We decided to keep the car (actually a pick up truck) so that Claire could stay an extra day and not have to cycle back to Houston. As a result, Claire drove ahead to Oberlin and then cycled back to meet me. That meant I had no panniers, which was great, as it was the first sign of any hills so far. It was mostly
gently rolling hills from Merryville to Oberlin.

Louisiana fields

When we reached Oberlin, there was nowhere open for an evening meal but we were advised that the Casino 5 miles down the road had various restaurants… So we headed down there for a meal… But, when in Rome, etc…

We had an evening’s entertainment of Blackjack and I came away having won a small amount. Not bad! Next day saw us having an early breakfast at the railroad diner next to our motel. Claire had to drive back to Houston to catch an afternoon flight back to the UK. I had to get on my bike and head for Opelousas… On my own…

In many ways, the ride to Opelousas was the prettiest so far. The road was small but quite quiet. However, the wind was against me and the route very exposed. I struggled to even cycle 6-7 miles and hour, and it was such hard going I am not sure I noticed puncture no2 straight away. Back wheel again, and I wasn’t too confident of my ability to fix this and get the wheel back on…. But thanks to the previous patient explanations and demonstrations by Rikki (AW Cycles), Emma Doyle in Houston and Claire, I managed to do it… However, this road was being resurfaced in two places over several miles… I had to get off the bike and push over very uneven ground that was at different stages of being resurfaced – Went over pot holes, gravel, sand, mud, powdered cement (what if it had rained I thought – bike and I would be embedded in Louisiana still) and mud…

The road then got easier but local roads in Opelousas were bumpy to say the least. Almost ended up on an Interstate road in the dark and didn’t reach a motel til almost 7. Fortunately the local pizza company delivered!

The next day, having already washed my clothes, I decided I had to clean the bike and oil it etc. It was caked in powdered cement. Did my maintenance job, and then set off towards Simmesport. This was definitely the coldest day so far; it really was freezing and there were reports of snow further north in Louisiana. Got my 3rd puncture – not too pleased, and it was raining again. I decided to pump it up temporarily and wait to change it somewhere a bit less exposed… But then disaster struck – the axle with the pedal unthreaded itself and fell out… I was about 4 miles from the nearest junction/village with a gas station so had to walk.

It was still freezing and of course it was raining by this stage… After eating and warming up at the gas station cafe, the troops rallied – customers and staff alike – trying to find the tools to see if a temporary repair could be made to the bike. Alas, no luck. Meanwhile Team Houston and Jane back in the UK were trying to find the nearest bike shops in case professional help was needed.

I was at this stage in Lebeau, and the nearest bike shops were in Baton Rouge – about 65 miles away. A few phone calls though and Dave - of Dave’s Bicycle Repairs – had agreed to drive all that way to come and rescue me… There was nothing for it but to wait and drink tea…. I heard lots of hunting stories about the stuffed animals in the cafe too, including a rather large black alligator. Also learnt that the snakes I had been seeing on the road (dead road kill) are cottonmouth snakes… The cavalry (Dave) arrived and we drove to Baton Rouge…