Collin and Smash Ride Bikes Across America

The desert is beautiful in NM. We're in the mountains on the Rio Grand. I love the sun, pecan trees, morning doves, sand. It's supposed to snow...miss you!!!

I’d like to think I’m a relatively disciplined vegetarian. Sure, there’ve been some slip ups. In 2007 I ordered Jambalaya in New Orleans. A couple summers ago I couldn’t resist trying some bacon ice cream on the fourth of July. Sometimes they sneak sausage into the breakfast burrito menu description towards the end and I miss it, but have been known to eat it anyway. More recently I’ve shifted to a “flex-itarian” diet, if you will, eating meat if it’s headed for the trash or seems culturally appropriate. For me avoiding the consumption of animal flesh is not a spiritual practice, I’d just like to minimize my support of factory farms and related cruel and ecologically destructive practices.

Keeping all this in mind, allow me to thoroughly recommend Hog Cracklins, a Louisiana specialty. Cracklins are crispy, spicy, melt-in-your-mouth morsels of fried pig skin (with layers of fat and meat still attached) fried and coated in Cajun spices. A friendly gentleman by the name of Hillary (Bill for short) introduced Ashley and I to this culinary delight, and we couldn’t have been more satisfied. Sometimes eating animals is just the right thing to do.

Not only did Bill buy us a pound of Cracklins, he also transported us nearly 10 miles via pickup truck over a section of US 190 with a 65mph speed limit and no shoulder. What a guy! He stopped us at a convenience store and told us he’d be happy to take us over the nasty bridge, and we were mighty thankful for his offer. Were it not for Bill, we may have ended up a highway fatality statistic. More importantly, we would never have tried Hog Cracklins.

Bill has hosted touring bicyclists before, and provided at least one with work harvesting pecans, he told us. He filled us in on a variety of topics of regional significance, including corruption in Louisiana politics, deer hunting, pecan crops, and the importance of local rivers on commerce and farming in the area. Bill said he trapped 92 hogs on his property northwest of Baton Rouge in 2009, but has yet to make hog Cracklins. Bill, what’s the hold up?

-Collin

Cell reception is patchy out in Texasland. Fear not if you don't see an update! Austin on the 15th, I'll be in Bulverde til the19th at Pappy's house.

We're currently in Oberlin, LA (50 miles from Texas) in the Fire Station House. We stopped for lunch at a church and checked the weather report, thunderstorms and rain through the night. Since I've been fighting a cold (booo hiss) we decided to putter over to the library, and then find a place to sleep BEFORE the rain hit, thus saving us a trip to the laundry mat first thing in the morning with half our clothes wet. We were soon greeted by Donnie, a volunteer firefighter who told us that they [fire department of Oberlin]house bikers that roll through all of the time. We met Lawrence the fire chief, and made ourselves at home. We did see them roll out with the engine, a tree fell on a house, and the resident's truck, and their car too! (Truck good, tree bad...)

Here are some highlights from the last week, with more to come soon from Collin.

Coming into New Orleans felt like we were going to pedal ourselves straight into Lake Pontchartrain before actually getting there. The horizon there is just water, there's only a tiny strip of land that'll take you to New Orleans along the Gulf.



Collin called up friend and coworker Chris Cook who gave us some good information on places to check out in New Orleans, and where to eat.

We explored the french quarter and the city park before stopping for a bite at Liuzzas. I had a shrimp po'boy, some oyster spinach soup, and some tasty jambalaya.

During lunch Collin contacted Ben and Kate, who lived in the Bywater neighborhood and had responded to our request on Warm Showers. Yay! Ben is an freelance illustrator whose biked all over the place, east coast, west coast, and has been in New Orleans for just a couple of months. You can check out his awesomeness here! Kate is an artist whose paintings and artistry really inspire. We enjoyed crashing at their shotgun apartment and hanging out at the local bar listen to spoken word poetry.

The following day we also stopped at Iron Rail, an anarchist bookstore which you should visit if you're passing through...

Rain, rain, cold and wind leaving New Orleans, and HWY61 was well...a *bit* dangerous. We had to take the full lane otherwise risk passers coming too close and too fast for comfort. After passing the NORCO oil refinery we found a place to sleep at a boat launch vowing ever again to ride in the pouring rain. HWY61 continued to worsen as we got closer to Baton Rouge turning into shoulders with giant pitted cracks that were several inches deep every 3 feet. YUCK. Another scary stretch on the HWY.
But! We did find a spot to sleep in that smelled like Christmas. Collin enjoyed stacking the trees around us just for fun,and we slept well.

Lots of Mardi Gras floats on the road headed to parades all over Louisiana...


The bridge out of Baton Rouge to cross the great Mississippi constituted the last stretch of 'oh please, let us make it through this unscathed' roadway moments in Louisiana. This bridge has no shoulder, and required us to take the lane, headed up and then dropping down out of sight lines.



We traveled on towards Opelousas in hopes of finding a local bar to watch the superbowl, which of course would be conveniently located next to someplace we could sleep, 'cause being out on the road after the game seem...unwise no? We stopped at a gas station and met a nice fellow who after a brief conversation with Collin gave us $30 for whatever we needed! On top of that we'd just met Hilary, or Bill for short...and you'll hear about our adventures with him from Collin...

We made it to Eunice, LA for the game. Kick off was in 30 minutes and we searched eagerly for the perfect spot. We found nothing. Not to be dissuaded we asked the attendant at the gas station who pointed us in the right direction. After some searching, and conversations that went like...


Smash- "This place seems great, I don't like the heavy smoke, but the folk seem nice."

Collin- "Yeah but they don't have seating, seating would be nice. I think we should keep looking."

Smash- "But kick off is in 20 minutes, this seems fine."

Collin- "Meh...I think we can do better. Standing for the whole game is no fun."

Smash- "Yeah, but are we going to find a bar with seating? I think all the chairs are going to be booked."

Collin- "Looks like there are a couple of bars on HWY190."

Smash- "Meh."

Collin- "Okay, how about Ronnie's Place."

Smash- Frown.

Collin- "How about we rock, paper, scissor whether we go or not."

Smash- "No no, let's go and see."

As we pulled up to Ronnie's place we were warmly greeted by several customers who hooped and hollered and told us to hurry up and come inside for some free BBQ, cake, and beer. A nice women bestowed us with mardi gras beads and a cool guy gave me a beer coozy when I couldn't find my 'Just Rope It' coozy I picked up in Alabama. It looked like we'd found the perfect spot! locals watching the game there were so much fun to hang out with. Ronnie, the owner let us try his Jamison Whiskey Balls (WOW) and cheered the Saints on.

During the game we met 'Chicken' Dave who had helped out another biker with a flat tire. He insisted that we crash at his place. Since he didn't have a truck we were wary to ride our bikes the 3 miles there...but then in conversation he just asked Ronnie for his truck and Ronnie just dropped the keys in his hand just like that. We've never seen so many folks give so freely and honestly. We clinked our beers together and gave a cheer for Louisiana. (Or rather Acadiana as the locals say, to distinguish themselves from other parts of LA)

It was so exciting to see the Saints come back after a 10-0 difference, and that last interception touchdown was so great!


(Smash, Chicken Dave, Collin)

Lastly, I present to you, the best road sign I've ever seen.



-Smash

Who Dat? Geaux Saints go! Headed to a small town bar at the west edge of Louisiana to watch the game. Pedalpedalpedal...

It's a sad dark day in Louisiana when your Ipod up and dies. Will you live again? Attempts to revive are failing...

Hey folks, we know we've been negligent in keeping up to date with blog posts. It's been more challenging than we thought! Here are a couple small moments from the last couple of weeks...

In Ormond Beach, FL we had the opportunity to see the Fairchild Oak Tree reported to be 2,000 years old! Later we had dinner with Andrew's parents Fred and Alice, and as it turns out, Alice played a pivotal role in saving the land from development. I think she's my new favorite superhero! She gave us Fairchild Oak ribbons from the rededication ceremony, and I've just sent mine home for safe keeping.

Outside of Gainsville, FL we came across a telescope in someone's yard.



We were perplexed! I knocked on the resident's home and were greeted by Vivian. Turns out her husband purchased the telescope for $10,000 and designed the platform and 'faux' NASA text for it. He's a member of the Planetary Society and takes photo after photo of the moon, planets, and stars. Unfortunately he was at work, so were were unable to see the 'scope inside. It was however, a great experience.



In Tallahassee, FL we stayed with Lexi, Collin's awesome friend who gave us a place to stay for the night on a day that started with 30 mph winds and 97% humidity. Her and her roommates live in house with all of flair of a Portland house. So awesome! Her roommate Mary made a yummy vegan dinner and we had the best green bean casserole either of us have EVER HAD. Thank you Lexi and Mary!

Pensacola, FL...I met a man who has walked over 4,000 miles in the United States. Steven, is starting is working a project in which land will be set aside for a 200 mile walking tour of America History. With it, he hopes to create economic, social and environmental awareness to the problems we repeat, and have repeated over time. He told me that he has perfect Karma. A gift given to him by a woman he thought at the time, was crazy. On a 1,500 miles stretch he said it never rained on him once, even though the camera crew that was following him was drenched. It was FOX news. He said 'Why are you following me?' They wanted to take his picture, and then became fascinated with his journey. He said the reason they were drenched and not he, was his perfect Karma. They were after all, from FOX news.


In Perdido Key, FL a storm hit early. (4pm instead of 10pm). We quickly dove for cover and made a plan. We would sleep on the beach, and set up the tent under an awning first at a nearby resort, thus keeping the tent as dry as possible. First though, we would grab a margarita at the nearby Mexican restaurant. It continued to pour outside. Our plan *mostly* worked. We set up the tent, but hand not accounted for extreme wind. Have you ever tried to walk a tent out to the beach with 20 mph wind gusts? Good grief. We used my panniers to secure the tent inside. Collin grabbed the rest of our things while I secured water bottles to the tent rain fly ends. Feeling deserving of some comfort, we donned our swim suits and visited the hot tub at the resort behind us. It was a nice moment prior to a very long night. The wind howled, the lighting flashed, the rain thundered on the tent- and we waited patiently, for the morning.

Ahhhh.... Alabama! Our stay in Alabama was brief. We took the ferry to Dauphin Island. After looking for a place to camp we hit up the local tavern to write postcards and BE WARM. It was 40 degrees most of the day and we were cold! The Pelican Pub was just the spot. Here we met Paula, Grace, Karen, Randi, and Mitch who were watching the North vs. South football game and having a potluck dinner. Paula, the manager of the bar invited us to eat, and we stuffed ourselves with southern cornbread, cabbage, black beans, and dumplings. We had a great time chatting with them, and much laughter was had. Grace, of Grace Tyson,real estate, gave us a spot to sleep for the night in an awesome vacation house a 1/2 mile away. It was amazing! We've been completely blown away by the generosity that people have shown us on this trip. Paula, and Grace, thank you so so much!

Now we're in Bay St. Louis, MS about to enter Louisiana. Yesterday, after waking to a frosty morning, a couple stopped us on the road and gave us grapes and yogurt. Her and her husband lost their home in Katrina, and we felt humbled by their generosity in the face of having gone through so much.

Last night we stayed in Biloxi, MS. The Gulf coast here is somewhat eerie. Walkways that lead up to houses that no longer exist line the entirety of the coast line. New Casinos seems to be disrupting what looks like a small community trying to keep, or create its identity.

On a more positive note, we stayed behind a church and met Jonny this morning, a neighbor of the church, who made us cappuccinos!
Jonny was a messenger in D.C. for 12 years and has toured in Europe twice, and seen the Worlds, and was a devote Italian bike lover. He shared stories and photos while we sipped our coffee and gifted us with two wolf arrowheads from the region.

The days are packed with so many moments, it's hard to keep up! Pedaling on...

-Smash

...a route to New Orleans instead. How can we travel across Lousiana and not visit New Orleans and Baton Rouge? And away we go!

It's a frosty morning in Mississippi. Yesterday's Q of the day was...what is this trip for us? Prompting us this morning to set aside the ACA map and chart...