This blog follows Wayne Andresen on a fully supported 52 day coast to coast bicycle ride from the Pacific Ocean at San Diego, California, to the Atlantic Ocean at St. Augustine, Florida.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Day 40: Wednesday 04/13/16, Franklinton, LA to Poplarville, MS


We entered Mississippi this morning, 21 miles after we departed from last night's stay in Franklinton, Louisiana.

 

Day 40 distance: 46 miles

Total miles: 2150  miles

Elevation gain: 1428 feet

Map of today's ride:

It started raining at 7:00 am this morning and it poured throughout today's 46 mile ride. The highlight of the day was when we left Louisiana and entered Mississippi, 22 miles after leaving Franklinton, Louisiana. We rode for a total of 291 miles in Louisiana. The rain today made picture taking difficult, but on the other hand, the scenery changed little from yesterday. We spent the equivalent of five days in Louisiana including the one non-riding rest day. That's a little less time than the 19 days it took to ride through Texas!

I will remember Louisiana as a beautiful state. For the most part, the people were friendly and the drivers were much more courteous to bicyclists than Texas drivers. I would love to come back and spend more time in Bayou country, as well as visit New Orleans. I will also remember Louisiana for all the road trash. It doesn't appear that Louisianans have any pride in how their State appears to a visitor, something I think should be embarrassing.

We rode some beautiful country roads today. Regardless of the rain gear riders wore, everyone was soaked when arriving in Poplarville, Mississippi.
This was a very fancy pier/gazebo setup on this individual's pond. It would be a great spot to entertain guests while drinking a Mint Julep!
All the ponds were filling up with rain water. In many places along the roads today, the ditches were also overflowing with running water.
Thankfully, we are staying indoors again tonight, this time at the Poplarville National Guard Armory. This facility is also a Readiness Center for natural disasters. A Guard staffer told me this facility could handle up to 2000 people in the event of a hurricane disaster.
The soup was hot and delicious! Dinner yet to be determined, but I am sure it will be excellent as always!