Dallas, Texas - Natchitoches, Louisiana (4)

After spending a few days driving and overcoming the stormy weather, I was eager to finally continue my bike tour. The total of this section was 511 km with 2813 m elevation gain

The car drive gave me a 2 weeks head start. This, of course, provides the opportunity to take more time to do shorter stages and spend more time on sightseeing.

Texas is a special place. The difference to Louisiana, where I am now, is very obvious. I compare it to the border between Italy and Switzerland, without wishing to place a value judgment. Both have their advantages. But Texas is historically characterized by virtually no state-owned land and private property. As a result, ranches stretch across the state, with the consequence that fences are the most common companions. I spent a week in Texas and didn't see a single cyclist. When you drive past pastures, the cows flee as soon as they see you. Unfortunately, the opposite is true for dogs. As soon as you approach on the road, you're greeted with joyful barking. And that scares off all the neighbors' dogs, so you regularily have three or four wild dogs running around you. There are fences along the pastures, but not so much around the houses. It was completely different in Arizona and California. I was probably barked at a hundred times there, too, but the dogs were always fenced in. I think the risk of being bitten is pretty small, but it's certainly possible for a dog to run into your bike. Of course, the dogs are primarily kept off-leash to track and ward off wild animals. This eventually led me to use interstates, which is legal in Texas. The problem there is a lot of trash lying around in the shoulder lane, lots of blown-out tire fragments, and the small wires in the tires, which also caused me my first flat tire. Here in Louisiana, the situation is completely different. Interstates are off-limits to cyclists, but things move at a more leisurely pace here than in Texas.

I was so happy this flat tyre didn't happen when I was in a bunch of dogs.

A nice sign, that I completely ignored as the weather was nice ...

... which turned out to be a big mistake. I forgot about the heavy thunderstorms the days before (obviously I didn't take a photo of this sign when I passed it, I only took it on my way back when I realized how relevant it was)

The road had really deep mud, and it stuck so tightly to the bike that nothing moved any more. I had to go back and clean the bike and my shoes so I could at least click them to the pedals.

It cost me easily 90 minutes to clean up until I could continue in a safe way

After all that hassle I needed some energy loading .

In the evening I went to Lake Tyler after 135 km of riding and enjoyed to relax.

Hanging my last food reserves into the tree, so no animals can steel them overnight or will be tempted to visit me inside the tent.

In the morning the lake invited for a nice swim.

There was nothing for breakfast at the campsite. However, I desperately needed a coffee, so I went to the first cafe I found.

Where I ended up spending several hours, completely unintentionally. But my bike in front of the door did attract attention. And I got into intense, interesting conversations with locals. They covered everything: travel, business, politics. It was amazing.

That day I only drove 60 km as I spend the entire morning in nice talks. And I took advantage of my hotel to get a shower for my bike

In order to avoid any more delays I chose to take the Interstate to Louisiana. No distractions or mud or dogs there.

At the border I crossed the red river. The water is really red from the red rocks coming from the rockies as well as from plants.

This is gonna be an interesting 7 days. I am very much looking forward to discover Louisiana with its cities Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

I wasn't quite sure which direction to take, so I asked a state trooper on patrol. He was very helpful, asked how I was feeling, if I have enough water, what I would do if I had a flat tyre and recommended to drive to Mansfield (about 30 km). After 7 km, he overtook me, flagged me down, and gave me a map of Louisiana. He offered me a can of tuna and crackers, and a first aid kit. He also recommended a hotel.

At the entrance to Mansfield, he was waiting for me again and called out to me (that's where I took the picture) that I shouldn't take that hotel just in front, but should turn left at the next traffic light to get one with a pool. This guy really took care. Very nice experience.

Yesterday I realised I needed a break. I was excited to continue to ride but my legs became weaker, So after 93 km of riding I decided to stop at the beautiful town of Natchitoches. (I never heard about it before).

And I decided to stay here for my day off today to recover.

Took advantage of discovering the place including the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame with basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal and many others.

Inside, I was asked which club I played for and if they could take a selfie with me. When I explained I didn't play basketball (just a strange sport called handball ) Deborah still wanted a selfie :-)

And by the way, she told me she loves collecting unusually cute small and medium-sized piggy banks (Sparschweinchen). For that purpose she gave me her address which I share here so if you want you can send one to her if you want to get rid of it.

Deborah Dumars, 3827 Spencer Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, USA :-) I am sure she will appreciate. And say regards from the German guy she met in Natchitoches' sports hall of fame.

The next stop will be New Orleans where I intend to stay at least 3 days. It is 440 km away, So I will arrive in 3 or 4 days.