Our day began with another delectible breakfast prepared and served by our trail angels, the Merryville Historical Society. With Eddie at the skillet, another generous multi-course feast was served up. We hated to leave Merryville, but we are on a schedule.
Our group is now down to 10 people, after Rich’s decision to finish the ride on his own. We left town in our normal order, though I left alone a few minutes after Ed. The riding conditions were perfect: cool temperatures, clear skies, very little wind, gentle grades, a nice shoulder to ride on and polite drivers. What more could we ask for?
I was never able to catch up to Ed, so I tuned into some music and rode alone. Today’s ride passed first through the eastern part of Beauregard Parish, then through the western part of Allen Parish, and ran into only two towns—the county seats of both parishes. In Deridder, Tom C and Erwin passed me as I shot a few photos.
The terrain throughout the day was just like West Texas, but without all the hills: Pine tree farms, cattle ranches, many little creek and river crossings–some with white sandy beaches, and lots of tall trees.
We stayed in the Oberlin Inn in Oberlin, the parish seat of Allen Parish. There was no laundry facility at the motel, so I rode to a nearby laundromat, and was lucky there was no waiting for the only washer and dryer that actually worked out of 7 washers and 8 dryers.
The discussion at our map meeting was dominated by tomorrow’s weather forecast. Three of the guys have already reserved hotel rooms in a nearby town, because there is a 100% chance of rain, off and on, all day tomorrow, and temperatures of 31 degrees expected tomorrow night while we camp out in Chicot State Park. I have faith that Ken will not put us in a dangerous situation. Guess I’m about to find out.
Living Our Bucket List 
I love the statue of the saluting policeman and the plaque under it. Stay safe.
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Working on it. We’ve been on some low traffic roads for a couple of days, and it has been very nice.
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