Day 40 Biloxi, Mississippi

Stats
Daily mileage 88 Ride Time 6hr43min Avg speed 13.01 mph Total mileage 2520

The day had finally arrived when I had to put on my clean pair of cycling shorts and hit the road once more. I woke up early and said my farewells to Kayla as she had to go to school. I then showered and made the most of all the homely things around the house as I was not sure where the night would take me. I decided to wait until the morning rush hour had passed so I packed up slowly and chatted with Duffy. The time came and I had to go. I said goodbye to Duffy and the dog and thanked him for their great hospitality.

The route out of town was no where near as crazy as the way in and infact the worst part was the rubbing from my cycling shorts. They felt so uncomfortable but then I realised I had put them on back to front! A swift stop at the rest rooms sorted that out.

Within about 15 miles I was away from the traffic and gliding along a road that was slicing up the marsh land. The sky was blue and the only sounds I could hear were the birds tweeting. I took my first stop after 3 hours at a little place called Pearlington. I sat in a chair and watched the world pass by. Just as I was about to leave a lady called Linda passed by and ask me what I was doing. One thing led to another and she wanted me to get on television and visit some schools in the morning. I spoke to the TV studio over the phone and they showed great interest and said they would liaise with Linda. Linda is an energetic lady who can pull lots of strings and has contacts pouring out of her diary.

Linda suggested I make it to Biloxi where she will arrange some accommodation for me and some dinner at a casino. The route kissed the Gulf Ocean and it was a real pleasure to cycle beside. With the sun setting, I met Linda who took me to John’s house. I jumped into the shower and we headed to the Imperial Palace Casino for a complimentary buffet dinner. We met another friend of Linda’s and I apologised in advanced for the amount of food I was about to consume.

I rated my buffet effort as a So-So Silver. 3 full plates of main course, a seafood gumbo and for dessert one bowl consisting of a cookie, 3 brownies all covered by a chocolate fountain sauce.

We returned to the house and discussed the logistics of the school and TV visits for tomorrow.

Day 39 New Orleans, Louisiana

Today is the day before tomorrow and tomorrow is the day I get back on the road. With this in mind I decided to do as little as possible and relax. I sent several couch surfing/hospitality/warmshower requests for the last leg of my journey and planned my route out of the city.

I have 9 days to get to Jacksonville, which leaves me 2 days spare before boarding my plane. I have calculated the daily mileage at approx 70 miles. The route will be following the gulf coast for at least 4 days so I am hoping to be able to camp on the beach.

My body aches have gone and the last time I checked the rashes have cleared. Physically I am ready to go but mentally I am done. I had focused so hard on getting to my friends house, it felt as though the trip was over. I am sure once I am back on the road my focus will return. The flights I have purchased can not be changed so I am hoping I do not have any more break downs. Fingers crossed people!

Day 38 New Orleans, Louisiana

The plan today was to go on the legendary Annie Miller swamp and marsh tour. However, this was in the afternoon so Duffy and I had to waste the morning playing the Wii and Xbox. After an intense session we agreed on another truths and headed out to Houma to begin the tour. After a brief Taco Bell stop, we arrived at start and before stepping in the steel boat we saw a large alligator basking on a wooden platform. Within in minutes were saw more baby alligators, several species of bird and loads of cute turtles. The canals turned into marsh and then swamp. The cypress trees were covered in Spanish moss giving them an eerie appeal. The 2 hour tour was surprisingly enjoyable and well worth doing.


In the evening we went to a local Italian restaurant as Tuesday is 2 dollar pitcher day. Several pitches and a 14inch pizza later I was sufficiently stuffed and we retired back to the house. After being whipped by Kayla at bowling on the Wii I went to bed in a bad mood! I am sure my controller was damaged!

Day 37 New Orleans, Louisiana

Today was all about cleaning my bike and sorting out my airfare home. After spending hours on the phone to Virgin Atlantic they told me they would not change my ticket and I have to fly all the way back across to San Francisco and then fly home to London. This actually works out as the cheapest option but it means having to get a internal flight from Jacksonville to San Francisco, which will be a real pain in the ass and very time consuming.

So the date has been set and I have12 days to cycle from New Orleans to Jacksonville, some 600 miles. For all my fans, you can greet me at the airport on the 26th November at 1100am Heathrow airport Terminal 3.

When Duffy and Kayla got home we went into town for a traditional dining experience. I ate everything including the food on Kayla’s plate! Afterwards we meandered through the groovy French quarter and soaked up the flavour aswell as some interesting cocktails. Several beers and cocktails later we decided to head home so Kayla could get on with her studying and Duffy and I could blast the hell out of each other on the Xbox. As usual, time flies when the box is in full flight and after only two victories on my behalf we called it truths just after midnight.

As some of you may not be aware, I am raising money for Cancer Research and should you want to donate please click on the link below. Incase some of you are confused, I am still using the justgiving website I set up for the Road to Istanbul trip.

Day 36 New Orleans, Louisiana

We all had a fantastic lay in and eventually had some fresh muffins for breakfast. Duffy took on the role as a tour guide and drove Kayla and I around New Orleans so I could witness the devastation caused from hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was rather shocking to think the floods were over 3 years ago and, yet in places, houses were still in the same state the day they got destroyed. The water lines were still visible along with the marks left by the national guard indicting the house had been searched. There were also holes in the roof where people had to be evacuate by helicopter.

The eeriest part of the tour was seeing the only remains of the property being a concrete porch. The house had simply disappeared leaving a concrete pillar. In some parts people had made the difficult to decision to move back to their house and start again but have had a boost by companies offer unique energy saving houses.

We returned home where Duffy had changed his role from a tour guide to a chef. Whilst he prepared a unique dinner I got rid of all my hair. I felt normal again.

Day 35 New Orleans, Louisiana

The aim was to wake up early as Duffy and Kayla had got tickets for me to see a college American Football. It was quite a an important game due to the standings but even more so because the opponents coach, Alabama, used to coach the home team, LSU. Despite taking LSU to a major victory, he left on bad terms and this was his first return to the LSU stadium.

With Duffy spending most of the night with his head in the toilet he was feeling quite unwell and tired. For once, his condition was not alcohol related but I felt a little hung over as I drunk more alcohol than water yesterday whilst having cycled a record 124 miles. We had a massive palaver trying to get Duff some medicine but got it in the end.

We arrived at the game, along with the other 93,000 people and the place was pumping. Its hard to describe as the place was simply electric. I am not even talking about inside the stadium. They have these feasts called tailgates were people bring there RV, truck, car and have a selection of food and beer in front of their vehicle. As well as that they have music blasting and people are cheering and dancing. Some even erect satellite dishes so they could watch the pre match build up. It was fabulous to witness.

The aim at these games is to get pretty tanked up on alcohol prior to going in and if you are extra sneaky, try and smuggling in small bottle of spirits. Instead, I drank the majority of my Jack Daniels and Mr Bean prior to going in but it was fun watching everyone hide theirs. The atmosphere was so friendly, even between rival fans.

We walked up the stadium stairs and then out onto our seats. The stadium itself was packed to the rafters and was awesome. The game got on the way after the band and cheerleaders did their thing. Considering this is only college ball I could not believe the support and money that was being used in such an event.

I ate everything American I could, which included, hot dogs, soda, popcorn and peanuts. LSU were expected to get thrashed but kept it level all game. Alabama had a chance of clinching victory with the very last kick of the game but were unbelievably denied by an incredible block from LSU. The game went into overtime and Alabama snatched the win. They are presently the number one team in the country but did not look that good after today’s performance. However, with the noise the fans were making that must have been a hard stadium for any away team to play in.

During the drive home I was beginning to feel very fluey and my bones were aching. My nose was leaking and I feared I was getting the dreaded man flu. We got home just in time to watch the Cazaghe Vs Jones fight I so desperately wanted to see. After another brilliant display from the Welshman I retired to bed buzzing from a fabulous day.

If any of you need to contact me directly please email me at krisbearryman@yahoo.co.uk. i can not reply to any comments left on this blog.

Day 34 New Orleans, Louisiana

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Stats
Daily mileage 124 (New record) Ride Time 8hr 23min
Avg speed 14.75 mph Total mileage 2433

If I was wearing a hat I would take it off, if I could reach I would pat myself on the back and if I was sitting down I would stand up in a display of appreciation as to how well I rode today. When I woke up this morning I tried to roll out the left side of the bed but it hurt my body. I then tried to roll out the right side but it still hurt. I ended up shuffling down the end of the bed like a caterpillar and gradually stood up. My entire body was sore from yesterdays effort but I had another big day planned.

I went across the road to a diner and ordered my breakfast at about 0530hrs. At about 0610hrs it finally arrived on my table so I scoffed it down as the sun was coming up and I wanted to be on the road. I checked out and was on the road and noticed the wind had changed and was now a cross wind which would be very helpful when had to turn SE. I spent the first 90 mins burping up little chunks of breakfast. I ate so much and far too fast as well. My stomach finally settled and when I reached the Mississippi river I decided not to cross it at that point as I would have had to navigate my way through Baton Rouge during rush hour which would have been very time consuming.

As soon as I turned SE the wind knocked my speed upto 20mph and life was great. The miles clicked by and I had completed 100 miles by 1300hrs. I inadvertently turned onto the road that meant I had to cross the Mississippi river but it was not as bad as I thought. Despite having no hard shoulder the cars and trucks were, for once forgiving, and gave me plenty of space.
As I approached New Orleans the traffic was beginning to get congested and dangerous. After receiving endless hand signals and horn beeps I got to a junction that split into the motorway. This was really one place I did not want to be. I got on the road that I thought was the best option and got off at the next available place. I then started cycling through some very interesting neighbourhoods. Last night I watched the classic film Boyz in da Hood, and could swear the film had been filmed in this location.

I stopped and asked for some direction and eventually recovered my bearings and located my friends house. Mentally and physically drained I sat on the doorstep and relaxed. That was some of the most stressful riding I had experienced since I left San Francisco. My hosts were not supposed to be home yet but I thought I would knock on the door anyway. To my surprise, Kayla had got home early and gave me a lovely welcome. Her husband, Duffy, returned from walking the dog and we had a beer together.

We all went out to a cool bar where they served greasy food and a huge variety of beers. Feeling quite overwhelmed and tired we only stayed for a few hours. We returned to their house where I experienced the power of the Wii machine. It was great fun and I was so happy to be here and the thought of not getting on the bike tomorrow kept a smile on my face all evening.