Leaving New Orleans/Atlanta

5/11/12

So yeah, Sarah and I cheated a little bit. We found a rideshare on Craigslist that was leaving New Orleans and headed toward Atlanta and we decided to share the ride. We're on a bit of a schedule for our trip to Rhode Island, as we're trying to be there to start work the first week of June. Getting a ride to Atlanta also put the pressure on us to ship our bags and get us away from the comfort of home.

In Atlanta we were able to stay the night with one of the girls from the rideshare. It was a great place to stay in a town called Dunwoody just north of Atlanta, and we even had our own room to sleep in. It was like couch surfing only they gave us a comfy bed to sleep in rather than a lumpy couch. The next morning we were up by 9 and hit the road by 10. We ate breakfast on our way out of town and then continued on our way. We eventually got caught up with taking care of a few errands like getting the paperwork turned in for pedicabbing in Newport, but I wasn't worried much. I was more interested in just enjoying the ride.

Later that day we came to Stone Mountain, which is a big rock that looks like a half of giant dinosaur egg sticking out of the ground, or maybe like a bug meteor that had planted itself there. I'd say it is more like a hill than a mountain, but it was still impressive. We took the 5-mile loop around the mountain as a detour and found a shady place to eat our lunch. After our detour we hit the road again. We had barely made it 20 miles, and on our way from stone mountain I was distracted by the little bike shop, Aztec Cycles. I needed a few things for my bike so I stopped and purchased some new brake pads, a chain, a water bottle holder and some new lights. That took another hour of our daylight time and by now it was nearing 6pm.

We would need to find camping soon so we headed further down our route to Savannah. At one point, maybe another 10 miles down the road I got something in my eye. It hurt to close my eye or to move my eye and I kept rubbing it hoping that it would flush itself out. Eventually I couldn't take it any more and Sarah and I stopped at a little Jamaican restaurant/bar just off our route. The waitress was very pushy an preferred to tell us what was on the menu rather than give us a menu to look at. I still had something in my eye and I put my trust in Sarah to order while I went to the bathroom to try to dislodge the foreign debris. When I came out of the bathroom, Sarah had ordered the curried fish and I still had something in my eye so I headed over to the gas station next door to get some eye drops. I returned to the table after failing with the eye drops to a plate full of yummy fish. After a bite of food I had to return to the bathroom to try again to remove whatever foreign matter was causing me so much pain. I seriously couldn't think straight it hurt so bad. I still don't know what came out of my eye. I think it might have been an eyelash that worked its way far up under my upper eyelid, but after stretching the skin to its max and flipping my lid inside out like I'd never done before, the painful object fell from my eye. I knew that it was gone the second that it fell out. I felt so light and free and happy and could now go enjoy the curried fish...which was amazing.

We could see that the sun was getting low through the cloud covered sky, so we checked our map for a place to camp. On our way to Arabia Mountain we stopped or some ice cream, and then followed a bike path into the park. It was a beautiful ride into the park. I love designated bike paths. Sometimes I wish every road was made just for bikes and pedestrians.

We pitched our tent off to the side of a trail that was headed toward Arabia Lake. It was a good spot, but we did find a few ticks on us before turning in for the night. It started to rain almost as soon as we got settled in our tent. It was perfect timing, and the rain would continue on into the night. I was a little restless before falling asleep, but the rain drops on the rainfly soothed me. It feels good to be back on the road.

Miles: 40
RRD: A blue bouncy ball

-D

PS - Also, follow me on the trackmytour map: www.trackmytour.com/0lsB1

PPS - Don't forget to check out Sarah's blog too: www.NomadicCycling.com

3-day Trip to the North Shore

The three trip to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain couldn't have come at a better time. I have even feeling a little burned out by the whole pedicab thing and have finally taken a much needed break. It was the exact thing I needed to do to recharge and get ready for the upcoming weeks before I get to leave on a big trip to Newport, RI.

Sarah and I got a late start on Monday April 23. I don't think we left until around 2pm. We weren't sure how far we would make it, especially since I couldn't ride at night since I still didn't have any functioning lights (they have either been broken or stolen). Our first planned stop was at the abandoned Six Flags theme park just outside of New Orleans. It was about 12 miles from Sarah's place and it took us just around an hour to get there. Thanks to Sarah's GPS we found some apparently abandoned roads that were traffic free which led us directly to Six Flags Parkway and the entrance sign of Six Flags which bares the simple yet stark reminder of how long the park has been abandoned with the simple words "Closed For Storm" on the marquee.

Despite the signs posted out front warning prosecution to trespassers we found a hole in the chain link fence, made it a little bigger, and rolled our bikes through. We have heard about the abandoned theme park from friends who have visited and were excited to see what it was all about.

As we rolled up to the park you get a sense of the amount of time that has passed as you can see giant bright colored structures shooting up from the overgrown vegetation. When we got to the entrance the broken glass strewn about the ground caused us to get off of our bikes and walk. The eerie entrance was only the beginning of the fun as we entered the spooky park. As we walked through what seemed to be a scene straight out of the movie Zombieland, we couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched from the shadows of the dilapidated buildings. It was an odd sensation. Sarah and I both took our time making our way through the park, reading much of the random graffiti that covered every inch of the walls of the empty buildings. Sarah wanted to climb to the top of a roller coaster so we set out for the tallest and bluest one we could find, which we had previously seen shooting up from the foliage like some modern day ancient ruin. As we made our way to the top I couldn't shake the idea that the ride was just going to start up out of nowhere and knock us off the side. From the top we had an incredible view of the entire park, as well as the surrounding area including a view of the distant New Orleans downtown area. After taking a few pictures we headed back down and returned to our bikes which remained unstolen. Before turning a corner to head through the rest of the park we saw some people which startled us and we kind of rushed to the other end to avoid them. I assume that they were just some people interested in checking out what was left of the place, just like us, but thanks to the eerie feeling of the park and warning signs out front we didn't want to interact with anybody there.

I think we both could've spent all day at the park, but after an hour we decided to continue on our way around Lake Pontchartrain. After all, it was still another 48 miles to Fontainbleau State Park, our destination. We found an alternate way out of park which was completely ungated and also lacked a single 'no trespassing' sign, so we didn't feel so bad about being there.

We only made it another 20 or so miles to the town of Slidell before the sun crept down. It was still another 25 miles to Fontainbleau so we set up camp, using our new tent for the first time, and made the best of the night. It was a pretty secluded spot, but we could still hear the roar of a crowd from some stadium in the distance.

The next day we woke up fairly early and hit the road. Before long we reached the St Tammany Trace Trail, which is a rail-to-trail bike path which would lead us right up to the park entrance. It was a much desired way to travel and I can't say enough good things about the St Tammany Trace. We reached Fontainbleau around 2pm which was the perfect time to take a dip in the lake. The water was warm, and it seems like you could walk out into the lake hundreds of yards before getting waist deep. Lake Pontchartrain isn't necessarily known for being the cleanest body of water, and in all honesty it was a little murky. By the time you were up to you waist in water, your feet weren't very visible. After wading around in the lake and getting some sun we headed over to the little water park that they have for kids at Fontainbleau. I had so much fun running, jumping and splashing around like a child through the fountains and the hoops they had spraying water everywhere. It's kind of hard to remember what it was like running around as a 5 year old but I feel like I did a great job trying. Every once and a while I'd catch myself stopping and questioning what I was doing, but then I remembered that ration and logic don't need to be present to have fun. It was really refreshing to be able to crawl into that head space again. It was probably my favorite part of the three day trip.

After drying off in the sun, eating some lunch, and doing some exercises we decided to head off toward the nearby town of Mandeville to get some dinner. Before leaving the park we were distracted by a sign that pointed the way to an Alligator Marsh. The prospect of seeing alligators outweighed the prospect of food so we took a small detour to the marsh. At the marsh we walked along the boardwalk and spied 2 fair sized alligators. One was maybe 4-5ft long and the other was probably 5-6ft. They are so still and blend in so well with their surroundings that it's hard for the untrained eye to spot them at first. I'm glad we stopped and that I finally got to see some authentic Louisiana gators.

In Mandeville we got some tacos for 'Taco Tuesday' and listened to some local music. I also called my friend and fellow pedicabber Mark O (crescentcitypedicabbie.blogspot.com) and set up a time to meet him for breakfast the next morning. It was the first time I've found myself on "his side" of the lake, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to say hi.

Sarah and I headed back down the bike trail just after dark. We had previously scouted out a site to camp, so now we just had to find it in the dark. While we set up our tent, the mosquitoes weren't shy about taking our blood samples, and we retreated quickly into the safety of the tent. We soon fell asleep, excited about breakfast plans.

When I woke up and left the tent, I realized we were a lot closer to the trail than I imagined from the night before. Luckily it was early and I only saw a few joggers pass by as we took down camp. After packing up we headed back into town to meet up with Mark for breakfast at a place called Liz's. Mark had been out in Fontainbleau that morning taking pictures and was waiting for us at the restaurant. It was great to see him for once outside of his pedicab uniform and in his normal everyday Mark uniform. He insisted on treating us to breakfast, which was an incredibly generous act, and we shared stories of our recent trip and talked to him about our upcoming adventure. He was excited to see the gear we were traveling with and also to show us the completely shedded snake skin he had found that morning. It was probably 4 ft long and completely intact. It was really great to see Mark, but soon we were off to make our way back home the 60 miles around the lake.

The wind coming off of the lake made the rest of the day a little difficult. We stopped at a few places to eat but eventually made it home around 5pm. I'm glad to have found such a good riding partner. Sarah is strong and can keep up a good pace, as well as pushing me at times when I start to get lazy. The taxing wind was a good reminder of life on the road, but the trip as a whole made me very excited for the upcoming bike tour to Newport, RI. I can't wait to embark on that adventure, and hope to keep everybody up to date through my blogs on all the fun I'll be having.

Getting ready for another bike trip

After some deliberation I've decided to not spend the summer here in New Orleans, LA. I think it will be too hot and humid for me, not to mention that my nomadic nature is ready for a scenery change. I will be heading north to Newport, RI next month, and plan on spending the summer up there continuing to work as a pedicab driver. What that means for the blog is that I'll be taking another bike tour and will also be updating my blog because of it!

In order to prepare for my upcoming trip to the North East, I'm taking a short camping trip with my new travel partner, Sarah, up to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It's about a 60 mile ride up to Fountainbleau State Park. It should be good fun, so get ready for more stories to come!

Happy Valentines Day

Hey Janel and fellow blog followers!

Life in New Orleans is awesome! Sorry I haven't finished updating my bike tour or filled you in on my crazy pedicab lifestyle here in Nawlins, but it's become too much of a burden trying to update from my phone. I'm still waiting on getting a computer and hopefully I can catch up then. You can check out my co-workers blog: http://crescentcitypedicabbie.blogspot.com/ to get a taste of the pedicab lifestyle. He's got his own unique and funny stories, which are different than mine, but I enjoy his blog a lot.

In addition, I just wanted to wish y'all a happy Valentine's Day (particularly you Janel) and show you the awesome cake I baked with my friend in honor of the holiday. Cheers!