Tour du Rouge - Day 6

Today is our last day.  We woke up to a gorgeous Louisiana morning and got the day started right with a hearty breakfast at the Holiday Inn where we were staying.   By now, both the riders and the support team had their routines down and everything was working like clockwork.  There was excitement in the air as people began to realize that they were on the verge of achieving a goal they had been working towards for over a year.  For me, it was mixed emotions - great to make the goal but having so much fun and riding so strong that I was not ready for this little adventure to end just yet. 

We started the ride by going down the wrong highway due to an incorrectly placed turn sign.  While we were doing that, I reached down for a water bottle and was shocked to discover I had left both bottles in the hotel room refrigerator.   I pulled over to call Jacque who was in the Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle and my bike buddy Mike pulled over to call Tina in the Rest Stop Truck hoping that one of them was close enough to the hotel to go back and get the bottles.  While we were making the phone calls, most of the other riders passed us up.   We were pedaling furiously against the wind to catch up when we caught a lucky break.  Riders started coming back the other way having figured out we had all taken a wrong turn.   Instead of having to do a long chase against the wind, all we had to do was a U turn and we went from last to first.  If it hadn’t been for the water bottles, we would have been much farther down the road in the wrong direction.  We couldn’t believe our luck. 

Another rider in our group, Rich from Louisiana, loaned me one of his bottles which was really nice.  We got into a fast group of eight riders which really helped with the head wind which was starting to pick up considerably.   When we got to the first rest stop, I was amazed to see my water bottles set amongst the fruit and snacks.  What a support team!  They went back to the hotel to retrieve my water bottles without missing a beat.  And best of all, the water bottles were still ice cold.  How good does it get?  By now, I realized it was going to be a great day. 

Our core group from the day before (me, Daryl, Mike and Rich) were the first into the next rest stop which was very festive due to the enthusiastic spectators and loud music.   We were enjoying ourselves at the rest stop and once again, let Bob from New Mexico get away with about a 10 minute lead.  Once again, we were in chase mode with strong headwinds. 

We got off the highways and rode through some nice neighborhoods before reaching the huge levy alongside the Mississippi River.  We got to ride the next 20 miles on top of the levy with the river on one side and towns, petrochemical plants and suburban neighborhoods on the arrow.  It was a narrow, windy and undulating paved path shared by cyclists, joggers and walkers.  The four of us had a police escort which was really cool.  We were trying to draft off him but every time we got close, he would speed up.  By now, we were worried that Bob had gotten away from us.  In my opinion, we weren’t going fast enough so I picked up the pace to about 25 and did a long pull only to find I wasn’t pulling anybody because they weren’t keeping up.

But mission accomplished, Bob was in sight.  We regrouped and picked up the pace again and finally passed him.  Then we caught a tailwind and cruised to the first finish at a nice park alongside the Mississippi River. 

We stayed at the park about two hours until all the other riders had come in.  Then the entire group, both riders and support team,  formed a parade with police escorts for the final eight miles into downtown New Orleans.  It was like taking a victory lap.  The collective mood was celebratory and infectious.  Oh what a feeling it was.  We had done what we set out to do.  We had survived the mosquitoes at Rutherford Beach and completed our 512 mile ride from Houston to New Orleans.  I surprised myself with how I felt stronger each day and with an average speed of 19.2 mph over the entire six days.  

Our hotel rooms at the Hilton were awesome.   After cleaning up, we went to our Victory Dinner on the Creole Queen riverboat before doing a little Bourbon Street and ending up at Pat O’Brien’s.  Jacque and I went to bed around 1 AM so we would have time to have an early breakfast at Café du Monde before heading back to Houston.

I would like to give a special thank you to Mike from Pennsylvania, Daryl from Austin, and Rich & Tommy from Lousiana for working together to achieve an average speed of 19.2 mph over the entire six days; Bob from New Mexico who pushed us hard every day; and the volunteers who met our needs in every way.   And finally, a special thank you to Jacque de Sosa for sharing this great adventure with me. 

Hope you all enjoyed this Tour du Rouge Blog.  I’m hoping that one or more of you decide to do this with us next year.  It’s a special event for a great cause.  There are some extremely committed individuals who are dedicated to making this a much bigger deal in future years.  Can’t wait to do it again! 

Thank you.