Out Of Lake Village ASAP
We woke up at 7am and started to pack our bags and then loaded up the bike.
We knew there was nowhere in Lake Village to have breakfast so we decided to hit the road.
It was quite cold so we had all of our thermals and an extra jumper on but we still were keen to stop standing around and get onto the bike. We had packed the bike in just a few minutes as we had a good routine going now so we were completely ready to go by 7:30am.
We rode out of Lake Village heading back the way we had come last night but after around 2 miles we turned right onto Route 65 which we planned on following to Eudora before stopping for breakfast.
The road heading to Eudora had a lot of flat, straight roads that run through farmland that seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see. There were the occasional clumps of bushland that almost always had farmhouses on the edge that looked out over their farms.
Another Deserted Town
We completed the 15m mile drive to Eudora by around 9:15am and found that despite it being a rather large town, it was completely deserted.
We were used to finding towns with around 30 houses that were deserted but this town had a few hundred and had no signs of life and all the houses were run down and the streets were in bad condition.
Typical small town gas station
We then rode 5 more miles to the border to Louisiana which we stopped at to get a photo under the ‘Welcome to Louisiana’ sign.
Into Louisiana
The next 10 mile stretch was a welcome change with the surroundings becoming vast bushland with houses at the edge. They looked very picturesque as they were very old fashioned houses and they were surrounded with trees so that only the front was showing,
Through Oak Grove and down the 17 towards Delhi on a road that had a lot of small farmhouses in sections of bush interspersed with grass fields.
We reached the town of Epps that seemed by the signage to be rather small but once we arrived we found that it was quite large with a school (I figure any town with either a school or a Wal-Mart must be considered a large town).
At midday we reached the town of Winnsboro which is a rather large town (It has a school AND a Wal-Mart!) and we stopped for lunch at ‘Bobby’s Family Restaurant’, a lovely little diner.
We found a table near the door and Harry took his jacket and jumper off to warm up in the inside heat.
Loved Our Accents
The waitresses were in love with our accents and they all came over and talk to us.
They were all about 18 and had no idea about Australia except for one of them who had been to Sydney. Their accents were so strong we had to really concentrate to understand what they were saying.
Outside Bobbi's Restaurant after Haz charmed the waitresses
Headed For Winnsboro
We then headed out and of Winnsboro 25 miles down the 15 which is a rather large highway with 2 lanes in each direction and a grassy median strip.
We stopped in Ferriday and filled up with petrol just as some sprinkling of rain began – we then followed Route 84 towards Alexandria where we had decided to stop for the night.
We followed it through a large amount of farmland that went right through the town of Jonesville and then it began to rain heavier and heavier.
And Then We Crash…
Coming through the small town of Jena, Louisiana and I managed to slide the bike along the highway. Great riding (cough).
Harry got thrown straight off the bike as we hit the ground, but I managed to hold onto the bike as we went slip sliding down the road, hoping that no cars were coming in the opposite direction.
I eventually came to a halt and jumped up to make sure Harry was okay.
Funny that instinct as a dad. Couldn’t care less if I was hurt, was only concerned for the big, dopey kid who’d been sitting behind me for the past 2 weeks.
Sore Bum But All Was Well
Harry was fine, apart from a sore bum when he hit the ground hard and, as much as I love my son, I wasn’t checking that out for him in the middle of a highway!
To make it all worse, we were outside the Burger Barn with lots of faces pressed up against the glass watching us crash!
We picked up the bike and found that there was no damage to the actual bike but the supporting crash bar was scratched.
"We crashed there." Thanks Harry!
We pushed the bike off the road and had a chat to calm ourselves down a bit.
We then went into the coffee shop where 4 little kids from about 5 yo to 12 yo were all talking about how excited they were to see our crash.
Harry safely inside the Burger Barn
“I’m A Stunt Rider & I Did That On Purpose…”
I told them I was a stunt rider and I’d done it on purpose, which amazed them. Sure, their mum thought I was an idiot but a guy’s gotta save face!
We then jumped on the bike and began the short ride into Alexandria.
We found an ‘America’s Best Value Inn’ (which wasn’t – read my Trip Advisor review here) and went to a restaurant called ‘Texas Roadhouse’ (read my Trip Advisor review here, where we tried to find Buffalo Wings that were too hot for us to eat (we couldn’t!)
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