Day 38 - Vidalia, Louisiana to New Roads, Louisiana (87 Miles)

Long hot ride today. It is still summer down here! I shipped my cold weather clothing back to Minnesota so my load is a little lighter. Hopefully this nice Louisiana summer weather will last at least through the weekend, by which time I will have completed my journey.

The most interesting feature of the ride today was the large dams I passed that are operated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The dams are designed to see to it that The River does not take any shortcuts on its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. The Atchafalaya River takes a much more direct route to the Gulf and for years more and more water from the River was diverting to the Atchafalya. (I do understand the water's impatience to get to the Gulf faster! :-)) Well, the threat of the River changing course entirely presented a real threat to the folks in Baton Rouge and New Orleans who relay heavily on the River for a wide variety of things ranging from drinking water to hydroelectric power. So the U.S. Corps of Engineers constructed and operate these huge dams that assure that only 30% of the River's water is diverted to the Atchafalaya.

Much of the ride today was along the levee. The River this year rose by over 60 feet, making it the largest River flood since at least 1927! The levee held, but much of the levee in Mississippi and Louisiana is under repair. And anything inside of the levee (such as the campground I stayed at last night) was seriously flooded this spring and summer.

I apparently hit a stone on a rough patch of the road today and it cut a hole in the sidewall of my tire exposing the tube. There is no way I will be able to finish the ride without replacing that tire, so I will need to take care of that tomorrow.

I met some guys when I pulled in for the night who were on a traveling crew that works on water cooling systems for heated water discharged from power plants and other industrial uses. They were cooking a wonderful southern feast that included alligator, chicken, pork and boudin. They invited me to join them for a great meal. Thanks to James, Kevin, Frankie James and the rest of the crew for the fantastic food and companionship.