Jim and I at the end of a 150 mile touring day.
New Orleans to Montecello, Mississippi (near Brookhaven) in one day.
Map of two day ride around Lake Pontchartrain
Crescent City Cycle Club annual "Around the Lake" ride
starts at Lakeside Shopping Center parking lot early Saturday morning.
Jim and Frank getting refreshed in Manchac, LA on Old Highway 51.
Lunch stop at Middendorf's Restaurant in Manchac, LA.
Sag wagon prepares to embark on second half of Day One from Manchac.
Day 2 preparations from Holiday Inn in Covington, LA.
Departing Holiday Inn Covington to start Day 2.
Five man pace line takes a rest along Hwy 36 between Abita Springs and Slidell.
Frank, Nick, Jeff, Joey, and Jim.
Dawn leads the way down Highway 90 from White Kitchen, LA.
Destroyed camps along Highway 90
between Chef Pass and the Rigolets thanks to Hurricane George in 1998.
I thought some of the camp names were a bit ironic
Destroyed camps along Highway 90
between Chef Pass and the Rigolets thanks to Hurricane George in 1998.
Less is More - to a certain degree anyway.
Bike touring on the Tammany Trace before it was a Rails to Trails
This photo taken just west of Slidell, LA.
Local rides heading to Mississippi.
My first touring bike obtained 1975. I rode this one for 15 years.
Jim and a Saturn V engine at the NASA facility in Michoud, LA.
Jim getting refreshed along Highway 90 near Chef Pass.
When we first started biking this route there was NOTHING out here but a boat launch and some camps.
We were very excited about this new store with snacks and restrooms.
Bridge over the West Pearl River near White Kitchen, LA.
Mississippi State Line along Highway 90 on the way to the Gulf Coast.
Jim on Old Pearlington Road south of Highway 90 near Waveland, MS.
Scenic stretch of Old Pearlington Road, Mississippi.
View of Beach Road and Mississippi Sound at Waveland, MS.
Waveland, Mississippi
Waveland, Mississippi
Beach Road and Mississippi Sound at Waveland, MS.
Note the difference between the waves in the previous photo.
These two photos were probably taken a few days apart.
McLeod's State Park (before it was a state park) on July 4th weekend.
Man, was this place loaded with drunk locals and theiving raccoons.
McLeod's State Park (before it was a state park) on July 4th weekend.
Man, was this place loaded with drunk locals and theiving raccoons.
McLeod's wilderness camping.
Old Pearlington Road is always the highlight of the trip to Waveland
Here is a look at our far reaching weekend excursions.
The bridge over Pass Manchac is a favorite eating and resting spot along old Hwy 51 when heading out of town to the west.
Often it offers the only chance for a breeze during the hot months.
The bridge over Pass Manchac looking north toward Hammond.
Highway 22 between Ponchatoula and Madisonville 1988.
This scene looks exactly the same in 2012.
Bridge over the Tangipahoa River just east of Ponchatoula, LA.
Highway 22 between Ponchatoula and Madisonville is deserted on weekend mornings.
Highway 22 early Sunday morning.
Dinner of Champions at Fairview Riverside State Park - Madisonville, LA.
Check out those old helmets.
Setting up camp. Fairview Riverside State Park - Madisonville, LA.
Fairview Riverside State Park - Madisonville, LA
Relaxing in hammocks at Fairview Riverside State Park.
View of Fairview Riverside State Park from a hammock.
Fairview Riverside State Park - Madisonville, LA.
Jim near Independence, LA.
Heading south from Independence to Hammond, LA on backroads.
Exactly 100 miles from Jim's house. Then 100 back home the next day.
Hamming it up.
100 miles with 20 miles of steep hills at the end does take it's toll.
The dam at Percy Quinn State Park in the early morning.
Steep hills south of Magnolia Mississippi on the way home from Percy Quinn State Park.
Backroads near Indian Creek Campground - Independence, LA.
My new Cannondale ST1000 touring bike halfway through a 150 mile day (1988).
I put nearly 20,000 miles on this one before selling it.
Jim biking on backroads near Independence, LA.
Percy Quinn State Park entry road.
Percy Quinn stray dog tried to follow us home for two miles (of 100).
Camping at Percy Quin State Park.
Is that Don Johnson behind those Wayfarers?
Old Pearlington Road on the way to Waveland, Mississippi.
1995 and my third touring bike.
View from Old Pearlington Road on the way to Waveland, Mississippi
My campsite at Buccaneer State Park - Waveland, Mississippi.
Buccaneer took a direct hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Bummer.
It just reopened on a limited basis in 2011.
My campsite at Buccaneer State Park - Waveland, Mississippi.
That's me admiring some wild roses along the Tammany Trace near Lacombe, LA.
Bicycle touring the Icefield Parkway in Alberta, Canada (cir.1976).
This trip is where the love affair with bike touring began.
Bicycle touring the Icefield Parkway in Alberta, Canada (cir.1976).
This trip is where the love affair with bike touring began.
Look for the small dog (Poochie) in my handlebar bag.

The snapshots featured on this page were snapped during a time period that stretched from 1985 to 1989. Those were my "Golden Years" years of local bicycle adventures that started from my home town of New Orleans and explored every country road and campground within one hundred miles of the city in every direction. Nearly every weekend of the year found me, and maybe some friends, pedaling through majestic swamps, towering pine forests, and expanses of saltwater marsh, along the highways and byways of Louisiana and Mississippi. Untold thousands of miles were covered during the vicious heat of our Deep South summers, the chilling cold of our high humidity winters, and everything in-between. This series also spans the lifetime of three touring bicycles.

In the days of film cameras I was forced into a pattern of "snapshot economics" that precluded me from coming home from a weekend bike trip with 300 photos to sort through and edit as I now often enslave myself with in this age of free photography. None of the above photos were taken with a "good" camera either. So enjoy them for what they are...scanned images of grainy film photography. I hope you enjoy them. Cheers!