Day 3: Thursday, 05/10/18, St. Francisville, LA to Natches, MS

Map of today's ride:



Distance of  Today's Ride:  66.1 miles
Trip Total Distance: 192.4 miles
Elevation Gain:  2513 feet
Riding Time:  4:16 hrs:mins

Today's ride was the best of the first three days. The roads were in much better condition and the scenery was more varied.  The weather was also excellent, with the sun out, no wind of significance, and a high temperature of 89 degrees. Mindy did have another flat tire. This flat was caused by a road object that cut thru the sidewall of her rear tire and tube. The tube was replaced and a folded dollar bill was positioned over the tire cut (inside the tire) so the tube wouldn't bulge out of the cut when inflated. 

Today we crossed into Mississippi about 20 miles after leaving St. Francisville. The two riders on the right are Mike and Barb, who live in Salem, OR and Oro Valley, AZ.  Mindy and Wayne are next to them.  Tim, in the white jersey, is from England.  Cynthia is from the San Francisco area and the gentleman on crutches is Richard from Virginia.  Unfortunately, on the second day a few blocks from the hotel in Gonzales, Richard's front wheel went in a hole and he and the bike flipped over.  He landed on his head cracking his helmet in five places.  He also has a very bad bruise on his hip.  He is taking a couple of days off with the hopes of riding before the end of the week.

There were a lot of pretty purple flowers along the roads in Mississippi. Sorry, but everyone we asked did not know what kind of flowers they were.

Mammy's Cupboard was built in 1940 and continues to stand as a much loved landmark on Hwy 61, South of Natchez, Mississippi.  This was a recommended stop for a slice of homemade pie!  While we did not partake, fellow riders sampled a slice of the Chocolate Ice Box and Banana Carmel...both selections looked outstanding!

This picture of the Mississippi River was taken from an overlook on a bluff in Natchez. The steamboat in the picture is the American Queen. It was built in 1995 and is a six-deck recreation of a classic Mississippi riverboat. She has 222 state rooms for a capacity of 436 guests and a crew of 160. She is 418 feet long and 89 feet wide.