Day 42 – We own this bridge!

Miles completed: 66.4

Cumulative miles: 2266.4

Miles to St Augustine: 821

Today we rode from Krotz Springs to Baton Rouge, LA. We passed over the Atchafalaya River as we left Krotz Springs. It is the 5th largest river in North America and I had never heard of it.

We then rode on a 5 mile long bridge over the Morganza Spillway. The spillway is used for flood control of the Mississippi River. I did not enjoy that bridge. There was no shoulder and we were relying on the vehicles to move into the left lane as they passed us. Which they all did, thankfully.

As we approached Baton Rouge, our tour leaders organized a police escort across the Mississippi River and another bridge that were dangerous for cyclists. When we approached the first bridge, the officer stopped both lanes of traffic and for about a half mile, we were the only people on the bridge. We “owned that bridge”. He then let cars slowly pass us in the left lane while we rode in the right lane for about 4 miles including crossing the Mississippi River bridge. It was a pretty cool experience for us, but maybe not for the cars behind us that were delayed.

After that, we arrived in Baton Rouge. I took a 10 mile detour to get to a bike shop. I had broken a valve stem on my front tire when I was pumping my tires 6 days ago. Although I could have fixed it myself, I decided to wait to get to a bike shop and let them do it. The mechanic checked my tires and bike in general, and there were no other issues. I felt the detour was well worth it.

I got back to downtown Baton Rouge to get some pictures and then rode the last 5 miles to camp in plenty of time to pitch my tent and get ready for dinner.

Speaking of dinner, the group decided to eat out in Baton Rouge. We chose Elsie’s Plates and Pies. They had a full menu, but their specialties were their savory pies. I had the Louisiana Seafood pie with crawfish, shrimp, and crab. It was awesome.