Getting Ready to Bicycle Tour from St. Louis to New Orleans

For the last several weeks, I have been planning my next bicycle tour. I will follow the Mississippi River south from St. Louis to New Orleans. Three years ago, I followed the river north to Minneapolis. You can read about that trip in St. Peters to Minneapolis. This year’s trip will give me almost the entire Mississippi River, lacking only the portion from Minneapolis to the headwaters. Maybe I will do that someday. I imagine that it is beautiful.

This will be my longest tour yet. On the plus side, it is mostly flat and even slopes downhill. If I’m really really lucky, I will not get too many headwinds.

I plan to leave on Thursday, April 9.

I will launch from Kirkwood. I have ridden through enough of the St. Louis metro area; I do not feel a burning need to do it with a loaded touring bike. My first week will take me through southeast Missouri, nipping through Kentucky, and into Tennessee to Memphis. I plan a rest day there for a visit to the National Civil Rights Museum and to find some good music and food. And a washing machine. Can’t forget the laundry!

My second week will take me through Clarksdale, MS for a visit to the Delta Blues Museum. I will finish the week with a couple of days on the Natchez Trace. Then I will land in Natchez for another rest day and a chance to take in some southern history. Candy and I visited Natchez in January 2025 and I have wanted to go back to see more.

My last week will take me through Mississippi and Louisiana, to New Orleans. Other than spending a little time in Baton Rouge and a lot of time watching for birds along the river, I do not yet have any plans for this section.

I have been getting a lot of questions as I talk to friends. Maybe because this is my third long tour, I have not (yet) heard, “Are you crazy?” I guess everyone knows that I am.

Regarding sleeping arrangements: This trip will be all hotels and hostels. There are very very few places where I could camp so, sadly, I will be leaving my tent at home. On the plus side, that ought to halve the volume and weight of my cargo.

Several people have asked me what I eat. Restaurant food but I choose carefully. Lots of carbs, lean proteins, and fresh veggies and fruits as often as I can find them. Restaurants are not so good for the vegetables and fruits but those are easy to find in other places. Many convenience stores have apples, oranges, and bananas. Any grocery store or Walmart (and even some Dollar Generals) have vegetables like cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, in addition to a wider selection of fruit. It does not have to be made into a nice salad; I can just eat a cucumber whole. Additionally, most vegetables pack well and will keep just fine in a pannier for a day or so. The trick is buying just what I can eat in a day. All of the fresh stuff is mostly water so it is heavy and I do not want to carry a lot of it.

For snacks in between meals, I lean on dried fruit (I dehydrate my own so I do not have any added sugars), trail mix, and tortillas with peanut butter. I also do a lot of Liquid IV in my water, as much as a packet every couple of hours when I am sweating a lot.

Please do not think that I am some sort of a food saint, heaven forbid! I’m a sucker for a family diner for French toast or pancakes. And I have been known to make more than one unscheduled stop for ice cream or a locally brewed beer, though never both together.

I have also had a lot of questions about where I ride. Never on highways or interstates. I use RideWithGPS for planning. It allows me to see heatmaps of where the locals ride. Picking roads that the locals find safe has always worked out well for me. Beyond that, Google Satellite View and Google Street View are amazing. Before I even leave home, I can always get a good feeling for how wide the shoulder is and how good the pavement is on every road.

Click on through to my STL2NOLA Overview to explore my route in more detail at RideWithGPS. It even has a map that you can zoom ‘n’ pan. No promises that I will follow it exactly. It is only my plan and we all know about plans: Man plans; God laughs.

Did I miss your question? Post it in a comment below or email me.

Stay tuned. I will post photos and updates here. Let’s all laugh together.