We had a two mile loop in the midst of construction to rejoin our course.  Trains waited on the outskirts of town to be called in to load and firework stations, waiting for the holidays, lined the road.

Outside of town, we enjoyed a wide shoulder and nice shade.  Traffic was not constant, but loud when the trucks and traffic barreled by.

Forecast was for a southeast wind to pick up during the day; naturally our first 13 miles was north, before the wind began.  An hour into our ride, we turned east onto a quiet road and felt the wind begin to rustle.  Shortly thereafter, we crossed the very flooded Sabine River into Louisiana.  We learned later, that this is a controlled flood of the river, but these two counties take the brunt of it; sometimes not able to drive the streets for the high water.

We were surprised to run across another touring biker, Jorg, from Canada.  He was doing a large loop from Jacksonville, Florida back to Cape May, NJ where he now resides.

One turn and we went from quiet to quieter.There was no shoulder on this road but there were no cars either, so we had it to ourselves, rice fields on either side.  We could hear a light rumble in the distance, and were surprised to see a plane on the side of the road.  Apparently, they had just finished loading his crop dusting fertilizer, as he took off right beside us as we pedaled down the road.  The country road was pretty, but the wind was tough and the swirling gusts punishing.  The protective tree lined road was replaced with farms and country homes. After 43 miles we came to our first opportunity for fuel and rest.  We were hoping the little gas station would have a cafe or deli and an area to sit, but our choice was limited to packaged foods.  We stood inside the air conditioning and ate our prepackaged sandwich and muffin and pushed on twenty minutes later.  Within minutes our swirling wind was further enhanced by dust from the construction of a massive refinery.  This is the closest we have been to one and it seemed to stretch on forever.  Once completed, it will cover over 3,000 acres.

We enjoyed an all too short five mile stretch with a tail wind, relaxing as we sailed along the road.  The smiles left our faces as soon as we took the east turn into the unrelenting wind.  Stopped every few miles, just for a break.

We limped into our hotel at 3:00 after 62 miles and almost six hours in the saddle.  The only restaurant near our hotel was a Mexican restaurant and it looked like a dive.  Having already had take-out the night before, we decided it could not be avoided.  The inside was small and had the same ambiance as the outside, but the food was amazing.  This huge vat of avocado topped Fajitas included a huge poblano and cactus leaf, most delicious and well worth it!