Bayou Le Batre (Pop. 2,558)

From Beignets to Ben-Gay!

We woke up this morning anticipating some fresh beignets, and we were not disappointed. We got ready, and I rode the few blocks to Café Beignet. Dana got there before I did, but as I walked in, Stephanie greeted me with, "Look at you, all dressed up and ready to go!" I guessed Dana had told them she was waiting for me and that I was riding a bike. Cory, the dude behind the counter and the food prep extraordinaire, said we had two options: day-old beignets ready in a minute or fresh ones if we could wait four minutes. We chose to wait. They were served piping hot, and we were not disappointed. The first bite almost sent me to heaven. The blessed morsel was soft, covered with powdered sugar, and went straight to my soul. That might be a bit of an overstatement, but I’m not kidding—they were awesome. We also ordered chicory coffee because we were doing all things "N’awlins."

We struck up a conversation, and they found out I was attempting to ride cross-country. Cory seemed a bit shocked and then asked if he could ask how old I was. I always find it interesting when someone asks if they can ask because, in reality, they already have. I told him I would be 69 in a few months, and he replied that he would have guessed a lot younger. Good answer! Then he posed the question to Dana. She replied that she was 67, and I interjected that she was Jamie Lee Curtis’s younger sister. Cory said he thought of Jamie when Dana walked in, then added he wouldn’t have guessed a day over 55. Best answer ever! It was time to head out.

We were heading to the ferry that would take us off this skinny strip of land to Dauphin Island and then across a bridge to the mainland. I had about 20 miles to the ferry, then a break, and another 20 miles to our day’s landing pad. It was 48 degrees when I left this morning, but I was dressed for it and soon warmed up as I clicked off the miles. I was about 4 miles from the ferry when Dana messaged me that it wasn’t running because of the wind, but they were hoping to restart once the winds settled. Oh well, now what? I finished the 4 miles, and we consulted, deciding to wait and see if we could still get to the island today and figure it out from there. I was hoping to reach Bayou La Batre today to make it to Biloxi tomorrow. You know, there are lots of casinos—we hope to hit the slots and pay for this trip. :-)

We waited in the PLUM for a while, and the attendant came over and said they planned to run the 11:45 ferry. Yippee! We pulled into line and finished our wait there.

The ferry ride was as expected—calm and successful. We disembarked, and I unloaded my bike, ready to finish the trip. I had about 23 miles to go and figured I’d be there in under two hours. All according to plan. As I started, I noticed a bike path to the left of the road and heard Dana’s voice in my head saying, "Take the path! Take the path! Take the path!" So I took the path. What I didn’t realize was that the road to the bridge veered to the right, and I missed the sign from the path. Four miles later, I reached a dead end.

The app I use for directions, Ride with GPS, is great for many reasons—one being that it alerts me when I’m off course. At the ferry, I had paused the ride, and when I resumed, the alerts didn’t re-engage. My only option was to turn around, ride the 4 miles back, and head to the bridge. The bridge was several miles long with a pretty steep incline just before reaching the mainland. At that point, it was all about self-talk—getting my head in the right place and grinding it out.

After the bridge, I followed the route onto several country roads littered with angry dogs. Honestly, there were only about four, but they seemed to be everywhere. I have an air horn in a bottle holder handy for these situations. The first dog retreated after a warning blast, but several others kept barking and chasing me. I stopped the bike, waited for them, and blasted the 120-decibel horn. They soon lost interest.

Just as I finished with the dogs, the pavement ended, and I was "blessed" with bumpy gravel roads for several miles. Eventually, I had the choice of turning right onto a crappy dirt road or staying on the paved road and adding 1.7 miles. I chose the road less taken—at least for those who dislike dirt roads.

I finally arrived at the parking lot and saw the van waiting for me. Dana had bought some Pringles. I cleaned up and then opened the container, taking a few and handing it back, knowing I wouldn’t stop once I started. There’s nothing like salt and carbs at the end of the day. I washed them down with a cold beer and then took a nap.

I’m sure there are many metaphors and lessons to be learned from a day like this, but I’ll let you figure them out. If you feel like it, you can shower us with your staggering wisdom.

On west tomorrow.

Be well, and do much good to all you meet.Meer informatie