Pine plantations and rice fields. Up at 7:00 A.M. for a breakfast of granola and chocolate milk. Then on the bike heading south on US Hwy 190 for two miles. I turned east on LA Hwy 26. Biking was easy on a wide, smooth shoulder. I passed many planted pine plantations, a continuation of yesterday's scenery. Lots of logging trucks. After 24 miles of riding, I reached the hamlet of Mattie and the landscape changed from pine trees to flat land with rice fields. Some of the fields were being flooded with water pumped from high-capacity wells. The rice plants were about one foot tall. I crossed Ouiska Chitto Creek with two canoe rental businesses and bigger and sandier Calcasiew River (see photo) on my way to Oberlin. I ate an early lunch of crackers and cheese on a picnic table next to the court house and called Betsy to check in. Seven miles later, I declined the official route at LA Hwy 104 and continued south on Hwy 26. The shoulder disappeared but the road surface was smooth and traffic was light. I also rescued a turtle crawling across the highway and dropped him/her in the roadside ditch. At US Hwy 190, I had a cold drink then headed east. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go, but I needed to go far enough so I can meet my cousin Charles in Jackson, LA tomorrow night. I considered stopping in Eunice but kept going all the way to Opolousas at Interstate 49. The last few miles of the ride featured a shoulder-less road with lots of bumps, heavy traffic, lots of noise, and no grocery store. Dreadful. I reached the frontage road along I-49 and rode south a bit to a Super 8 motel. I was beat, unsurprising given that I biked 90 miles today. A shower and dinner partially revived me.
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