Day Forty
Today my allergies are at their worst. It was a grind as I rode the first 60 miles, trying to enjoy my thoughts and the beautiful landscape around me. My body was trying to reject the pollens and dusts that floated through the air, but was failing miserably I pushed on, as I didn’t want my swollen eyes to spoil a great day.
Carl and I arrived in the small town of Washington, LA for a water break, when we saw a group of bikers gathered in the shade. As we got closer, I was able to make out Joel and Nate, the two Canadians riding for Athletes for Africa. I met these two back in Hillsboro, NM, right after coming down from Emory Pass. I also saw Mark had caught up with them as well. I met Mark back in Sanderson, TX. He is retired from the Marine Special Forces, and was also a prison warden, and is now competing in triathlons. Mark is a great story teller and made be laugh constantly while I rode with him. Also hanging out in the shade was a gentleman riding a recumbent, wrapped in the stars and stripes. I recognized him immediatley from photographs I have seen on other peoples blogs about their trips. He is known as Captain America along the route, but his real name is Dave. The subculture of the trip has been very interesting. We began sharing stories of the places where we crossed paths with a lot of the same people, places, and animals. It turns out everyone had the similar love affair with Pebbles, the pit-bull from Sierra Blanca, TX. We all rode together to a Civil War Park in Simmesport, LA, where we set up camp for the evening and laughed past dark. Hanging out with the group gave me temporary relief from my allergies, but as I go to sleep, I wonder if my eyelids will open when I wake up in the morning. We shall soon see, good night from Simmesport!
Starting point: With a wonderful family in Mamou, LA
Ending point: Civil War Park in Simmesport, LA
Total miles on this day: 80.33
Total miles to date: 2165.46
Average MPH: 12.5
Max MPH: 19.9
Saddle time on this day: 6:24:54
Saddle time to date: 191:13:38
