I met Kurt this morning–a cyclist in the adjacent camp site. After chatting a while, we decided to ride together.
He arrived in New Orleans via train from California two days before, and was also headed north. He’s toured a great deal by motorcycle. And a bit less by bicycle.
The levy across the street from the campground was paved and flat. Lovely.
I quickly realized Kurt is better shape than me (as almost everyone is) but drafting behind him I could mostly keep pace with him early in the day. 20 miles in we passed the camping that was my potential target the night before from the airport. It was too far, but on the levy the ride would have been OK.
As the day wore on, so did I. But Kurt slowed so I could keep up. (Well, except the time he accidentally left his e-bike in assist mode). Drafting boosted by my speed and range by a considerable margin. Kurt’s used to riding in groups, and it showed.
Except for the last 10 miles or so, we spent the day on the levy. When it eventually shifted to gravel, we stayed on the levy. Then we ran out of levy. Just in time for a shift change. All day we’d been riding past massive refineries, and the last leg of our ride was in heavy traffic with no shoulder. Even so, the drivers were great, giving us plenty of room. That wore on Kurt, and he zipped ahead e-enhanced.
After a fair amount of deliberation, we’d decided to share a hotel room. In part because I had routed away from the Mississippi towards a large camping store for stove fuel. That put a number of motels nearby (and no camping). We caught back up with each other near the hotel, split a room, and grabbed dinner.
We spent the evening discussing routes. He’s headed northeast, where the MRT cuts back to the northwest. He’d also like to spend some time exploring Baton Rouge. So we will part company tomorrow at some point. He’s been great company.
My first day on the Erie I rode a surprising 90 km. I crossed 100 km today.