to clean up the bike....and the car! Both had layers
of dust and dirt which took elbow grease to remove!
This was Sunday morning....
Now the trusty bike gets a rest as Glenn
had decided to take a few days off.
That didn't last too long.
He was back on the bike on Wednesday to ride to work!
Just a quick update on the condition of the
SAG vehicle....After the local Buick dealer
service staff had the car for a week, it seems
that all of the little annoying problems have been
fixed! It will live to SAG another day!
We hope that you enjoyed a wonderful
Thanksgiving with family and friends!
You can see above that we had a special
family day after our long journey!
We are so very grateful for all of your donations, support and encouragement! We are pleased to announce that the total raised for I Care I Cure as of today is $8800. If you would still like to make a donation, we would be thrilled to add to this total and continue to strive toward our $10,000 goal. We hope to help make it possible for any child who suffers from cancer to have treatment that is less toxic, gentler and more humane!
getting a striped sunburn from the slits in his helmet.
Today a tissue protected his scalp!
I think he might need one of these to wear under
his helmet as our friend, Warren, does!
Glenn departed Morgan City a little earlier than most
days, at 7:30, since he wasn't quite sure what the day
would bring. He was excited and ready to roll!
I left about two hours later and meandered
past the Port of Morgan City and along several bayous
Glenn captured this riverboat on the bayou
near the Port of Morgan City. It turns out that
it is the Amelia Belle Casino! Now this might
attract me to play my $5 on the slots but the
many gas station casinos along the route
were not very appealing :)
This is where I knew that my route to find Glenn today
might be a bit challenging! Glenn had mentioned all of these
roads and there they were all at one intersection! I called
him to confirm which way to go. Below are the directions
he printed out this morning for us both to follow...no mileage
and lots of turns and winding through neighborhoods.
When I finally met up with him at step 35, we decided to
parts ways and I headed to New Orleans with 30 miles to go.
From Morgan City to Tulane University 7 hr 0 min (85 mi) 1. Head west on Allison St toward Dr M.L.K. Jr Blvd 2. Turn left onto Dr M.L.K. Jr Blvd 3. Turn left onto US-90 BUS E 4. Turn right onto Duhon Blvd/Duhon Bypass Rd/LA-182 Frontage S 5. Turn left onto LA-182 Frontage S 6. Turn left onto LA-182 Frontage N 7. Turn right onto LA-182 E/US-90 BUS E 8. Continue onto LA-20 9. Slight right onto Par Rd 32 10. Continue onto LA-20 E 11. Turn right onto Palmetto St 12. Palmetto St turns left and becomes Patrick Dr 13. Turn right onto Vine St 14. Turn left onto Mulberry St 15. Turn right to stay on Mulberry St 16. Turn right onto Back Project Rd/Par Rd 25 17. Turn left onto Isle of Cuba Rd/Par Rd 28 18. Slight left onto Helen Park Place 19. Turn right onto Clara St 20. Turn right onto W Main St/Ms22109 133000010 21. Turn left onto Waterplant Rd 22. Continue onto Old Hwy 650 23. Turn right onto Burma Rd 24. Continue onto Grandmaw Ln 25. Turn right onto LA-1 S 26. Turn left at LA-182 W 27. Turn right onto LA-308 S 28. Turn left onto LA-182 E 29. Turn left onto US-90 E 30. Turn left onto Paul Maillard Rd 31. Turn left at River Rd 32. Sharp right onto Mississippi River Trail 33. Turn left onto LA-18 E/River Rd 34. Slight left onto LA-18 35. Turn left onto US-90 E 36. Take the I-90(E) ramp to Jefferson Hwy 37. Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Louisiana 48 38. Slight right onto US-90 E (signs for LA-48 E) 39. Turn right onto Shrewsbury Ct 40. Turn left to stay on Shrewsbury Ct 41. Turn left onto Mississippi River Trail 42. Turn left toward Burdette St 43. Continue onto Burdette St 44. Turn right onto Hampson St 45. Turn left onto Broadway St 46. Sharp right at Oak St 47. Turn left toward Zimpel St 48. Turn right toward Zimpel St 49. Continue onto Zimpel St 50. Arrive at location: Tulane University
Happy to see a bike friendly area running along the bayou!
At first I thought these were cat tails.....
Until I found these!!!!
Hmmmm....I was tempted to stop in here!
Today on Facebook and Instagram I got a little cheesy
with a caption for these pix.
"I couldn't "Bayou" a better view than this one!"
Sorry :)
Now I know that this is sugar cane!
I got quite an education yesterday!
I guess the zoning here works for animals grazing in the front yard!
A Parish Road...not a state or county.
Another of these colorful eye-catching road signs in LA
One bridge closer to New Orleans
From Glenn's bike seat!
Another sugar mill in Raceland, LA
This is where Glenn and I finally found each other after
he had been on the road for 4 1/2 hours! He was
fine and just hopped in the car for lunch. Glenn
headed out on his own to reconnect with me in
New Orleans on the Tulane University Campus.
Only one small glitch marred an otherwise perfect day!
Shortly after Glenn left me, he had one last flat tire!
I delighted in taking highways for the last
30 miles. The morning of small roads and
so many turns was hard work. This was
mindless driving into NOLA!
Mississippi River!
Glenn said to think of him as a drop of water that
fell on the eastern side of the Continental Divide in
New Mexico and now made it to the Mississippi River!
This says, better than even Glenn could, what it feels
like on a bicycle. Such accurate words from Ernest!
Glenn's first glimpse of the New Orleans Skyline!
My drive-by shooting of the NOLA skyline
and the Super Dome!
It was such a shame to waste this lovely area right outside of our
room in today's hotel. Too busy to enjoy it except for a few minutes!
Off through New Orleans Uptown District on
the way to Tulane University to meet Glenn.
Tulane University Admissions Office
We first spent some time here in 1994 when
our daughter, Jill, visited the campus as
a high school junior. It turned out that she spent
all but her junior year abroad at Tulane.
That is why Glenn chose the campus as his
final destination today. We have fond memories
of many visits to NOLA and the campus!
When Jill attended H. Sophie Newcomb College
was the women's college of Tulane.
And here he comes!
Easy ride into the Big Easy!
After Glenn's arrival at Tulane, we headed to the
hotel before a celebratory dinner!
Our very Jazzy New Orleans hotel for the night
Our view for the day and night
Not a bad work area!
Today's Stats
81.77 miles on the 19th riding day of this trip!
That old Irish blessing worked today:
May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face.
These things and the 55 foot ascent today
made for a very pleasant ride!
Glenn arrived at Tulane at 3 PM today!
We added up all of the miles for the trip and the
grand total for Glenn on his bike is 1390.62 miles!
We walked to dinner at an old favorite from Jill's
Tulane days, Mr. B's Bistro on Royal Street.
Saw some interesting things on the way.
Filming of a horror film, Half to Death, was going on just
around the corner from our hotel. Thankfully, we only saw the trucks,
signs and crew....no action on the street at that time!
Cheers! What is a visit to NOLA without a Hurricane?!
I much prefer the liquid kind to the weather kind!
After eating his dinner, half of mine and a shared
dessert, Glenn decided to order Profiteroles!
Catching up on all of those lost calories!
The charm of the street car in New Orleans
isn't lost on us! We've enjoyed many rides up
St.Charles from the French Quarter to Tulane!
A welcome sign just for us!
This seems like a good time to share some of my feelings and thoughts about this journey and its conclusion today. At one point, when Glenn mentioned doing this ride, I said that he would have to find someone else to drive his SAG vehicle for this one. Nothing about driving across the desert and Texas appealed to me. As I have each time, I finally agreed to do this trip but with trepidation. Would we find places to stay along this route and what would we find when we reached each one? Would we have to worry about bed bugs? Would the roads be safe for Glenn with animals roaming or, worse yet, people who don't like cyclists on the roads? Could his body take so many consecutive days of riding for so many miles each day? Would I be safe pulling off the desolate roads to wait for Glenn? Would we find gas and food on the route? Would three weeks be too long? Would our phones work? Would anyone read the blog? Would our little grandsons forget who we are? Would we run out of underwear? (By the way, we found the lost underwear and bicycle light!) Is it possible that we could actually do this and return home safe and sound? Well, now I can say with certainty that we survived it all and are even talking about next year's ride!
When these concerns arose, it merely took thinking about our purpose for these rides to put everything into perspective and to force me to move forward. When my sister and brother-in-law founded I Care I Cure, I never realized how important this cause would become in our lives. It's such a helpless feeling when a child in the family is ill and you can't do a thing about it. We couldn't help Ian then but we can help I Care I Cure insure that other children are provided with less toxic, gentler and more humane treatment for childhood cancers. Every ride we do helps us to feel like we are part of the solution.
Finally, I do have regrets about the journey's conclusion today. I should have planned a grand celebration at the end of the ride. When Glenn rode in I didn't have champagne, signs or confetti. There was no band, cheering crowd or paparazzi. I decided right then that next year we will have family, friends and fun at the end of the ride! When Glenn rides from Phoenix to San Diego next year, he will have pedaled the entire perimeter of the US. Now that is definitely something to celebrate! Join us!
One last word from my new phriend, Phlash Phelps!
I'm so thrilled to announce that our fundraising
total as of last night is $8033. We are so grateful
to all for donations large and small! It is not too
Perfect to complete our ride around the entire perimeter of the USA!
Our Inspiration
Our nephew, Ian, lost his battle with Leukemia in 2006. I Care I Cure was founded by his family to support research for gentler more humane treatment for childhood cancers. He is always in our hearts and thoughts! Click on Ian's photo to DONATE NOW! Thanks so much!
Founded by the Besner Family
Thanks to Ride!Venice
They are providing bikes for the entire family to pedal the last 3 miles of the journey! Thanks to Ride!Venice for their generous support!
