Merryville to Oberlin, LA

Today we rode on through De Ridder from Merryville, where we stopped to try to get an inner tube for Olaf. This looked like an interesting town.

The first part of the day we had a 13mph headwind. After we turned SE the wind was at our back and much more pleasant. We arrived in Oberlin to find that there was no camping option, so we are staying in a motel. We took the shuttle to a casino where we had the all you can eat buffet - and people were certainly eating all they could!

The terrain is changing again. We are seeing rice fields and sugar cane as well as cotton. We are also in Cajun country with bayous and swamp areas.

Austin to Bastrop to Carmine To Richards To Silsbee to Coldspring to Merryville Texas

We have just crossed over from Texas into Louisiana today. Our time in Texas was fascinating and the terrain varied from desert to hills to forests for the last couple of days. We also have crossed into much flatter countryside which has been an enjoyable change from the hill country.

Some highlights from the last week:

Bastrop state park is recovering from a fire last year and evidence of the damage is extensive. New growth is flourishing and we enjoyed our ride from there through the rest of the park.

In Richards we stayed at Checkpoint Harley. It is a working farm and biker haven with cabins, A fresh water pool and kitchen facilities. Ernie and Doris were very hospitable and let some of our group milk the cows and feed the calves. They seemed to be living the frontier life and enjoying it.

We had really good Texas BBQ at the Smoking Gun in Coldspring just outside the state park we were camping at

It was a long 75 miles into Silsbee. But was not too difficult as it was mostly flat.

Tonight we are staying at the Museum in Merryville, LA. The town's ladies are preparing dinner for us. They have been preparing dinner for bikers for the last 30 years.

Layover day on Austin

Last night we saw the display of up to 750 000 bats leaving their nesting / under the bridge downtown to go out in search of food. It was quite a sight

We started the day by doing our laundry and enjoying Berger cookies, Turkish delights and halvah sent by Tamara and Dana (for Errol's birthday).

We had fun checking out Lance Armstrong's bike shop and the State Capitol building. We also went to the original Whole Foods - it is quite overwhelming.

We had delicious fro-yo as you can see.

To end the day we had a great Mexican dinner at Guera's on Congress street. It has been a really nice day off from the hectic pace on the road.

Tomorrow we are back on the road!

Days 31-35 into Austin

We have had very spotty internet service, combined with long tiring days which is why we are behind with our posts.

We have been traversing west Texas, through the Hill Country, which has some very steep ascents and descents and beautiful vistas.

On the way to Big Oak Campground we met Renee and her father. Renee is a teacher and her father is an 83 year old, retired after working for Marathon oil for 40 years. They told us how the cattle ranches have been very hard hit by the 6 year drought and many ranchers have sold off their cattle and the ranches have been bought and converted into hunting lodges. They have imported animals from Asia and Africa, including Zebra and giraffe. The terrain looked a lot like the Kruger Park!

Isabel, Joe's friend and fellow ACA tour leader met us in Lost Maples with a delicious dinner of BBQ brisket, beans, potato salad and home made chocolate chip cookies. This was really enjoyed by all. The BBQ smokey brisket of Texas cuisine is particularly delicious (especially when really hungry).

We have seen a display of beautiful wild flowers along the roadside. These are part of Lady Bird Johnson's effort to beautify the Texas highways.

The terrain has been changing, from mountains to hills. To quote the bike mechanic in Marathon we have done the misery mountains and are now going through the heartbreak hills.

After Kerrville we went through some quaint Texas towns, often eating a second breakfast (a biker tradition) or stopping for drinks.

Ed (64) a retired engineer from Lockheed Martin shared some of his exercise thoughts with us. He needs a goal to motivate him to exercise, such as this cross country ride. He has also walked the Appalachian Trail - in 2008 - which took him 6 months. This is quite some accomplishment. He experiences an endorphin rush from exercise. He struggles with his weight, losing it with these long expeditions. He is otherwise healthy.

We are now enjoying a luxurious layover day at the Hyatt in Austin. We had great food (gluten free, organic, indie, Austin cuisine) last night at the Snack Bar, where we ran into fellow riders, Berit and John. By the way John is from Traverse City, MI.

A professional picture added today was taken outside Fort Davis. Note the leader of the peloton.