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DAY 23

Into the eye of the storm...Ivan the terrible is upon us.

RIDE OVERVIEW:  ED NOTE:  Sorry to take so long to get these last days done, but if you've been watching the weather, you can imagine we've been pretty busy the last couple of days.  Sorry, I didn't get many photos the last couple of days.  I'm putting in the last pages today...thanks for following and for you patience.

Every morning and evening the weather channel is preferred viewing.  We are watching the storm with great interest as everyday the "cone of possible landfall" keeps moving a bit more westward.  We are past our point of good ride options and now we are committed to southward movement albeit not all the way to New Orleans.  I've been talking for a couple days about the possibility of aborting the ride if the storm continued to show signs of westward.  Today, we continue to monitor and continue to ride with anticipation.

Our route took us down hwy 61 for 36 miles into Woodville where we found some neat shaded back roads for the remainder of the ride.  At one point, 61 was under construction and we were forced from 4 lanes to 2 lanes for 9 miles.  By the time I caught up with the riders they were in the 2 lane part with a pristine closed 2 lane to our right.  I sped up to the lead riders and directed them off the busier lanes to the empty road that paralleled our track.  All of a sudden, they had a two lane highway "bike lane" that was only interrupted by an occasional road crew that was easy to negotiate.  Finally, the road branched out to 4 lane again where the traffic wasn't too bad and for the most part gave us plenty of room. 

The second half of our route today took us out into the Louisiana back country.  We were so far out in the country that there was no "Welcome to Louisiana" sign to mark our entry...so I had to spray paint a welcome at the line.  Most of the roads were tree lined which offered some shade in the heat of the day and there were a couple of other things that reminded us we were in Bayou country...everywhere we looked we saw Spanish Moss hanging off the trees and this state has parishes instead of counties.  As I was standing by the "Welcome" paint talking to a local, the conversation turned to our route.  He asked me how we were getting to St Francisville so I told him we were taking 421 to 61.  "Oh we, there's a bridge out on 421," he said.  BRIDGE OUT?!  "Can the riders get through," I asked?  "Oh golly no," was the reply.  He proceeded to give me directions on how to get around it so I tore out with a can of paint to route the remaining riders to hwy 61.  As I was painting the first detour arrows, Karen W. came riding by so I gave her the paint and told her to mark the next turn with a right and then a left on 61 so I could drive on toward the bridge to turn around the front runners.  I caught Julius, Steven, and Jack (right) just as they were working their way through the barriers to cross the bridge.  The local was wrong, the riders could get through, but we had to take the support vehicles around the detour.  As it worked out, the remaining riders really enjoyed the detour and stated it may have been the nicest roads we had ridden all trip (Below right).  I tended to agree and will incorporate them into the ride next year.  Each road was tree lined, narrow, and smooth...very scenic and shaded...just what the bike doctor ordered.  Sometimes we just fall into a great road, it was definitely a keeper.

By the time we all got logged into the motel, I had pretty much made the decision that the ride could go no farther with Ivan inching even farther westward in its aim point.  After lunch, I met with the riders to discuss the options we could support for an exit plan.  Most jumped on the plan and started to call to change airline reservations.  We are planning to do 2 morning shuttles and another one in the afternoon for those staying over until Wednesday departures.  I also met with the crew and talked to the office for motel reservation support...we had bike boxes that had been shipped to New Orleans and a couple of riders who wanted to go tonight.  At 5:00 PM I sent Karen and Brantley into New Orleans to pick up the cases and to drop off Scott and Steve G.  They got back to the motel about 10:00 PM...at that time, Brantley and I jumped in to help a couple riders get their bikes into their cases.  While Karen and Brantley were on the road, I loaded up 13 bikes and headed into Baton Rouge to drop them off to be shipped by PedalPlay Bicycles on Perkins Rd.  Julius, one of our riders, lives about a mile from them and was instrumental in helping us find a shop willing to do the work for us.  Their owner, Scott Mackey, and his staff, jumped in and were super...thanks guys, you bailed us out of a tight pinch.

I got back to the motel by 7:30 and found the riders assembled in the breakfast area of the motel.  They were basically saying their good byes and having a good time.  Most had already rescheduled their flights and were resigned to get out of Dodge before the storm hit.  I hate it that we had to miss our final banquet together to say our goodbyes, but they made the best of our situation and shared memories of the ride as if we were at the official banquet.  I knew the staff would be off doing business until the late hours so I gave Killer B Steven my credit card to purchase some pizzas for the group which probably set the stage for the "good bye" session.  There was a catch...when I got to the pizza party and went to collect the receipt, Steven informed me that my credit card was turned down and no good...the receipt said, "Collect this card."  Oops.  I've been carrying a cancelled card all summer...my bad.  Guess I get a Duh for that...sorry Steven.  Hey...I'm just the guy in charge...remember Barbara has been gone for a week.  Thanks for using your credit card to get the pizzas...I'll reimburse you on Tuesday. 

With all but 4 of the bikes taken care of and the cases now with the owners, we set our minds into evacuation mode.  Tomorrow, we'll shuttle everyone to the airport or to motels for later flights.  We are going to be busy to say the least, but we'll get everyone sorted out before the storm hits.  Tune in one more day and I'll let you know how we are faring.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:  "There's a storm in the Gulf?  Aw Come On."

DUH! OF THE DAY:  OK, I'll take the DUH for the credit card fiasco...but the Pizza was great!  Steven, have I paid you back yet?