Day 29: Slidell, LA to Gautier, MS

We made it to Mississippi! Apparently Mississippi is the birthplace of American music (according to the sign). If it was up to me, I would change their slogan to "the state with the best roads." On this bike trip, Matt and I have added to the definition of beautiful:

beau·ti·ful/ˈbyo͞otəfəl/

Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. Of a very high standard; excellent. A stretch of smooth pavement.

Thank you Mississippi for not having bumpy roads and litter/rock covered roads and shoulders!

We got a late start to the day (we didn't start biking until 10am--4 hours after we usually start) because Matt didn't get back from the hospital until 1:00 last night and we had to go and fill a prescription for him this morning. He has some cream stuff that he's putting on his ankle and some medication that he's taking. His ankle didn't get worse today, so hopefully it starts getting better soon!

The ride today was absolutely beautiful! For a lot of the way, we were biking by the Mississippi coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. The sand is so white and fine... I just wanted to go lie down in the middle of it! Alas, we only stopped long enough to touch the sand and snap a few pictures.

We rode 80 miles today. I am surprised we got so far considering our late start.

So we thought it was hilarious that the only quote NBC 33 news took from us was when Matt was talking about weird bugs and dead armadillos. We think it's so neat that they did a news story about us on TV! Here's the link to the story about us: http://www.nbc33tv.com/sports/lagniappe-sports/biking-across-america

Happy Birthday Grandma LeBaron! Hope you had a great day today. Thanks for frequently calling us and checking in on how we're doing. We love you!

Day 28: Baton Rouge, LA to Slidell, LA

Matt went to the Ochsner hospital today--our third time at a hospital this month! He had to wait for hours before someone could check out his leg. While he was biking today his left ankle started turning red and swelling up and the bed bug bites on his left leg started turning purple! The doctor said the bites had become infected and had caused Cellulitis; he prescribed some antibacterial medication which we will go pick up from a pharmacy in the morning. The good news is that Matt told the doctor and nurses all about the bike trip and they were all very intrigued; they said they wanted to check out the blog and possibly donate!


It was really hot today! Mixing the humidity and the 90 degree weather makes for a very sticky, sweaty ride. I think I drank over two gallons of water today.

We have some exciting news... we got interviewed by the FOX44 news station for Baton Rouge this morning! He interviewed each of us and videotaped us biking. We'll be sure to post a link when it comes out. In addition to that, a newspaper had us take a picture in front of the Livingston Library and send them the picture to put in their paper. Below is one of the pictures we sent them.

We went 94 miles today! Tomorrow we should be out of Louisiana and into Mississippi!

Every night Matt and I wash our clothes that we wore during the day in the bathroom sink. We brought some Tide with us, and we sprinkle some on our clothes and scrub them, rinse them, and wring them until they're clean. (It's gross how dirty the water can be at first.) We hang them up to dry overnight and have to hang them up during the next day to let them fully dry. We only brought two sets of biking clothes with us, so wear one set while the other is drying and then switch. Every weekend Grandma Gina is a sweetheart and goes and washes our clothes at a laundry mat for us. This means we love Friday and Saturday nights because we don't have to wash our clothes in the sink at night!

Day 27: Baton Rouge, LA (Rest Day)

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to JDRF (the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) since last Sunday! You are all so wonderful!

Ruth Ann Ferreira, Kathy Ward, Brian Henderson, Georgia Ogles, Jonathan Fischer, Paul and Marilyn Robinson, Curt and Jan LeBaron (our parents), Trevor Evans, Jared Colton, and Brittany Miyahara

Ruth Ann Ferreira wrote to us and said, "I've been diabetic for 35 years. By my best estimate, I've poked myself around 64,000 times for injections, insulin pump insertions and blood tests. It's paid off because I've escaped the tragic complications of diabetes so far, but I'm ready for a cure!!!" 


If you would like to make a donation, click here or on the button that says "MAKE A DONATION!" on the right of our blog under the thermometer. All donations go straight to JDRF; Matt and I don't see any of it. (All of our expenses like lodging, food, biking gear, etc. come from our own savings.) Every donation makes a difference!


Today we went to church (we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). And what do you know, the Baton Rouge temple was right next to the church! Although it looks really small compared to the Utah temples, it is such a beautiful temple, and we had to take some pictures with it. 


I feel so bad for Matt whom is still recovering from his bad case of bed bug bites. He has a big one on his left eyelid that makes it hard for him to open his eye, and a lot of his bites have swollen with pussy stuff and started leaking (gross!). He had a hard time sleeping last night because they itch so badly, but it helped that the lady at the front desk in our motel was really nice and gave Matt her anti-itching spray. Hopefully he has a better night tonight to gear up (no pun intended) for another week of biking.

Matt taking a nap before church starts
(don't worry, the chair did not have any bed bugs)

Day 26: Lafayette, LA to Baton Rouge, LA

Matt's whole body is basically one big bed bug bite! Poor little Matt! Because this is not Matt's first experience with bed bugs, he was able to declare them as bed bug bites right away. (Matt's first experience with bed bugs was on his mission in British Columbia--to learn about LDS missions, click here.) As usual, we had slept at a cheap motel... I guess from staying in cheap places, it was bound to happen sometime. He said they itch like crazy, and, even though he hasn't scratched them at all, they're really puffy and red now.

Here are the stats for Matt's bed bug bites:
Left hand: 11
Right hand: 10
Left arm: 27
Right arm: 18
Left leg: 17
Right leg: 4
Left foot: 3
Right foot: 1
Face: 4
Total: 93

Haha and before Matt went to bed tonight he said, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." It has a whole new meaning now.

Today was a hard day. We got pulled over by another policeman who told us that we couldn't ride on the I-10 to cross the bridge, so we had to find an alternate route. It added another 40 miles onto our trip, and most of them were on a levee road. On a bike without shocks, that road was miserable, and it took us hours to ride because the gravel really slowed us down. My clip-in pedal broke somewhere on the levy road, so for the rest of the day I alternated between using the Cannondale and the Bianci.


Matt's best for the day was crossing over the Mississippi River bridge. It was really neat riding over the bridge--which looks like a mini version of the Golden Gate Bridge. The red sun was setting, and it was magical looking out over the water and the city.

We rode 90 miles today, and I am completely exhausted. So grateful that it's Sunday tomorrow!

Day 25: Vinton, LA to Lafayette, LA

104 miles today!

Matt's best of the day was watching the sunrise and singing "America the Beautiful" to himself as we biked along I-10. It was an amazing sunrise! The sun was a big red ball, and there was a reddish morning mist everywhere. Amazing.

Matt's worst for the day was that we couldn't bike over the Lake Charles Bridge. My worst is that I felt sick to my stomach all day--women, you know what I mean--and I was really moody and took it out on Matt when we came to the Lake Charles Bridge...

We were biking on I-10, and just before the bridge a policeman stopped us and told us that we weren't allowed to cross it on bikes. Grandma Gina had already gone over the bridge, so Matt and I took the first exit we could, called grandma with my phone that I hook onto my bike for times like these, and waited for her to come to where we were so we could regroup. Matt checked his phone for alternate routes and found one that went about 10 miles out of our original route. I guess I was frustrated that we had to bike so far in the wrong direction, so I got mad and wouldn't talk to him for a while. Sorry, Matt! Moral of the story: feeling lousy and biking all day long is not a good combo.

When I say we were biking all day I'm being serious. We were on our bikes when the sun was rising and ended when the sun was setting. (Of course with breaks here and there.)

Matt got flat tire #5 today, but, being the handyman that he is, just fixed it so he's good to go tomorrow morning.

Best company's slogan of the day: When we were taking a break at a gas station, we saw a garbage dump truck that had words printed on the side that said...

Accurate Waste Systems

"At your disposal."

Loved it.

Day 24: Dayton, TX to Vinton, LA

Hooray! We're out of Texas! Hello Louisiana :)

My best for the day was really cute! Matt and I stopped at a red light right next to a school bus full of children that were on their way to school. They were all staring out of the window at us so I smiled and waved and the whole line of them smiled and waved energetically back. It was so cute! I wish Amy J. (my little sister) was on that bus. I miss and love you Amy J.!

Matt's best for the day was this ginormous fire hydrant! It was like 20 feet tall and painted like a dalmatian! We just had to stop and take pictures with it. (We're trying--unsuccessfully--to be fire hydrants in the picture.) We talked with some locals who were geo-cashing, and they said that the fire hydrant is a monument recognizing the local fire department.

Matt's worst for the day was when we had to cross this one bridge on the I-10 just after crossing into Louisiana. The bridge didn't have any room for us to ride on, so Matt and I had to step up on a foot-and-a-half wide nook on the side of the bridge railing while we pushed our bikes on the shoulder.

When we started this trip we thought we were just going to be biking across America; today we found out that we got to bike across China too! The only difference between this China and the real one is about a billion people, but it was still fun to get a picture :)

My sprained ankle held up great today! Thanks to my ace bandage and some KT tape, it only bothered me a few times all day. And we went 89 miles!

The Fort Stockton Pioneer wrote an article about us (we passed through there last week). You can see the article by clicking here.

Day 23: Sealy, TX to Dayton, TX

Matt, Grandma Gina, and I got on the prayer roll at the Saint John Missionary Baptist Church! We had stopped to figure out the route, and Matt and I really had to use the restroom. We had stopped in the parking lot of a church, so Matt went to see if the church was open. It was locked but a few seconds later a guy came and opened the door and said we could use the restrooms. The man was pastor S. C. Augustus and was getting ready for a meeting tonight. When he was letting us back out of the church, we chatted for a bit and he gave us advice on good roads to take. When we were about to take off, he came walking over to the car and asked for our names so that he could put them on the prayer roll for their meeting tonight. What a thoughtful gesture!

More dogs today (which scare me now after my dog/bike accident)... we were going into Houston on some country roads (even a dirt road at one point) and had several dogs chase Matt. Two of them wouldn't stop following him, so we decided to get the pepper spray out but luckily didn't have to use it. One of the houses we went by had seven dogs sitting at the edge of the driveway, but, thankfully, they didn't chase Matt--I doubt even he could handle seven dogs at once!

Matt's best for the day was that he could ride his new bike again after getting the flat tire fixed today. His worst for the day was a buffet he and Grandma Gina went to. Haha! He tried to get me to eat there too, but, thankfully, I stuck to some fruit, chips, and crackers from the car. The food looked good, but the quality was lacking. My favorite quote from that experience is when Matt said, "I thought it was impossible to wreck spaghetti."

The swelling in my ankle has gone down a lot, and I was able to walk on it pretty well today. We went past a Sports Authority (thanks to a suggestion from Spencer Quinn) and grabbed some Pro KT tape to wrap my ankle with tomorrow when I try biking again. Hopefully it helps keep my sprained ankle from bothering me too much.

Great job, Matt, for 90 miles today (most of it in the city)!