DELIRIUM

6/12/11
Athen Sinodinos

We stayed in DeRitter last night at this rinky dink RV place with no showers.  Actually, no one was even there.  We threw our payment in the after hours box anyway, because that’s for sure bad karma.

Rick and I did 38 miles on the first part of our day’s ride, and we passed through an old little city called “The Y.”  If you’ve ever heard the country song “Way Out Here” by Josh Thompson, they’re not kidding when they say “our dogs run loose [way out here].”  Every house we’ve ridden by, there are dogs sitting on the porch, unleashed, in unfenced yards.  And they chase.  Rick and I were chased by a pitbull for a good half a mile today!

After our high speed dog/bike chase, we finally had some issues with our bikes.  Rick’s bike to be exact.  My bike has thorn-resistant tubes on the tires.  Jack’s bike (which Rick was riding today) didn’t have the thorn-resistant tubes put on yet, but we had the spares in the RV.  Jack hadn’t put them on because he figured we hadn’t gotten any flats since Texas, why jinx it now by changing the tires?

So yesterday Rick was saying how we’ve been soo good about our bikes, and we haven’t had any problems and right after we passed through The Y, he gets a flat.  I had four spares tubes on me in my bag just in case anything happens, so we don’t have to call whoever’s driving the RV to come back and give us a spare.  Of the four tubes, one was new, and the other three were patched up. 

I gave Rick the new tube, and it already had holes in it!  I gave Rick one of the patched tubes, but there were new holes in it!  I gave him the third tube...SAME THING!  EVEN THE FOURTH TUBE had new holes in it!   So Jack in the RV had to come meet up with us after all so we could put the thorn-resistant tubes on the bike Rick was riding.

When Jack met up with us, Jack and Rick switched.  Jack and I went through quite a few little towns.  One was called Mamou, where the air smelled like sea food.  The more into Louisiana we get, the more seafood places we’re coming across.  I guess there are a lot of manmade ponds where they raise crawfish and the like.  I think we’re getting closer to the coast, but I’m not sure, I have to take a look at the map.

So when Jack and I were riding, we had our headphones on, and we were jammin’, mentally tired, not talking, but hauling ass.  Behind a chain link fence, lining the road, we see this huge beast, which had to have been a mix between a boxer and a great dane.  It starts running towards the fence.  We thought, “HA! Too bad it’s on the other side!” And then it hits us that the beast could jump right over!  We took off!!!!  I thought this dog was gonna eat us!

Jack and I did about 35 miles on our second leg of the day.  Jack and Rick are riding right now, and they have about 20 miles to do.  We’re meeting tonight in Washington, Louisiana, and we’re stopping at Willie’s Washington camp ground.

We’re BBQing steaks tonight.  I prefer mine medium.  And I don’t care if I say this, it’s day 25, and I have major chafage.

So Jack made a spear out of a stick – he split the ends into four and sharpened them.  He wants to spear a fish with it.

We should be in Baton Rouge by tomorrow.  Coco, during the day, she hates it.  She pants all day, but likes it when we stop at night, and we’re all together hanging out.

Since we’re talking about dogs, and there sure are a lot of them out here, here’s another dog story:

Two days ago, Rick and I were riding, and I was a little a head of Rick.  We were pushing ourselves up a hill, and just as we were getting over the top, a boxer started to chase us.  He was probably a foot away from biting me, and turned around to chase Rick.  Rick turned around, right on the highway, and went back down the hill!!!

And when we were in Texas, we met a couple from England who was on the same route, going the opposite way (I think we’ve mentioned them).  They were telling us that there were a TON of dogs on their route.  So we go, “Oh yeah, like when we were in Arizona, a chihuhua chased us!”  They reply, “No, like real dogs!  We had to stop at a hardwood store to buy 4 foot sticks to keep them at bay.”  Yeah we probably should have listened to them.  We’ve seriously been chased by seven dogs so far.  Can you imagine, two guys, oh you know, casually cycling across America… and dogs come out of their houses and chase the hell out of you?! When all you have is your bike and the road ahead of you, feeling helpless sucks!

It’s humid as hell out here!  I’m sweating like crazy, and probably drinking like 2.5 gallons of liquid a day and I STILL feel dehydrated.  I’m going to start putting tequila in my water bottle.  It’ll definitely make me more dehydrated but I’ll forget about the mental exhaustion!

Right now our daily schedule looks like this: Wake up at 6:30 and have a light breakfast.  By 7:30-8, we hit the road and ride until about 1 p.m.  From 1-2 p.m. we break, drink a ton of water, have a light lunch, think about being on the beach drinking coronas, take a nap, and then switch riders.  We ride till about 7 p.m., then discuss life, and in bed by 9 p.m.!

So of the states we’ve visited, Texas was Rick’s favorite.  He looooved Texas.  Jack is really looking forward to the rest of Louisiana, and I’m excited for Mississippi and Alabama.  I can’t wait to visit Ole Miss and the University of Alabama’s fields.  I’d also love a rootbeer float.

I’m growing out my chin music.  I haven’t shaved since we left.  If the lock out continues for the NFL, I’m going to try out for the San Francisco Forty Niners.

I’M DELIRIOUS