By David Freeze

In August of 2022, I planned the Mississippi River final day’s ride from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on to New Orleans. Without any real concerns, I had heard about a chance of showers in the afternoon with some heavy thunderstorms in the area. The ride was just over 80 miles and there were no real hills. I even expected to finish with some time to walk around the city.

I started early, as usual. The roads were often in poor repair and had lots of metal in the form of screws, nails, wire and lots of glass. All are big concerns to a cyclist. The rain came early in the afternoon with big winds and heavy downpours. Just afterwards, I had the first flat tire of the whole trip just over halfway to New Orleans. Then I had two more and all my tubes were used up. Darkness wasn’t far away. Very fortunate to have an option, I called David Bourg, a resident of nearby Paulina who I had just met when he stopped to help on the last tube replacement. David drove me into the city, a round trip of over 80 miles for him. All he wanted was for me to pay it forward! I did not complete what amounted to 36 miles on the bicycle along the river. I had a train to catch to Salisbury so finishing this had been on my mind for the better part of 15 months.

I envisioned 3-4 days to fix this. I included cycling north of Laplace to a Marathon convenience store, exactly where David picked me up after the final flat. Then most of another day to ride on into New Orleans to Jackson Square to complete the ride with several photos to prove it. And I wanted to visit David and Lynne Bourg, especially after their invitation to stay with them. David is an engineer for Valero’s refinery in Norco, very near to LaPlace.

My drive to LaPlace got off to a slow start on Friday, Oct. 20, due to wind, rain and hail in China Grove and interstate slowdowns due to several major wrecks in the area. I left just after 4 p.m. and only made 100 miles in the first three hours, but then the pace picked up. I slept a few hours in two different rest areas and arrived just past noon on Saturday after changing to the Central Time Zone. I quickly rode to the Marathon store, had the same grumpy cashier from a year ago, and returned to Laplace. Fourteen miles done and two photos taken!

With a room at the Days Inn, I ran in the dark on Sunday morning, then hopped on the bike during one of the heaviest fogs I have ever experienced. My red light was working, and I had plenty of shoulder to ride on. With not a real hill in sight, I rode south into the gradually lifting fog. Choices of riding on the levee into New Orleans to avoid the city, or not, were on my mind. I decided to take the city head-on.

Following my old friend, U.S. Highway 61, I went straight into the city where 61 is also called Tulane Avenue. I made a few turns to ride through the French Quarter. Jammed with people and too many cars, I tried to follow what was supposed to be a bike lane. Cars were just parked on top of it, and nobody seemed to follow traffic lights or signs prohibiting turns. Lots of people who appeared just a tad odd were on display.

I rode right up to extremely crowded Jackson Square, what I consider the center of town. The Mississippi is beautiful here, the steamboats are moored nearby with street performers and vendors everywhere. Horse drawn carriages and beignets are close also. I took an hour to watch the river with a few massive ships and plenty of smaller vessels going by. I saw two steamboats depart on their tours. Most remarkable was a military jet flyover to commemorate my ride completion!

The ride back over the same road was uneventful, except for the first time I saw all the massive refineries along the river without fog or darkness. One after another. They are even more spectacular when seen at night, with all the lights and a few fires burning from smokestacks.

I visited David and Lynne, had some wonderful ice cream and fought a few mosquitoes, before leaving at almost dark. We had recapped our meeting the year before and how much he helped me out of a tight spot. They hope to vacation in North Carolina.

My drive home was anything but uneventful, I suddenly lost power in my truck just north of Montgomery, Alabama. A part called a MAF sensor went bad and got me a wonderful AAA ride on Brian Martin’s rollback and excellent service at Son’s Ford in Auburn. Alabama. The part arrived the next day, and with Veronica in customer service’s help, I was on the road again by noon. I did get to run through Auburn University and saw the spectacular football stadium.

Friday night through Tuesday night, 1,551 driving miles, two time zones and 74 cycling miles all needed to complete the Mississippi River. I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it! Thanks for riding along, once again! I am already wondering what’s next.