Cycle 31 Miles to Granny's Attic, Mandeville

Monday, April 12, we have the bikes packed up by 10:30. I check at the office for our mail but today's is not there yet. We hit the bike trail by 11:17 a.m. There is a north wind today and we find almost no one on the trail. We make good time to Mandeville. On the way we saw more wildlife today since the trail didn't have much human traffic. I little lizard ran right in front of my tire. Then a Pileated woodpecker swooped very low across the trail. I was just going to tell Bob how great it was that the trail was deserted today and we got to see so much wildlife when he yelled "Lookout, there's a snake!" Sure enough a four-foot black snake was coiled up in the middle of the trail hissing at us as we zoomed by. That got my adrenaline going. Later on I saw a rabbit hop it front of me and returned to my good feelings about the wildlife.

When we get to Mandeville we cruise by the special board outside Kickstand Cafe (actually they have their banner up and have officially changed their name to Old Mandeville Cafe.) We cycle on by to go to Samaritan Thrift shop a.k.a Granny's Attic before it closes at 2:00.

We leave our bikes in the rack out front with some kids bikes that the thrift shop is selling. We browse and find a 2009 Almanac for $1.50. And I find a colorful summer bracelet. When we pay the lady she asks "Are those your bikes in our racks out front? We've had several people want to buy them!"

We hop on before someone buys them and I stuff the Almanac in my panniers. We ride back to Old Mandeville Cafe for lunch; our last here probably. I have a heavenly Cream of Asparagus Soup and a garden salad. Bob has a Tuna Twist and we split a homemade Chinese Almond cookie. The gal heats it up for us. I couldn't come here all of these times without getting one of their homemade desserts.

Outside we take a break at the trail head after Bob gets his pedal caught on a curb by the Cafe. But he rights himself and we sit in the sun as it lulls us to sleep. At last we fill our water bottles and head back against the strongest wind yet. We're only going 31 miles today so it's not too bad. We make it back to the truck by 4:00.

Back home we put the bikes in the garage so I can just leave for my hair appointment tomorrow. The gal in the office catches me at the door and hands me our packet of mail. We crash with the A/C on to avoid the bugs. We eat Ham Hodge Podge Soup and watch House and Castle. It's 5:20 p.m. and 76 degrees with 35% humidity. The high was 78 and the low was 60. It was 87 degrees in the RV when we got back from cycling.

I called my brother Mike tonight to wish him a happy birthday. He says he started a new project at the Lake house on Lake Texoma, on the hill in the back yard, next to the peanut field. He planted a corn field; 40 ft. by 12 ft. Four rows of 50 seeds for a total of 200 stalks. How fun! It reminded me of watching our corn grow last summer in Bluffton, Iowa, behind our RV at Twin Lakes. He also said they are all going to a Beatles cover concert on Thursday. It will be my great nephew Ethan's first concert!

Cycle 48 Miles to Abita Springs, LA

Abita Springs Trail Head Museum
Monday, April 5, there is no loitering today. We have a quick, but hearty breakfast, stretch and load the bikes. At 10:20 we are on the Trail. The low was 63 and the high gets to 76 degrees. It feels more like 85 as the humidity is much higher now. We've been spoiled the past few weeks with one dry front after another. Very unusual for Louisiana.

We cycle west and north about 23 miles, finally making it to the town of Abita Springs where there is a nice trail head. Unfortunately the Abita Springs Brew Pub, our lunch destination is closed on Monday. We tried to Google for it this weekend but never found hours. Another local cafe is also closed on Monday. Mama D's Pizza is open but that's not ideal for cycling.

Sculpture under the grandstand at Abita Springs Trail Head

So we have grapes, apples and trail mix on a bench under the grandstand. Some baby birds fell from their nest in the rafters; maybe it was their first attempted flight gone awry. The Museum at the Trail Head is closed too but I snap a picture of the bright yellow building. There are quite a few people on the trail today. Schools still seem to be off here today and lots of Easter visitors are on the trail; grandparents with their grandkids on bikes. Too bad no place is open to eat.



We decide to cycle back one hour to Kickstand Cafe (soon to be renamed Old Mandeville Cafe.) They are changing the name due to confusion with the Kickstand bike rental shop and ice cream parlor. It seems a lot of folks don't know there's this great restaurant with a gourmet cook up here on the second floor. We sure enjoy it and are glad we found it and also glad we forced our tired knees to climb the two flights of stairs.



It is 2:00 by the time we get back there. They close at 3:00 and we're sure glad we didn't miss lunch. Breakfast was a long time ago and it has been 3 hours and 40 minutes since we left the truck. Over 4 1/2 hours and 30 miles of cycling since breakfast! That's a long time and a long distance with no real food or real rest. Today I try the Tuna Twist (tuna salad in a wheat wrap.) Bob has his favorite Egg Salad and Avocado Sandwich and we split them.



At the beverage counter there is this cute bike plantstand that they have decorated for Easter. I have a fit over it and take a picture. The gal behind the counter who is getting to know us by now tells me to take one of the biker bunnies! How fun. I rearrange my panniers so I can fit a lime green cycling bunny in my pack.

Biker Bunny!

We take a 20-minute break in the sunshine on a bench at the Trail Head across from the Cafe before cycling back against the wind for 2 hours and 20 minutes. We managed a total of 47.5 miles today. We didn't see any gators today. This was the hottest temperature we cycled in since we've been here. It's better for my joints but it sure dehydrates you. So you have to carry more water which makes your bike heavier and makes you work harder. It's 6:15 p.m.and 74 degrees outside with 60% humidity. It's 85 degrees inside the RV when we get back.

Cycle 45 Miles Tammany Trace Trail

Wednesday, March 31, I read until 3:00 a.m. I couldn't sleep so "Looking for Peyton Place" seemed like the next best thing. I read in the paper here yesterday about a networking website for people who like to read and share their book lists.Library Thing. Maybe I'll check it out. Anyway I still was up at 8:00 on a board. No dallying today. We hit the trail by 10:35.

The van to New Orleans' French Quarters left at 9:00. We should be having beignets at the Cafe du Monde right now! It seems the van driver already made an agreement with another couple to leave at 9:00 a.m. this morning and not pick them up until 8:00 p.m. tonight as they wanted to enjoy dinner at a nice place. Sounds to me like they're having breakfast, lunch and dinner there. We thought it was too long of a day so we'll sign up for another time. Instead we hit the bike path. That probably saves us a bunch of calories. Speaking of which, Bob calculated that we have cycled off enough calories in the 3 1/2 years we've had our bikes to lose 46 pounds. Why the heck have I gained four pounds? The bottom line is that I ate enough extra calories from being so hungry after cycling that I barely broke even. Bob says it kept me from gaining 42 pounds!

Today turns out to be the warmest and pretties day since we've been here. We make it the 15 miles to Mandeville in a record 1 hr. and 20 min. That's mainly because we only took one break. Well, except for jumping off to try to see a 5 1/2 foot alligator that a gaggle of young boys spotted sunning on a log by the side of the trail. The gator dove in just as we rolled up. Probably because the kids were yelling so loudly. Sure wish I could have gotten a picture. They were all so excited. On our way back later this afternoon a big ol' cajun guy in a redshirt heads down the embankment right at that same spot with a fistful of fishing poles. Yikes!

We take a short break at the Mandeville Trailhead then buzz by the cafe to see the special board for incentive. Today's special is Chicken Parmesan over Spaghetti. Thus motivated we cycle 7 1/2 miles out and 7 1/2 miles back in 1 hour 30 min. The wind was with us the whole way out. I am setting the pace today as Bob's seat adjustment seems to not be agreeing with him. This is our first cycle in shorts here, actually anywhere, in quite a while. It's way more comfortable than long pants. Either way we have our padded bike shorts underneath (Pearl Izumi's for you aficionados.) Crossing Hwy 59 was a terror with high speed traffic coming around a blind curve.

We are really tired 2:00 p.m. when we get back to the Kickstand Cafe after three and a half hours with no food; just grapes and half an apple. On Wednesday a group of ladies plays bridge here and they are all back again. Bob has his favorite Egg Salad and Avocado Sandwich on 7-grain bread. I have Chicken Salad over spring greens with walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette. I picked up a Northshore Gazette in the lobby that talks about Liz's Where Y'at Diner nearby on 190 just west of here. We'll have to try it.

Smoke seeps onto the Trail from a construction site burning felled logs

The cycle back is tough against the wind the whole way. I forgot to fill the water bottles at the trail head in Mandeville so we have a pint of tea for our two-hour trip back. I'm not to tired to hop off and get a picture of the flora since we missed the 'fauna' shot earlier this morning. About 2/3 of the way back we see the two little dogs that we saw the other day who were running around loose. They are skittish but finally come up to me but steer clear of Bob. We make it back after 6 hours and 20 minutes for a total of 45.03 miles.

Back home we cover the bikes on the back of the truck and crash in the living room to read the paper, have leftovers and watch Human Target. Steve, our Elgin neighbor, calls around 7:30 from Mitchell, NE, where he is attending his sister-in-laws' funeral. He was wondering where we might be. It was nice to chat with him. Sounds like they rescued another Cairn Terrier, Peaches.

Cycle 40 Miles Tammany Trace Trail to North of I-12

Monday, March 29, I'm up at 7:00 to a low of 50 degrees. It gets to 71 today. I walk, stretch and we have a hearty breakfast with slim pork chops. We load the bikes and hit the trail at 10:50. We cycle out 20 miles just past I-12 to the Trail Head at Caboose Kids Playground Connection.

This must be a popular spot to hold kids' birthday parties. This sign indicates more than one Mom tried to use the facility on the same day. It is crowded today and a big bunch of balloons hanging up by the caboose indicates someone is celebrating a birthday today. We take a brief rest and cycle back to Kickstand Cafe. A 'speed racer', as we call the guys on the racing bikes left his Roadway fancy bike in the stairwell. He must not have a lock to lock it up to the bike stand outside. It seems to be an expensive bike, all graphite construction. He is inside eating and is in excellent physical shape. Of course he's at least 30 years younger than we are. He has one of those camel backpacks for his water supply.



The Cafe has closed the grill already at 1:50. Seems early since they don't close until 3:00. I order the Koop Turkey sandwich on 7-grain bread (turkey, cream cheese, jellied cranberry and spinach.) Bob has the tuna salad sandwich. All of the sandwiches are huge here. It's cold inside so we don't linger.



At 2:30 we head back. We take extra rests on the way back. We made it out here to Mandeville in 1 hour and 35 minutes. It takes us almost two hours on the way back. We did take an extra stop just out of Mandeville so Bob could capture a shot of this wildflower. Our ride is 40.02 miles in 5 and 1/2 hours.

We drive home, cover the bikes and read the paper. We're both pretty darn tired. What a gorgeous day. It's 6:27 p.m. and 69 degrees with 21% humidity.

Cycle 35 Miles Slidell through Mandeville

Friday, March 26, the low was 53 degrees and the high gets to 76 which is more than they predict. When I walk I notice Babs and Shirley's RVs are still here. I thought they were leaving on Thursday. I return home to stretch and have a big breakfast so we can hit the trail at 10:55. We cycle est against a northwest breeze in record time to Mandeville Trail Head. Today we go past this next trail head for the first time, only by 2 1/2 miles so we can add five miles to our round trip and get in 35 miles today. There are some nice subdivisions with paths joining the trail.

Bob reloads odometer after lunch at Kickstand Cafe

We cycle back to Mandeville and have lunch at Kickstand Cafe. Today we lock our bikes in the rack so we can eat inside as the air is chilly. We both have Crawfish Pie special of the day after the cook describes it for us. It is an old-fashioned pot pie with its own aluminum pie plate, a crust like your grandmother's filled with crawfish and a heavenly creamy sauce. It comes with a spring salad and cornbread. But they must be out of cornbread as ours comes with garlic bread. Our waitress throws in an Easter cupcake with green grass coconut icing and two jelly beans on top. What a fun treat. This was my first crawfish pie (like the song) and now I know why they sing about it. We enjoy our nice break.

It would be tricky fishing over the high rail on this bridge in Fontainbleau State Park

Three gals on racing bikes come off the trail and into the cafe. We passed them earlier. Their car is downstairs (I figured it was as I saw their huge purses in the cafe--no way they had those on the back of their bikes) with three bikes on a rack on the back. Based on where their vehicle is parked I guess they did 30 miles; Mandeville to Slidell and back. One gal said "Now I think I'm ready for the road." So they must ride long-range on the streets.



There are a lot more people on the Trail today. A white pick-up truck with two guys sitting on the back tailgate with leaf blowers, blowing off the trail, is right in front of us for a ways going back to Slidell. They kick up a lot of dust that we have to eat but are going just fast enough that we can't pass therm. We have seen green dust collecting on our tires all day from the pine tree pollen. One of the three gals in the cafe said "It felt so good to take my contacts out-they were hurting so bad." I'm glad mine are okay. The pine pollen doesn't seem to bother me. We finally take a break in Fontainbleua State Park on the bridge over this bayou where an old boat is abandoned. On the railing I spy an anole, a small salamander who is brown like the post he's on.



I saw a baby nutria run in front of my tire on the way back. We held out for a bench to take a break and had to go 7.5 miles, our longest without a break since we started cycling here. Bob put my seat up 1/2 inch before we left today and my left knee hurts. It must have been too much of an adjustment at once. One-quarter inch adjustments at a time are better, especially if you're going to ride 35 miles! He said our tires were still at 70 psi this morning so he didn't add air. We make 35.01 miles in just under five hours, including lunch. It's 4:40 p.m. and 67 degrees with 45% humidity.

Cycle 30 Miles for Lunch at Kickstand Coffee House Cafe

Wednesday, March 24, I'm up at 7:00 after sleeping like a baby due to our cycling. It is cloudy and warm with a low of 53 degrees. The wind is out of the southeast so it feels much warmer. The high gets to 68 as the sun makes brief appearances. I nix breakfast at Sunrise on Second like we talked about. Instead we have Crispy Thingies at home and hit the trail at 11:25.

Bob at the Mandeville Trail Head

We go west, making it through the State Park all the way to Mandeville, LA. Just before the State Park I see a deer on the equestrian trail that follows the bike trail. We cycled out 15 miles one way. There we encounter the next trail head and the fanciest renovation of a depot that we have seen on the National Rails to Trails Network. After buying a Gatorade for $1.25 (it wouldn't take my crinkled dollar bill but I persevered and dug up five quarters out of my panniers) and climbing the stairs to the tower, we rode to the end where we thought the restrooms were located. I almost had a wall-eyed hissy fit when the doors were locked. I was ranting and raving about spending $1.5 Million on the freaking trail head train depot and then locking the facilities.

R2D2 rests on USA map at Mandeville trail head

We crossed the street to .Kickstand Coffeehouse Cafe and Bike Rental. The cafe is upstairs; two flights--they need to rethink that for us ancient cyclists. That was tough on the knees after 15 miles. The bike shop is downstairs but I was on a mission for a restroom.

Part of million dollar facility at Mandeville Trail Head

The lady behind the counter seemed thrown by our bike helmets. She thought we were looking for the repair shop downstairs. She seemed shocked that we wanted lunch. I know this place is fairly new but they must not get a lot of tourists riding the trail here like they do on the Paul Bunyan Trail in Minnesota.

Balcony where we enjoyed lunch at Kickstand Coffee House & Cafe

We sat out on the balcony to keep an eye on the bikes downstairs in the bike rack. We didn't chain them up in our haste to find facilities. There are two tables of ladies playing cards inside. We browse the menu and decide to split and Egg Salad and Avocado Sandwich on 7-grain bread with spouts and spinach--it was heaven! We also each have a cup of White Bean and Cabbage Soup with corned beef, cheddar cheese and caraway seeds. I was eyeing Breakfast Banana Split for $5.69 on the breakfast menu but I restrained myself. This place is great and the prices are reasonable. I'm so glad we found civilization at last on the trail. We had to cycle out 15 miles to find anything. Most of the trail runs through bayous (a fancy word for swamp) and the State Park.

Bike in lobby of Kickstand Cafe

What a nice break. We filled our water bottles at the depot and at last found an unlocked restroom. It made me feel better about the local community's investment. At last we head back about 2:10 p.m. It is a real slog on the way back against the wind the entire way. We had to take a few more breaks than we did on the way here. We're not so tired that we can't take a wildflower picture on the way back however. Shortly after that we're taking a break and I sprawl out on the trail. A Trace Ranger comes by and I snap a picture of his little cart. He's an older gent and he pulls up next to us and asks if everything is okay. I said "Yes, I'm just resting." He says "Whew, I'm glad." Maybe we would have been his first emergency case.

We made it in five hours (including our lunch break) for a total of 29.9 miles. We're both tired and wonder how we ever made it over 70 miles in one day in Minnesota. Actually, upon further reflection we both know how we did it. By adding five miles per cycle for the entire summer!

Poster at restored depot City of Mandeville

We head home in the frightful traffic here in Tammany Parish. Tonight we park the truck in front of The Titanic and leave the bikes on the rack. I go for a walk so I can stretch. While I'm out I finally see Shirley and Tim from the laundry the other day. I tell her Bob and I found her sock. She laughs and is so happy. She runs right over to retrieve it. Babs and her husband come out to join them to grill burgers. We all chat for a bit. They tell me about their two days of sight-seeing in New Orleans; Haunted History Tour, Honey Island Swamp Tour, City tour and Natchez Steamboat. They ate at Huck Finn's and Babs really liked the Fried Oysters over spinach salad. They asked me about our hybrid bikes and how to find bike trails. I told them we rode 30 miles on the Tammany Trace Trail and Tim asked "TODAY?!"

Trace Ranger to the rescue!

I went home to stretch, read the paper, work puzzles and watch Human Target. We're both tired tonight after two days in a row of cycling a bit higher mileage. It's 8;20 p.m. and 62 degrees.