Louisianna in April. Ah, warm spring with gentle breezes from the Gulf. Well no, it was 42, damp and windy at 8:00 this morning. We have a firm rule, “No sniveling allowed” so we set off. I had on 2 hats, 5 layers of shirts, coats and jackets, 2 pair of gloves, running tights over the bike shorts, wool socks and boot covers. Bill lead and kept the group at a reasonably fast, 15+ mph, pace. By 9:30 I could feel my fingers and toes again. Life on a bike, at least for me, was getting good again. Others were regretting shipping their cold weather gear home.
The scenery was hilly, green and similar to the last several days. Pictures are from previous days as our hands were too cold to operate the camera or GoPro.
Our second stop at 31.6 miles was at a donut shop. Most of the group is normally conscientious about food choices but after 39 days of biking our resolve is slipping. The 5 of us were among the first third of bikers to arrive. By the time the next wave arrived there were no donuts in the bakery case. This was the second day in a row that we had completely cleaned out the donut shop. I began to think of one of those bad ScFi movies where the plague of giant locusts lands on earth and devours town after town. Here we come across country: The dreaded biking calorie consumers!
I asked our chef, Anne, how many calories and how much food she plans for each day. A ballpark number is around 5000 calories per day. That’s about 2.5 times the USDA recommended average. She also said that each group is different. Our group has 41 riders, 4 crew members who each lift about 1000 pounds of tents a luggage a day, plus the other staff members. On a typical day she’ll provide for breakfast 2 gallon orange juice, 2 gallon other juice, 120 cups of coffee, 30 bananas plus other fruit, 2 gallons whole milk plus skim, 2.5 pounds oatmeal [uncooked], 1 loaf raisin toast, 2 dozen bagels, 1 ½ pounds of cream cheese, 5 quarts yogurt, 1 ½ pounds raisins, and cold cereal and peanut butter. A typical dinner will take 30 to 60 pounds of meat, 80 servings of noodles, several pounds of vegetables, the equivalent of 20 bags of salad plus veggies in the salad and a dessert equal to at least 11 or 12 pies. She shops every day. When there’s a Costco, Sams or Walmart there’s no problem finding ingredients. In some of the smaller towns she buys all the meat in all the stores. Plague of giant locusts.
I’ve heard from some of the other riders that one should start cutting back on food 2 weeks before the end. Guess that was yesterday.
Tonight it is supposed to get to 31 degrees. Yes, we are still in LA. I’m glad we are in a Baptist Church gym even if it means the bar is closed. Several folks elected to sleep in tents tonight. But then, they are crazy enough to ride a bike across country.
