Day 39 – Back to the West!

Friday, November 28th

Baton Rouge (Arlington), LA to Livonia, LA

We woke up this morning, not expecting to ride.  The weather reports have continually predicted rain and thunderstorms for the area, but looking outside this morning we only saw clear skies.  On a whim, we decided to make a run for it.  Of course, shortly after we decided this, clouds rolled in.  The decision stood after some deliberation and sky watching, but we still had to pack everything up.  Three hours and two meals later, we thanked our magnificent hostess for the wonderful visit and comfortable surroundings (Tiffany, you rock) and went on our way.

Though the Southern Tier route directs everyone to the St Francisville ferry to cross the Mississippi, we checked the LDOT ferry listing and found the ferry wasn’t running as of Wednesday, so we had to come up with a new plan.  Luckily, the Plaquemine ferry was operating.  We decided to follow River Road to the ferry then meet up with SR 77 after Plaquemine and take that North past I-10, Hwy 190.  We didn’t know when or if  we’d hit rain, so we kept in mind a few places to stay: one in Plaquemine, one in Grosse Tete and one in Livonia.  We stopped at that because with our late start (around 11) we didn’t expect to get further than Livonia before running out of daylight.

Though sitting around for two days watching TV provided a wonderful rest for our legs, it spoiled them a bit, too.  We both started slowly on the ride down River Road, pushing against a strong wind from the Southwest and hoping our legs would warm to the idea of working hard again soon.  I almost missed the turn off for the ferry since it isn’t marked, but Dad saw the “Ferry Open” sign and we rode to the dock to wait.  When the ferry arrived, we boarded and parked the bikes then enjoyed the company of the ferry workers.  They had some great questions and words of encouragement.

We got off course trying to find a bike shop in Plaquemine and took over half an hour to find our route again.  (Spent some time looking for a Louisiana map to buy, but without any luck.)  Eventually we made it to SR 77 and began the grind.  The road wasn’t pretty and the winds were against us but we dug in and cranked over cracked, damp roads and through a light drizzle.  While I was staring ahead, a small dog with a coat the same color as the road, silently ran up behind me.  I didn’t even notice him until he was at my heels.  I yelled “No” and pedaled on.  Dad told me later that he had to yell at the dog as well, and apparently his was much more convincing than mine because the dog dropped his head almost apologetically and slunk back to the side of the road.  We stopped at a gas station where 77 turns toward Grosse Tete to relieve ourselves.  We bought a delicious cream sugar, I mean, cream soda and broke out our leftovers from Karen’s amazing Thanksgiving dinner.  Even cold, it was still delicious!  We can’t thank Karen enough for fueling us!

Riding through Grosse Tete, we stopped at two gas stations to check for Louisiana maps.  Finding nothing, we scouted out David’s Country Cottages, the only place to stay in Grosse Tete.  On the website, they looked nice enough, but the prices are listed as $85-$110 for the weekend, and considering that we might be rained in completely tomorrow, we wanted to look for something a bit cheaper.  Plus, we still had a couple hours of daylight, so we chose to move on down the road and take our chances.

Surprisingly, 77 North of I-10 is gorgeous.  A wonderful road with picturesque foliage and homes.  A delightful treat after the shredded stretch we had just covered.  Upon reaching Maringouin we had to stop again, not sure if we should follow the signs for 77 for the signs for 190 and while rolling past a small block of apartments, an old lady standing by a car outside started cracking up.  I’ve had plenty of old ladies laugh at me, but this one was pretty harsh.  Hopefully it made her day.

We pulled into a gas station and while Dad went in to look for a map while I called another member of our support staff – my boyfriend – for directions.  I interrupted his work, but he still took the time to help us find our way.  One of the many reasons I love this guy.

We forged on, but unfortunately the nicely paved part of 77 didn’t.  Rumbling over the next several miles, I hardly noticed my surroundings and we reached 190 before I knew it.  Without a map and without any city limit signs, neither of us knew if we had reached Livonia or could even remember where Livonia was supposed to be.  We continued on past Hwy 190, on to another lovely part of 77, but soon got the feeling we had gone too far.  Dad wheeled around and I eventually followed, but while catching up with Dad, I passed three Brahman cows in a field.  One, minding his own business, feeding on some hay toward the back of the field didn’t notice me, but the other two, huddled together, eyes startled wide, watched me pass too frightened to move more than their heads.  Don’t ask me why I enjoy scaring the cattle, I just do.  Since 77 is our route out of town, I hope to visit those two again tomorrow morning.

Dad turned East to check out some buildings across a bridge before we got back on Hwy 190.  After crossing the bridge, we rolled into the parking lot of the Livonia Police Station.  Yay!  We made it to Livonia after all.

Dad thought he saw the Oak Tree Inn down the street, so he offered to check it out while I hung out in the parking lot.  He zipped down the road and a police cruiser pulled up in front of me.  The officer asked if everything was ok, and I explained that we were lost and looking for the Oak Tree Inn.  He gave me directions and radioed another cop to tell Dad to turn around, but Dad was already on his way back.  The officer and I began chatting about our trip and the trouble we had today, trying to circumvent the rain.  I joked about how we had been looking for a Louisiana map the whole day and he mentioned that he had one.  While he got out of the cruiser and walked around to the trunk, Dad and the other cruiser joined us in the parking lot.  The officers gave us a Louisiana map and a map of the parish and we found out we were almost back to the Southern Tier route, for which we already had guides.  Still, we were happy to have the maps, just in case.  While the four of us chatted, another cruiser pulled up to the gathering and the officer got out to join the conversation.  We had quite the congregation going.  They asked about how we crossed the Mississippi and we explained how we had to use the Plaquemine ferry since the St. Francisville one was closed until further notice.  One of them checked and found it running.  Oh well.  Dad and I, needing to get to the motel before dark thanked them and excused ourselves.

We found the motel and got a room for just over $70 with tax.  It’s a little more than we had hoped to pay, but what other options do we have?  They sweetened the deal when they gave us two coupons for a free breakfast meal at the silver pseudo-railcar diner next door.  We cleaned up and ate a delicious turkey salad poboys at Penny’s Diner and have been watching the endings of movies since (Elf, Live Free or Die Hard, and The Fellowship of the Ring).  We checked out the weather channel too, and they say it’s supposed to rain tomorrow.  We’ll see.

Today’s Quick Stats:

Bike              Distance (mi)    Average Speed (mph)     Trip Odometer

MiniWini               *                          *                           2615.3

Sti(ck/g)           66.93                    16.5                       2605.6

Stampedes: 2

Roadside Pees: 2

* I accidentally reset my bike computer when I showed the cops how far we had come, so I don’t have stats for today.  =(