Frog Capital Of The World

As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, when it comes to cycle touring I’m a big believer in the motto, “It’s not how you feel at the end of the day, it’s how you feel the next morning.” I remember reading that line before my first tour in 2010 and I’ve carried it with me ever since. Fortunately, there have been VERY few days where I’ve had to rely on that motto. That said, it certainly came to mind last night when I was shivering excessively.

Fortunately, the shivers disappeared not long after I settled into my motel room (turning the heat up to 82 probably helped) and by this morning I felt ready for another day of cycling.

The upside to last night’s chilly ride in the dark is that it left me with a very manageable destination for today. The destination in question was Lafayette. And the hope was that I could get there without rain, flat tires, or riding in the dark. Spoiler Alert: It was a successful day, in all of those regards. Sadly, there was a headwind. It’s always something!

My day started with another not-particularly-impressive continental breakfast at the motel. There weren’t even any Frosted Flakes. Instead I had to choose between Raisin Bran and Froot Loops. Oh the humanity! I’m happy to report that the breakfast decision was the toughest part of my day.

A good indicator that today’s ride was both short and uneventful would be the number of photos that were taken. Or not taken, as the case may be.

The first highlight of the day came when I arrived in the town of Rayne. Okay, maybe this isn’t so much a highlight but rather something I found amusing. And I found it very amusing. As seen in the photo, apparently Rayne is the Frog Capital of the World. Needless to say I had no idea such a title even existed. And I can’t help but wonder what one has to do to earn such a title. Whatever it is, congratulations to Rayne.

The second highlight of the day was the seemingly spontaneous air show I was fortunate enough to witness. It was very impressive, although I’m confident the participants weren’t doing so for the attention. The air show in question was performed by birds. A lot of birds. Seriously, a LOT of birds. Not like 50 or 100. But there must have been thousands of them. And they were flying around in what looked like choreographed swarms.

My attempts to take photos of the air show were only mildly successful. I’m only travelling with a “point-and-shoot” camera which means I have no view finder and the screen can be a bit hard to see in bright sunlight. And when the desired subject is rather distant and moving very quickly, well … I won’t lie … it was very much “point and shoot and hope for the best”. I certainly didn’t end up with the best but it’s better than nothing. I think.

After the birds had moved on, the only thing left to do was to carry on to Lafayette. Unlike the past three nights, there would be no motel tonight. Instead I had a Warm Showers host lined up. But not in the usual way. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, my hosts in Lafayette are Becky and John who I met three times cycling along the Pacific Coast. It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two months to the day since I last saw them.

By 4:30, I had pedalled my way to Lafayette and through a lot more traffic than I expected and arrived at Becky and John’s place. Becky was outside doing some yard work when I arrived at which point I received an enthusiastic welcome. I didn’t get an enthusiastic welcome from John but that’s because he wasn’t home! He was out fishing for tomorrow night’s dinner. He returned within the hour.

The rest of the evening was spent catching up, drinking a beer or two, meeting a couple of their friends and neighbours, and enjoying a fantastic spaghetti dinner. Side note: I’m a big fan of spaghetti in general but, from a cycling standpoint, a spaghetti dinner after a day of cycling might just be the perfect meal. So good! So VERY good.

Becky and John have a fantastic house which includes a self-contained apartment out the back which is where I’ll be calling home for the next two nights. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure what the plan is other than to pedal my way to the next big city, which in this case would be New Orleans. But I’ll worry about that in a couple of days.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 76.28 km
Ride time: 3:45:03
Average speed: 20.33 km/h
Maximum speed: 35.31 km/h