Ezra On A Bike

I got up around 7am and searched for bike shops on line. Found one about 14 miles away just off the Natches and back by Hwy 51. I had to get to the bike shop, so this determined my route for the day.
I headed out at 8:30 and made my way up to the Natches and headed east to Ridgeland. My body was definitely worn down from yesterday’s ride so I decided to make it an easier day.

The nice thing about the Natches Trace is that it follows the contour of the land and is not as hilly. It is also a designated bike highway and is not as busy.

I found the bike shop around 11. I had not eaten breakfast because I thought there would be something along the way… note to self… there is absolutely nothing on the Natches!
I got all the parts I needed and had my wheels trued and things adjusted. The people at The Bike Crossing bike shop were great. I hung out there in the AC till about noon.
When inquiring about food choices, I learned of a BBQ place called The Pigskin just a few blocks away. How could I resist? I headed over and had the lunch special; smothered hamburger steak, fried ochre, mac n cheese, corn bread and butter corn… and sweet tea.

After that, I filled my water jug with ice and water and hit the Natches once again.
Had no luck in finding a host before Memphis so I decided to camp. There was a camping area 23 miles up the trace so I made it my goal.
The Natches Trail is quite beautiful and scenic… once originally trails used by native peoples, early settlers and traders began to use it and eventually it was turned into a federal supply trail. It is now listed as a scenic highway route and bike route through 3 states.
There are also many historic stopping points along the way as well as scenic overlooks such as the Reservoir overlook and the sunken cypress swamp.

The only real excitement along the way was my last patched tube finally started to leak and I had to swap it out…

I made it to the camp around 6. Just in time to get a shower, set up camp and get some dinner at the weekend only bar at the Ratliff Ferry Trading post.

Did I mention the locals performing drunken karaoke?…
I left the air conditioned restaurant at about 10pm and settled into my tent. The temp was much more tolerable than the last campout with less humidity. I actually slept fairly well.

I got up around 6:30 and walked across the parking lot to the Waffle House and had some filthy eggs and hash browns with everything.

Went back to the room and repacked my bags. Decided that I needed to drop weight so I sorted out everything I hadn’t used yet and filled my backpack to ship home. I think I dropped about 10 pounds.
My computer told me there was a bike shop in town so I rode around looking for it and the Post Office. I found USPS but not the bike shop… apparently it closed a few years ago…
I had made arrangements with a host for the evening via Couch Surfing, in Clinton so I made my way up hwy 51. It was about 11am when I finally rolled out of town.
The road was nice and quiet for the most part, but the hills started getting bigger and longer all day. Many hills where at least a mile up. All I could do was Trudge… with my only consolation being that I would coast down the other side…

I turned off 51 at Tyler and took Spring Ridge Road all the way up into Clinton.
I made my destination round 7:15… about 65 miles today and no flats!
Stayed with a guy named Joshua, who was from MN. Had some good conversation and then I hit the sack. My body was smoked from all the hills.

I got up around 6:30 and broke camp. Once the bike was packed I rolled down the street about a block and stopped at May’s Restaurant for some breakfast.

Great food and great people. I would definitely eat here again.
I decided I had had enough of hwy 27 so I jumped on 84 and headed west. I figured the roads would be better toward I 55. There was no shoulder and a warning stripe so travel was slow and traffic was fast, but I made it to McComb for lunch.
It has been all rolling hills.
I decided that my lack of motivation would be cured if I booked a room in Brookhaven so I did.
I hit the rode up hwy 51. It was a much nicer and less busy road.

But as I started out I immediately began having problems with my tires. I went to put more air in my rear tire and snapped off the valve stem!… That was my last good tube! I pulled out the patches and fixed a tube.
I only made it down the road about 2 miles before it was flat again. The patch had pulled away. I re-tried to patch and took off again. I made it about 5 miles or so this time before it was flat again. My patched tube re-blew and I realized my patches where no good… fortunately I had another box. I re-patched and set out again.
The new patch held and I made it to Brookhaven around 7.
I checked in at the Americas Best Inn and unloaded my gear in my room.
I walked down the road and ate at a Japanese steak house, then went back, did my laundry and fell asleep around 10:30.

Got up around 6:30 and walked two blocks to a great cafe for an omelet. Then went back and repacked my bags. I rolled out around 8:30 and after stopping at the hardware store for some tape, hit the road. I decided to go north on 25. There was no shoulder and the traffic was heavier than I would recommend but I managed make Franklinton by lunch. I bought a couple of peaches from a vendor along the road then stopped and ate at Mcdonalds. Not fancy but cheap.
After a break, Jumped back on the road. A mile from the boarded, Had a flat and decided to change out the tire as well. There were a couple of gashes in the side wall from glass on day one.
As I started to role again I came to the border which was a welcome site as it made me feel I was making progress. That, and the fact that the shoulder widened and I was able to ride out of traffic for a while. This lasted about halfway to Tylertown and then narrowed again.

As I rolled into town it was about 6pm. I decided I couldn’t make another town so I rode around town for a bit till I found a gas station. There was a guy selling watermellons from his truck and i asked him if there was anywhere around to camp. He told me to just camp in the city park. I went and got some dinner at the Mexican place across the street then went and scoped out the park. I found a spot out of site and put up my tent. It was hot so not a good night for sleep, but I managed to get a little. I was interrupted around 1:30 by an armadillo sniffing around my tent.

This past week has been a great time of visiting with friends in New Orleans. I ate some amazing food and had great conversation. But, on Monday morning it was finally time to say goodbye and begin my adventure.
My friends and i gathered for a last cup of joe at Cafe Du Monde before we said our goodbyes and took pictures before I rode off into the sunset…. I mean sunrise… It was hot!

Leaving Cafe Du Monde

I rode north the levee on Lake Ponchatrain and headed east on Leon C Simon Dr to Read Blvd then cut back down to Hwy 90 or Chef Menteur Hwy which i took 30 miles, all the way out to the bridge at Fort Macomb. I detoured a block to fill my water bottles and say hi to the Dufores. Miss Betty made sure I had a bite to eat and extra water before i left and Ron said he wished he could come along.
I continued on 90 around the east side of the lake and north past the bridge at Fort Pike.

The road along 90 has a wide paved shoulder but it is littered with glass and other debris. At about mile 37 I suffered my first flat followed by a second only a mile down the road. With only two spare tubes to start I was praying this would be the last.
It was dreadfully hot and humid but as i was fixing the first flat it rained a bit and cooled me off.
After the bridge I turned west..ish on 433 which was a much cleaner road but after only a short distance the shoulder disappeared and I had to ride the line. This is where it started to really rain… not your ordinary light rain, but a monsoon like rain… I was now officially wet! The road meandered past mostly fisherman’s homes before landing me in Slidell. It stopped raining for a bit when I turned onto hwy 11 north to hwy 190 west. A couple miles over, I jumped onto the trail head of the Tammany Trace bike trail.

The Trace is a rail to trail project and it is newly paved for much of the way which takes you about 27 miles through mostly shade and woods. It was a smooth fast trail… except for the rain… As soon as I got on the trail it started to rain like a monsoon again! But, I was already wet so I pushed through toward my target finish.
I made it to Mandeville and took a break under a shelter for while to avoid the rain. I saw a shaved ice stand in the park so I decided to role over… as i did my back rack snapped off and fell down onto my tire. Not Good! It was about 5:45 and most stores in this part of the world close at 6. A man who was at the shelter saw my plight and offered to give me a ride to a bike shop a few blocks away and i was able to procure a new rack and a couple of new spare tubes. I made the repairs and hit the trail again… it was now getting late and still had 12 miles to go.
With no more mishaps or rain, I rolled into historic Covington at about 8pm.
The B&B I was staying at was only a few blocks off the trail and was a welcome sight.
After 85 miles, Heat, Torrential rain, 2 flats, a broken rack and wasted time, all I wanted to do was eat and go to bed.
I highly recommend staying at the Camellia House B&B if you ever find yourself in Covington.

After changing out of my “wet suite”, I walked two blocks to a Thai restaurant and had some chicken pad thai.
I went back to my room and fell sleep on top of the bed only to wake in the morning to the sound of my alarm.

I am just an average person. I have worked as a self employed carpenter for about 15 years and have also served at ImpactLives–a non profit organization which primary focus is on transforming local and global communities one life at a time– nearly 5 years.
I have had opportunities to travel around the world and experience different cultures and environments and have worked with volunteers doing relief and development work and humanitarian endeavors here in the US and abroad. In summary, I have traveled to around 12 countries to date.
Over the past five years, I have realized many things about the way we as a society approach human need in the world that I don’t think are beneficial and in many cases, are outright contradictory to solving the problems of human need across the globe.

I got an idea about a year ago that seemed a bit crazy… Bike across america!
Some say why? I say why not?
I believe in setting goals outside my box of comfort… outside my idea of possible.
As someone who has not been a “biker”, I wanted to do something outside my realm of experience and comfort zone. This Idea fit.

I am planning to ride my bike from New Orleans to the border of Canada to raise awareness of Human Need in the world such as hunger, poverty, human trafficking and slavery, and also to start a conversation about how we can work toward real and long term sustainable transformation for people affected by these issues both here in the US and abroad.

I am not an expert on these topics but I have some real life experiences and insights that do bring relevance to addressing the topic of Human Need.

Please, join me in on this journey and help support my work. For donations go to http://www.impactlives.org/donate.html?view=donation and select the right campaign. Or you could mail your checks to:

ImpactLives
6985 Oxford Street
St. Louis Park, MN 55426