Joining us last night in Merryville was Mark from Denver (see photo). He is riding the Southern Tier unsupported (carrying his gear) and started several days before us. So he's a strong rider, since he's keeping pace with us. We enjoy talking with other riders about the route and other places they have done bicycle touring (Peru in Mark's case).
The Merryville Historical Society members cooked dinner for us last night. What a nice welcome to Louisiana! The four ladies shown in the center and right of the next photo did the cooking. First was a cold carrot soufflé and cornbread muffins. Next, red beans and rice, followed by jambalaya. Dessert was bread pudding made with French bread, apple caramel cake and brownies. If you were still hungry, it was your own fault! Flynn has a full plate. Shown seated from bottom left clockwise are Terry, Julie, Linda, Bob Plant, Flynn, Rhodri, Bob Pedersen, Julianne, Carol, Andre, Bob G, Mark, Ken and Jerry. (Mitch was sitting at another table.)
The Merryville Historical Society has a don't-miss reputation for their hospitality and exhibits of area history. Adventure Cycling nominated them for an award (well-deserved).
The tall, straight pine trees in the area are loblolly and slash. The latter is fast-growing. See photo of pine cones for the two.
The Merryville area was known as No-Man's Land during and after the Civil War. It was not part of the Big Thicket of Texas, but was similarly lawless. Lumbering led to the town's founding. It was originally called Hog Town, later changed to Merryville because its residents were jolly.
Last night we thought sleeping would be good because there would be no freight trains and minimal car traffic in tiny Merryville. Well, the train DID come through town, with the engineer really laying on the horn. Then a dog just over the fence from our tents barked all night. At one point its head got stuck in the garbage can. You can imagine the rich variety of sounds that provided!
This morning we said good-by to Julie White (see photo). She will bike unsupported to Nashville via the Natchez Trace, then home to Black Mountain, NC. Julie was our assistant leader from San Diego to Phoenix, then rode with us and unofficially helped Mitch and Julianne. We will miss her laugh and straight-talking style. We gave her several presents to use on the ride home, and a bag of Texas chip seal as a souvenir.
The Historical Society ladies served up a great breakfast this morning: peach preserves on warm French bread, and an egg-and-sausage casserole. What's not to like? We also had another opportunity to review museum contents, like a letter describing a Civil War battle by Merryville (see photo).
We posed with other riders for a good-by photo. Kneeling are Linda, Mitch and Christy. Sitting are Bob G, Julianne, Bruce, Andre, Bob Plant and Terry. Standing are Bob Pedersen, Rhodri, Ken, Julie, Flynn, Jerry, Dave, Chris and Mark. (Carol had stepped away.)
Today was a leisurely day of 54 miles with a headwind of 5-15 mph. The terrain was flat or gentle rollers, with road shoulders OK but not as good as yesterday. When we left it was misting slightly. It stayed overcast until afternoon, then was sunny. I was sweating in my tent in the morning, and never needed a sleeping bag last night.
We rode 18 miles to DeRidder, where the coffee drinkers were delighted to find Java Joe's Coffee, a shop that can spell "mocha". We piled in and enjoyed their lemon and poppyseed tea bread too. Bob G showed us another use of duct tape (see photo of shoe repair).
We then spent a most interesting half hour across the street in the former train depot, now the Beauregard County Museum. Our host was exceptionally knowledgeable about the area and showed real Southern hospitality and charm. See photo of him with antique quilt made from rags in the '30's. Turpentine and pine oil were also produced in the area. The museum also had a beautiful stained glass work of logging (see photos).
Down the street is the Gothic-style "hanging jail" (see photo). The condemned walked up a two-story circular staircase to the gallows. The trip down was faster.
Our museum host told us to watch for the white sand bars of the Calcasieu River as we neared our destination town of Oberlin. The next photo shows Jerry, Carol and Bob Plant on the river bridge. We are having an experience right out of "O Brother Where Art Thou?" In the distance on a sandbar is a quartet singing gospel and playing acoustic instruments. So of course we went down to the river, where we met the Lindley Creek Bluegrass Band, who are on the road and were shooting a video in the pristine setting. We had a nice chat; they may be touring near Jerry's church in the fall.
Around this point Bob Plant got a flat in his rear tire. We couldn't spot the cause. He put on two different brand-new tubes; both were defective. A third new tube finally took air. A ding on Specialized and Bontrager tubes' reputations.
We arrived at the Oberlin Motel, and promptly hung our tents (wet from dew and rain) out to dry. Looks like gypsies have taken over (see photo).
I will end this long post here, and pick up with dinner in tomorrow's post. A most interesting day!
Bruce
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