Flexibility, the beauty of Independence

Feb 12 (RD11)  (AFHD34)

After a very quiet and restful night’s sleep, and our plans for the day were laid out,  I climbed back on the bike and  headed off for today’s route.

This is one map section that was on the day’s plan of march. I had talked about the road naming in the 4th Edition of Random Observations. Look closely at this map and you will find I have not exaggerated the situation. Keep in mind that my route, highlighted in red, is definitely NOT highlighted in red as I’m riding. Any one of those little twists and turns looks exactly like the one on either side of it. The only place you will find those numbers visible here (e.g. 43, 26, 53) are on this map! The written instructions you see a portion of in the lower left corner are indispensable in keeping on the right track. As always, language can quibble too, “bear right” vs “turn right”for example.

The road surfaces are sadly totally uniform. The constant vibration of the rough gravel up through the three “pressure points” of hands and butt  puts a real strain on the ol’ bod! Fifty plus miles of this was enough for me to call it quits for the day, but it was early enough that we had the time to do some serious looking at what other major attractions might fit into this journey. The closeness to New Orleans was just too much temptation to ignore, especially since I’ve wanted to visit the fabulous National WWII Museum there. Cathy also would love to explore the magnificent gardens and homes of the Garden District. Done! Set the compass on south instead of West and it’s only an hour at Interstate speed. “Naggy Maggie” vectored us into the KOA that has it’s own shuttle to the Museum in the morning and will bring us back to the park at the end of the day. What’s not to like? We’ll have a full report tomorrow night, hopefully. 

Off the bike route, but a new state for us, so must be recorded. Lovely, helpful and friendly Welcome Center provided us with the info and maps to plan our big day tomorrow.

To be continued—————

Always good to have you all along  🙂