Day 17 - Hammond, La, 58 miles, 769 miles total

Riding through towns in the south can be quite a challenge due to the lack of any biking infrastructure, as I've mentioned earlier.  So I was very happy to learn about the Tammany Trace trail, which is a beautiful, paved trail that runs from Slidell to Covington, Louisiana, a distance of about 30 miles.

The Tammany Trace Trail marker

The east end of the Tammany Trace Trail

Anybody hear banjos?

The Bridge over Bayou Lacombe

Bayou Lacombe

At Bayou Lacombe I met Dan, a 72 year old retired school superintendent.  We rode together for 10 miles or so, talking about our lives and experiences.  Dan has had two knee replacements and, more recently, rotator cuff surgery.  He is doing quite well because he is one of those people who actually does what his Physical Therapist tells him to do.  

At the same time, I met Catherine, who was also out for a day ride on the Trace, as they call it.  She told me a bit about the Natchez Trace, a 400-plus mile bike route a couple of hours away from Slidell.  It sounds like a great ride, and I'd like to do it someday.  I didn't learn too much about Catherine because Dan was quite the talker and pretty much dominated the conversation.  But she did say she had a teenage son whom she seemed very proud of.

After Dan and Catherine left, I continued riding on the Trace and soon came to the quaint little town of Abita Springs.  It was very alluring,with some quaint restaurants and a micro brew pub.  If I only had more time.

The center of town at Abita Springs

The second ghost bike of the trip.  R.I.P. (name unknown)

Near the west end of the Tammany Trace

When the Trace ended I had another 28 or so miles to go, much of it on busy, shoulderless sections of Hwy 190.  Most of it had a good shoulder, but there was way too much of it that didn't.

I stopped for lunch along the way and was approached by a gentleman named Martin, who was interested in my journey.  We ended up having lunch together, and he told me about several bike tours he had done in France,  his favorite vacation place.  He was hit by a car while living in south Florida and had to have two vertebrae fused in his neck because of it.  But apparently he came into quite a bit of money from the lawsuit, so he went back to France with the purpose of spending it, he said with a big grin.

I head to Baton Rouge tomorrow, and my biggest obstacle is getting across the Mississippi River on one of two bridges, neither of which have any shoulder whatsoever.  At this point I'm thinking of calling a taxi.

NEXT---)