Day 11 - Highway 167 Saline River Access to Geddie, Louisiana

Last night was fairly eventful. I mentioned that my campsite was near a busy U.S. Highway. In spite of that, and the noise, I was able to nod off to sleep about 8 p.m.  At about 9:30 p.m., a truck with its headlights AND fog lights on that sounded as though it didn't have a muffler came pulling down the ramp to the river access where I WAS sleeping. Was being the key word because, of course, that monster truck from outer space woke me up. The river access area is small, so the truck parked about 10 yards from me and all the lights on the truck were left on for about 30 minutes. Additionally, the male and female occupants of the truck had flashlights in their hands and headlights on their heads, all of which were also turned on. They piddled in and around the truck for about 30 minutes, then turned the lights of the truck off and locked the truck's doors using the key fob.

They then headed toward the river with about 4 rod and reels with glow sticks tied in a circle on the fishing line of each. At that point, my curiosity got the best of me, and I got out of my tent to talk to them. I asked them what kind of fishing they were going to do, and they said they were going to try to catch some catfish. The female told me that they put the glow sticks on the fishing lines to hopefully help them see when a fish hits on the line. She then proceeded to tell me they are traveling to Little Rock for her to have surgery tomorrow, and stopped by the river to do a little fishing.  The male then chimed in that they decided to have a little fun on their was to Little Rock.  They did not say where they traveled from.  I asked if they were going to camp there, and the female said that they were only going to be there a couple of hours. 

As I was talking to them, I noticed the male was not only carrying 4 rod and reels, but he was also carrying a rifle. (This is rural Arkansas, what do you expect?). They went on their way into a wooded area several yards away from my tent. I went back inside my tent, and fell back to sleep. I figured they were not going to mess with me or they would have already done so. At about 12:30, I was awakened by a loud truck on the highway. Then I started smelling smoke, and heard someone breaking sticks where they were fishing. Turns out they had started a campfire. I have seen signs in every county I have been through in Arkansas that indicated that there was a burn ban. I assume that includes banning any type of outdoor fire, including campfires. 

That got me to thinking that the river access area is the last place I need to be if law enforcement showed up to address the outdoor fire, and then confronting a guy with a rifle. So I broke camp about 1 a.m. and continued to ride south on Highway 167. After riding about 9 miles, I saw a church pavilion with large picnic tables under it. I pulled out my sleeping bag and slept on top of one of the picnic tables until about 5 a.m.

What a wacky night. It's all part of the "adventure".  

I have always believed night riding is actually safer than riding in the day if you have a lot of reflectors and front and rear lights. Also, while I was riding between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., the traffic was very light. The sky was clear and the half moon and stars were really showing out. 

Made it to Fordyce, Arkansas pretty early because of my early start this morning. Below is the Dallas County Courthouse in Fordyce, and some information about the town's name. 

Train depot pic below. 

Then went through Camden, where a Civil War battle occurred. Below is some information about the battle for all you Civil war buffs. 

This a small volunteer fire department between New Edinburg and Warren. I wonder if they lock their door at night. 

Below, I'm showing my bike chain a little TLC in Warren with a sock I have hauled around since Newport. I found the sock, which is clean, at the laundromat in Newport. 

I'm such a sucker. I pulled up Google Maps and asked for directions from Warren, Arkansas, to Bastrop, Louisiana. It gave me a 75 mile route to drive and a 72 mile route to bike. Well, to save 3 miles I chose the biking route. Approximately the first 20 miles were perfect, low traffic roads. Then I came to a road like the one pictured below. The gravel on it was like riding on loose sand in a lot of places. I was on this type gravel road for about 5 miles. There was no traffic, but there was constant danger of loosing control and crashing, which I fortunately did not do.   If you ever plan a bicycle tour in Arkansas, stick to the State Highways. Most of the County Roads are gravel. 

I finally made it to Louisiana, and it was getting late so I set up camp in some woods behind a church right at the Louisiana state sign. This is the first time I have ever toured on bicycle in Louisiana. 

Totals for the day - 111.9 miles; 9 hours 4 minutes saddle time