Day 33: July 22: Plaquemine to La Place LA: 88 miles

Pictures to come later.

We woke up early because we have a long day ahead of us. We were not able to make much for progress yesterday, so we must get some miles behind us today. We also wanted to beat some of the rain headed our way. We had a GREAT breakfast at the Best Western in Plaquemine and then quickly packed and headed out on the roads. Traffic is starting to get much heavier as we get closer to New Orleans.

Day 32: July 21: New Roads to Plaquemine LA: 60 miles

Pictures to come later.

We slept in after the long day yesterday of bad roads, and a rediculous number of flat tires. Katie spent a little time playing with the ducks in the water under the cabin. We made it about a block before we realized my tire was not really fixed, and there we sat on the side of the road changing my tube again! We finally made it to breakfast at Burger King at lunchtime.

We made it out of town dodging garbage cans placed in the shoulder.

Day 31: July 20: Vidalia to New Roads LA: 90 miles

We woke up (slowly) and started to head south on highway 15. This was a streatch of nearly 50 miles of nothingness. A levee along the road was all we saw, even though a beautiful and huge nature preserve was on the other side. Too bad the road wasn't on top of the levee. The road was in horrible shape, and the headwind was really dragging us down. We slowly dodged potholes at 8mph. I can't say it looked like anyone was having much fun.

The roads here in Louisianna are horrid. Many of their paved roads are far harder to ride on than gravel. I simply cannot understand how the area expects to attract any employers with such a terrible transportation infrastructure.

Day 30: July 19: Port Gibson MS to Vidalia LA: 52 miles

We woke up excited for our first B&B that actually included both B's. We were all very disappointed to discover that breakfast consisted of cold cereal. What a ripoff. I cannot recommend the Bernheimer house, considering their pricing methods and lack of breakfast. Super 8 had far nicer breakfasts.

Jumping on the Natchez Trace Parkway, we covered our first 20 miles quickly. The Trace is sure a nice smooth ride. The hills are long but not very steep so the mile markers flew past. The temps were in the 70s, which is amazing for this time of year. Awesome!

At our first break, we all quickly took to our normal duties. Roger stood around smiling while the rest of us veg'ed.

Day 29: July 18: Vicksburg to Port Gibson MS: 49 miles

After such a long day yesterday, we slept in until 7:00, had breakfast at the Quality Inn in Vicksburg, and headed out. We called ahead and made a reservation at a Bed and Breakfast in Port Gibson. It was going to be a little expensive, but we would only need one room, and there was not a lot of choices in the area. The other hotel we called did not designate smoking versus non-smoking rooms, so we had to skip them.

Here is a picture Chris took. He wanted to know what it looked like to have sunblock put on.

Day 29: July 18: Vicksburg to Port Gibson MS: More info

Pictures to be posted later..........

We slept in until 7 and had a decent breakfast at the hotel. We landed up getting the last 2 rooms that the hotel had, and we were short on beds so Chuck and Taters took the floor. Before leaving we booked a room at a B&B in Port Gibson. I explained to them that we were sight seeing on bicycle, and would not arrive until later. We were told the price and reserved the room.

The MRT route through Vicksburg is confusing and possibly marked wrong. We ended up doing a huge circle....very frustrating.

Fisher Ferry road out of Vicksburg is hilly, no shoulder, and insane traffic. This road should NOT be part of a bike route, it is VERY dangerous. Eventually it does become a nice road however; we enjoyed it after the traffic disappeared.

Day 28: July 17: Greenville MS to Vicksburg MS: 112 miles

We woke up at 5:00 to get an early start on our upcoming long day. The hotel staff at the Hampton Inn in Greenville even had breakfast ready a half hour earlier for us. They also let us take their "Breakfast to go bags" so we would have a snack for later in the morning.

Our first stop of the day was at Roy's Store located on Roy's Store Road. We had drinks and breakfast sandwiches, and were back on the road.

Day 27: July 16: Greenville MS to Greenville MS: 5 miles

We slept in and got a quick breakfast from Super 8. I called the bike shop and he was open so we headed over to hopefully get my trike fixed. Kwik Keys and Bikes said that they had 20" rims in stock.

Apparently I shouldn't let the girls sleep in.....Taters had enough energy to sit in the room pedaling her bike backwards.

A lot of people like to photograph us with their phones. Outside of Kwick Keys and Bikes I photographed a guy photographing Roger.

Day 26: July 15: Lula MS to Greenville MS: 95 miles

We woke up early at the Isle of Capri Casino hotel in Lula MS. We searched for breakfast but nothing was open at 6:00, so we resorted to "women's restroom stew" (oatmeal in it's packet for those of you not up on the lingo :) ) Then we hit the road hard because we had a big day ahead of us!

Day 25: July 14: West Helena Ar to Lula Ms: 12 miles

We left Best Western after sleeping in and headed for Subway. The cardboard statue of Jarad suggested we eat a sub with 6 grams of fat or less..........so we did. Today is a rest day for us, we are tired and have a very long gap between towns tomorrow. After a rest day today, we should be ready for a big HOT day tomorrow. Temps are expected to be near 100, not including the heat index. Also, we need a chance to let our stuff dry out.

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