to Sonoita which is in the high desert part of southern Arizona. (5,000 ft). Along the way we stopped in Patagonia for lunch. Patagonia is a small artist community worth taking the time to look around. Our final destination is the Sonoita Inn. It was built by co-owner of the famous Triple Crown winner, Secretariat.

Some of the stronger riders who still had energy rode to the wineries in the near-by town of Elgin....Arizona's wine country.