During day 6, I rode from St. Francisville, LA to Franklinton, LA. The morning started nicely with some pretty big hills heading through the first few towns. I was averaging around 14 mph with the hills. I also started to notice a slight headwind – maybe around 3mph. No big deal, just enough to slow me down a bit.
The first few towns I went through seemed very nice and for all of my badmouthing of Louisiana roads, the roads on this stretch were actually quite nice and smooth.
Right outside of Greensburg (about 50 miles into the ride), I was unfortunate however to get a flat. I’m not sure what I ran over that caused it, but sure enough – there’s another 30 minutes wasted on fixing another flat.
During this morning, Vince headed down to Baton Rouge to Mid City Cycles to get the spoke on the wheel fixed from yesterday. Great guys. If you are in Baton Rouge and need help, we highly recommend them!
Fortunately Vince had planned to meet me for lunch close to I55 and Greensburg is just a few miles outside of it. We ended up meeting at the Greensburg Truckstop and Grill. I got to talking with a lady who was making a sandwich for me and then talked with a few of the other people there. They ended up giving me my sandwich and signed my jersey.
You know what happened next? The manager came out while I was eating and gave a donation and signed my jersey. What great ladies! I’m so surprised at people’s generosity and willingness to help out. What a blessing.
So I continued on riding to Franklinton and as the day got warmer, it started blowing harder. I also noticed some thunderstorms moving in to the east of me. I don’t mind rain, but lightning on the other hand is another story.
So it became a race. Could I make it to the camp site that Vince had set all set up at the Bogue Chitto State Park before the storm rolled in?
It was close. Vince actually met me close to Franklinton and picked me up so I didn’t get caught in the storm. And sure enough, as soon as we pulled into the camp sight, it started poring!
That’s about it. It ended up being a 90 mile day with lots of hills and headwinds! After a good night sleep it was on to Day 7!
Best Church Sign of the Day
God will provide for all of your needs.
Until tomorrow, I’ll be riding the white line! See ya!
