Jackson LA to Bogalusa LA
May 18, 2015
92 miles
Louisiana's scenery is vibrantly green and lush it is hard not to just marvel at the beauty as you ride along the roads. The morning was so glorious that as the day heated up I thought this could be a great no rain ride. That would be a first in many days for us. I was thinking this could be one of the greatest rides of the trip. Then I started to remember how what starts out as such a great ride can turn just as quickly into a troubled ride. This had happened in Texas quite a bit. Usually the wind would come up in the afternoon. That can take an easy cruiser day and turn it into some real work. Royce met up with be right around 11 and I probably had logged 40 miles by then. We pedaled our way to the car were we would have lunch. We were riding on Hwy 38 and later the 440 road. These roads had little to no shoulder. Loaded logging trucks provided for a majority of the traffic on the road. This tests your nerves a bit, but the drivers in LA were very good about slowing and moving over when passing. About 5 miles before we reached the car our nice sunny day turned to rain. The rain became rather significant and we chose to wait the storm out underneath a broad leaf tree and some thick brush that provided some nice cover. Once the rain passed we scurried to the car where we had lunch. We checked our weather apps on our cell phones. The radar showed one cell that would hit Franklinton in about an hour, other than that it looked clear. We set out for the next part of our ride. Once we got to Franklinton it became apparent that the next rain shower was upon us. Royce turned back and I continued to ride to Bogalusa. At that point I had about 24 miles left. Piece of cake I told Royce even if I get rained on with only 24 miles left it cannot get that bad. How wrong I was. About 45 minutes after we parted ways the clouds became very dark. As I rode along I could see dark clouds layered and dropping. The skies lost any blue hue they may have had. The thunder started booming and the lightning cracking. The skies wasted no time in sending a deluge of rain upon us. I had added my good heavy rain jacket to my pack after lunch. I jumped into the bushes again thinking I could wait out the storm. The rain was coming down hard. I had thrown my cell phone in the rear pocket of my jacket the only possible place it might remain dry. I huddled under a large tree, my back pressed against it's trunk. I had hoped that at least my cell phone might stay dry because everything else was soaked within 5 minutes of the rain starting. I sat under that tree for 30 minutes listening to the thunder boom and crack. It did not move it was just sitting there stalled and dumping rain. Then finally the rain slowed and I heard the thunder shift finally moving farther away. I knew Royce must had been in the same situation as I had not heard from him. If he had made it back to the car he would be calling me to see why I was not moving. I was already wet to the core. I had nothing to loose. I jumped on my bike and rode as hard as I could. I was not sure how far I was away from Bogalusa. I just wanted shelter. Today the majority of our ride was in forested lands. Still it was not uncommon to find a church or store in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. As I peddled I had noticed that the thunder that seemed to have moved farther away, actually just seemed to have shifted to the north. The rain began to fall hard again. Cars sped past me, probably thinking I was a crazy person. After riding about 7 miles I came to an intersection. On the corner of the intersection was the Bogalusa Baptist Church. Next to the church was a covered carport. Perfect. I did not slow down. I made a mad dash across their flooded lawn and into the carport.....safe. I called Royce to check on his status. He had just made it back to the car. He too had been hunkered down in a thicket waiting for the storm to pass. He too had made the decision that wet is wet and I need to get out of here. As it turned out these decisions served us well. That storm continued for another 2 hours and dropped over 2 inches for rain. We were both thankful to get into a warm hotel room. I guess it is good to test your survival skills once in a while.
May 18, 2015
92 miles
Louisiana's scenery is vibrantly green and lush it is hard not to just marvel at the beauty as you ride along the roads. The morning was so glorious that as the day heated up I thought this could be a great no rain ride. That would be a first in many days for us. I was thinking this could be one of the greatest rides of the trip. Then I started to remember how what starts out as such a great ride can turn just as quickly into a troubled ride. This had happened in Texas quite a bit. Usually the wind would come up in the afternoon. That can take an easy cruiser day and turn it into some real work. Royce met up with be right around 11 and I probably had logged 40 miles by then. We pedaled our way to the car were we would have lunch. We were riding on Hwy 38 and later the 440 road. These roads had little to no shoulder. Loaded logging trucks provided for a majority of the traffic on the road. This tests your nerves a bit, but the drivers in LA were very good about slowing and moving over when passing. About 5 miles before we reached the car our nice sunny day turned to rain. The rain became rather significant and we chose to wait the storm out underneath a broad leaf tree and some thick brush that provided some nice cover. Once the rain passed we scurried to the car where we had lunch. We checked our weather apps on our cell phones. The radar showed one cell that would hit Franklinton in about an hour, other than that it looked clear. We set out for the next part of our ride. Once we got to Franklinton it became apparent that the next rain shower was upon us. Royce turned back and I continued to ride to Bogalusa. At that point I had about 24 miles left. Piece of cake I told Royce even if I get rained on with only 24 miles left it cannot get that bad. How wrong I was. About 45 minutes after we parted ways the clouds became very dark. As I rode along I could see dark clouds layered and dropping. The skies lost any blue hue they may have had. The thunder started booming and the lightning cracking. The skies wasted no time in sending a deluge of rain upon us. I had added my good heavy rain jacket to my pack after lunch. I jumped into the bushes again thinking I could wait out the storm. The rain was coming down hard. I had thrown my cell phone in the rear pocket of my jacket the only possible place it might remain dry. I huddled under a large tree, my back pressed against it's trunk. I had hoped that at least my cell phone might stay dry because everything else was soaked within 5 minutes of the rain starting. I sat under that tree for 30 minutes listening to the thunder boom and crack. It did not move it was just sitting there stalled and dumping rain. Then finally the rain slowed and I heard the thunder shift finally moving farther away. I knew Royce must had been in the same situation as I had not heard from him. If he had made it back to the car he would be calling me to see why I was not moving. I was already wet to the core. I had nothing to loose. I jumped on my bike and rode as hard as I could. I was not sure how far I was away from Bogalusa. I just wanted shelter. Today the majority of our ride was in forested lands. Still it was not uncommon to find a church or store in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. As I peddled I had noticed that the thunder that seemed to have moved farther away, actually just seemed to have shifted to the north. The rain began to fall hard again. Cars sped past me, probably thinking I was a crazy person. After riding about 7 miles I came to an intersection. On the corner of the intersection was the Bogalusa Baptist Church. Next to the church was a covered carport. Perfect. I did not slow down. I made a mad dash across their flooded lawn and into the carport.....safe. I called Royce to check on his status. He had just made it back to the car. He too had been hunkered down in a thicket waiting for the storm to pass. He too had made the decision that wet is wet and I need to get out of here. As it turned out these decisions served us well. That storm continued for another 2 hours and dropped over 2 inches for rain. We were both thankful to get into a warm hotel room. I guess it is good to test your survival skills once in a while.
 |
| A nice shelter |
 |
| A welcome sight |
 |
| Yep...I am all wet |
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