Goodbye Texas, hello Louisiana

Monday April 17th. Day 43 Silsbee to Deridder (LA). 72 miles or 117 km. Day 20 in Texas.

I was awakened really early by the horns of trains. Every 10 minutes or so a train would leave and blow its horn many times. Not much sense to stay in bed while awake. So by 7.20 am I was on the road. This was my last day in Texas. Almost 3 weeks! The wind was calm and the roads mainly flat. I was making great time.

My thoughts were often wandering towards cycling Baton Rouge and New Orleans later this week. It will be a huge challenge. One day at a time I reminded myself. Things can change so quickly.

At 10.15 am I said goodbye to Texas, finally! Almost 3 weeks. Such a big state. There was a bridge between Texas and Louisiana. But once across I saw the welcome sign. There was no one to take a picture of me and the sign so only the sign is in the picture.

Around noon I saw a nice picnic table so time for lunch. I already had cycled 80 km so lots of time to relax.

Bon Wier has a population of 1100 people so it was quiet except for several logging trucks speeding by. I noticed that the road had a wide shoulder but there were many small pieces of wood spread out on the shoulder. The birds kept me company during my 30 minute break. I called the RV park and they allow tents for $10.00 a night. There is a gazebo with power so a great place for the night.

The last 30 or so km were easy and by 1.30 pm I saw the welcome sign from Deridder where the camping is. I also noticed that a pickup truck pulled over and a woman was waving me down. Her name is Sue and she is an avid cyclist herself.  She wanted to buy me lunch but because I already had eaten, we settled on a coffee. The place is called: "Flat Tire Coffee Company". So off I went but something didn't feel right. I had a FLAT tire. Can you believe it! So now I had to wave down Sue as well as a guy to help me get Annie in the back of the truck. Sue has a friend who can fix my back tire tonight. I am not sure where I'll be staying tonight but for sure not at the RV park. 

 I am waiting for Sue to come back from running some errands and then we figure things out.

We'll drive to Walmart so I can pick up some food for tomorrow.  Then a friend will drop by to help me fix my tire, and then we go out for some Southern food.

My tire is fixed, Susan and I went out for dinner, my tent is up, and my bed is ready.

What an afternoon. Thank goodness that Sue waved me down as I would have been up the creek without a peddle. I even will be able to shower tomorrow morning before I hit the road. Time to get inside the tent before the mosquitoes get me.