Day 33 St. Francisville, LA to Franklinton, LA

June 11

St. Francisville, LA to Franklinton, LA

97 Miles
2455 ft of climbing

Map:


http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideID=1977
(Completed)

http://www.mapitpronto.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=routePlanner.viewDBRide&rideID=2082
(Partial)


Wednesday was a ride with towns few and far between. We got a late start but made great time the first thirty miles. We're back to rolling hills on the East side of the Mississippi. Nothing too painful but certainly wearing over the course of the day and a hundred miles.

The maps we're using, from Adventure Cycling, have very specific route directions and information. There are current corrections available for downloading from their website with information updated monthly.

Before leaving Santa Fe I downloaded and printed the addendums for our route. Included in the addendum for the map of Wednesday's ride was a note that the bridge over Thompson Creek is out. There is a pretty significant reroute included.

When we went to the gas station, next door to the motel, for water, I asked if they knew anything about the Thompson Creek bridge being out. The woman said, "Thompson Creek? It's right down here and it's up". We thought, great, we can ride the original route.

We headed off down the road and sure enough we rode over Thompson Creek after five or six miles. It was another great ride day and the scenery was beautiful.

On we rode. The towns with services (gas stations) were about thirty miles apart. We were about eight miles from our first water stop when the map gave a direction by noting "turn right to stay on pavement". Just after the turn we saw a sign that said "Bridge Out". Evidently we crossed Thompson Creek twice, fifteen miles apart. The bridge out warning on the map and on the sign both applied to the second crossing. I looked more closely at the map and it would be a ten or twelve mile back track to ride around the creek crossing.

We decided to ride down to the bridge and see how bad it was. We figured that in the worst case we would find a deep black water crossing (think Alligators) or a bridge crossing a deep gorge. Depending on the reality we could ssibly unload the bikes and portage everything across.

After a mile or so we came to the bridge.

Don't tell our Moms (or my daughter) about what we did next.

The bridge was a twisted steel superstructure on wood pilings with creosote soaked cross timbers paved with planks. The planks were all there except for the last ten feet or so. We climbed over the dirt berm that had been placed in the road in front of the span, to keep cars off, and walked the bikes out one at a time.

The bridge did not feel rickety at all and the footing was firm. The twisted, rusted steel looked like it wouldn't last much longer though. We unloaded the bikes and carried the panniers (saddle bags) over the section without cross planks with one of us on the far end while the other crossed. We finally shouldered our bikes and crossed with them one at a time. Success! The pictures tell the story. I wish I could post them but that will have to wait. We felt like real adventurers.

I am confounded and greatfull we've somehow managed to elude the rain. During one of our stops a fellow coming from New Orleans told us it had rained three inches in an hour there on Wednesday.

The rest of the ride was uneventful but after our second stop, at sixty miles, it began feeling long. Two hundred and twenty miles in two days of hot, humid riding brings fatigue.

Thursday we aim for Mississippi.

Stay tuned.