After finishing my St. Louis to New Orleans (STL2NOLA) bicycle tour on Thursday, I took an Amtrak train to Carbondale. Candy picked me up just before lunch on Friday. Today has been a reset day, only my third in 24 days. Whew! A few people asked me last night and today whether my legs are […]
STL2NOLA 22 – Tunica Resorts, MS to Memphis, TN – I Made It!
I will not leave you hanging. My ride from Tunica Resorts, MS to Memphis, TN completed my bicycle tour of the Mississippi River Trail between St. Louis and New Orleans. I made it! With the completion of this tour of the Mississippi River Trail between S.t Louis and New Orleans, paired with my previous tour […]
STL2NOLA 21 – Clarksdale, MS to Tunica Resorts, MS – Return of the Headwinds
The ride from Clarksdale, MS to Tunica Resorts, MS was supposed to be a relatively easy day. It is only 2/3 the length of what I had ridden the day before. However, a cold front had arrived and parked on my route, bringing strong headwinds. The ride was brutally hard, coming as it did immediately […]
STL2NOLA 20 – Greenville, MS to Clarksdale, MS
The ride from Greenville, MS to Clarksdale, MS was the last long ride of my tour of the Mississippi River Trail between St. Louis and New Orleans. Coincidentally, it was the second to land at exactly 77 miles. It was a fortunately-unfortunately day (do you remember that book?). On balance, the day worked out pretty […]
STL2NOLA 19 – Roy’s Cabins, MS to Greenville, MS
My ride from Roy’s Cabins, MS to Greenville, MS was short, fast, and completely uneventful. Strong tailwinds and level ground let me average 15.1 MPH. I finished the ride in just over an hour and a half 😀 I took a picture because I felt like I oughta. After I was done riding and checked […]
STL2NOLA 18 – Vicksburg, MS to Roy’s Cabins, MS
I had mentally prepared myself for a long, boring ride through rural Mississippi from Vicksburg, MS to Roy’s Cabins, MS. As has happened consistently on this trip, America delighted and surprised me with non-stop entertainment and amusement. OK, I exaggerate a tiny bit. There were, indeed, hours and hours of pedaling through vast empty fields. […]
STL2NOLA 17 – Port Gibson, MS to Vicksburg, MS
Riding from Port Gibson, MS to Vicksburg, MS was a short 40 miles. The weather forecast was for overcast skies all day. I saw this greyness when I got back onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. I expected nothing better for the rest of the day. On the previous day, I passed a sign at a […]
STL2NOLA 16 – Natchez, MS to Port Gibson, MS
I left Natchez, MS bound for Port Gibson, MS on the Natchez Trace with high hopes. I had read and heard about how beautiful the Natchez Track Parkway is. I am primarily following the Mississippi River Trail for this tour but I intentionally left the MRT for a couple of days so that I could […]
STL2NOLA 15 – Sunset over the Mississippi River
Today was a rest day in Natchez, MS. I had not planned to write a blog post. But the sunset was so beautiful that I just have to share this picture with you. Shot with my Google Pixel 10. Postprocessing with darktable.
STL2NOLA 14 – New Roads, LA to Natchez, MS – The Long Flat Surprisingly Interesting Ride
The ride from New Roads, LA to Natchez, MS was supposed to be long, flat, and boring. Everybody I talked to or emailed with told me to expect nothing but a lot of empty fields and no services. With that in mind, I started with low expectations but was ultimately surprised to find that the […]
STL2NOLA 13 – Baton Rouge, LA to New Roads, LA – I rode the Scenic Highway and the Audubon Bridge
You would not believe how scenic the road out of Baton Rouge, LA is, running north toward New Roads, LA. It is so scenic that they actually named it Scenic Highway. I am not kidding. The signs actually read SCENIC HWY. Are you excited? Do you want to see how beautiful it was as I […]
STL2NOLA 12 – Donaldsonville, LA to Baton Rouge, LA
Two easy days in a row! I averaged 12.6 MPH over the 50 miles from Donaldsonville, LA to Baton Rouge, LA. I started with an up-and-over the Sunshine Bridge. Once again, thank heavens for patient drivers! And do you remember how I was able to hit 36.6 MPH coasting down the bridge on the trip […]
STL2NOLA 11 – New Orleans, LA to Donaldsonville, LA – Finally, Tailwinds :-)
It felt good to be back on the bike for the long ride from New Orleans, LA to Donaldsonville, LA. I had had three days off, one in Memphis, TN, one on the train, and one in New Orleans. It had been a luxurious rest that I had never taken before on a tour. Still, […]
STL2NOLA – Changing Route to Meet in the Middle
I named this bike tour St. Louis to New Orleans or STL2NOLA. Three years ago, I rode the Mississippi River Trail north from where I live in St. Peters to Minneapolis. For this tour, I planned to ride south along the MRT to New Orleans. In the first week of riding, I battled brutal headwinds […]
STL2NOLA 07 – Wilson, AR to Memphis, TN – A Picturesque End of the First Week
Mother Nature still had it in for me but I had several things that kept my spirits up on my ride from Wilson, AR to Memphis, TN. First, the forecast was for less-than-brutal headwinds, slower by 5 MPH or more than I had previously battled. Second, my route would eventually turn east, so that the […]
STL2NOLA 06 – Blytheville, AR to Wilson, AR – I Cried “Uncle!”
This was supposed to be a 58 mile ride south from Blytheville, AR south to Wilson, AR and then west to Marked Tree, AR. But after battling 35 MPH or better headwinds for a third day in a row, and looking at the weather for the next day and seeing that it would be a […]
STL2NOLA 05 – Marsten, MO to Blytheville, AR
Windy! All day. All the way from Marsten to Blytheville. Nothing but M F wind. The gummint even labeled it so. I took this picture just before lunch. Flags start to stand out straight at 32 MPH. Four hours later, it had improved (if “improved” means higher speeds) I was ready to upload the map […]
STL2NOLA 04 – Sikeston, MO to Marsten, MO
Headwinds. I hate headwinds. All day long, 20-30 MPH. With one break for about 10 miles as I rode along the lee side of the levee, east of Marston, MO. But I made it there from Sikeston at the blazing average speed of 9.3 MPH. See, Barry? You need not worry about me breaking any […]
STL2NOLA 03 – Cape Girardeau, MO to Sikeston, MO
After two long hard days, I got an easier one. Riding from Cape Girardeau to Sikeston was only 47 miles and had way fewer hills to climb. My Garmin clocked the steepest grade at 20.6% but don’t believe that. During that climb, the grade number was jumping all over the place, varying wildly from single […]
STL2NOLA 02 – Ste. Genevieve, MO to Cape Girardeau, MO
Whilst riding from Sainte Genevieve, MO to Cape Girardeau, MO, I had two deeply spiritual revelations: First, rain is God’s bicycle wash. Second, God is personally, persistently concerned that my bike be freshly washed. The weather forecasts (yes, I check more than one) all called for a fine day or riding. There was supposed to […]
