I am planning to ride from the Baton Rouge Capitol building to the Superdome in New Orleans on the weekend of Labor Day (September 5). The ride will start early Saturday morning and go through Denham Springs, Walker, Livingston, Hammond, Mandeville, and across Lake Pontchartrain.
Map:
This will be my first attempt at a 100+ mile trip. The most I have done to date is 70 miles. There is some potential that rain (or a hurricane) will delay the attempt. Anybody interested in doing this with me?
Wow that is a very long distance. I wish you the best of luck.
Also, what kind of unicycle are you using for this?
I drove a car across that Lake Pontchartrain bridge, on my way to the 1989 USA convention in Mobile, Alabama. That was about the boringest 20 miles ever! It’s flat, but it may be mentally pretty hard at the end of such a long ride. Expect it to seem like it’s never going to end!
Best of luck with the ride. To prepare, work your way up to longer & longer rides. Remember to keep eating and drinking throughout the day.
I’m going to be on a 36" Coker with 125mm cranks. I recently did a 70 mile ride, and I felt like I could have kept going (if I had had somewhere to go…). The ride is mostly going to be flat, so I think it will be one of the least challenging centuries that I could do.
Out of curiosity, does anybody know if it’s better to go with gatorade, vitamin water, or just water? Or is there a part of the day to go with different selections?
Got back to Louisiana on Sunday. It is somewhat different riding in the humid climate here than it was riding in the desert in California. Managed a quick 20 miles last night. The ride will still take place, but I might have to carry a towel with me to keep the sweat off.
When I rode across Vietnam, I drank only water and took electrolyte pills (Hammer Endurolytes to be exact) to maintain my salt levels… and I never had any problems with cramping or soreness, other than from the saddle.
Gatorade and vitamin drinks are largely water and sugar / corn syrup. They aren’t going to do much more than give you a quick energy burst, then a quick energy crash. They don’t provide a complete array of electrolytes, nor are the included electrolytes in enough quantity to keep you going through extreme activity in hot, humid weather.
You’ll know your electrolyte levels are high enough when you grow your own salt crystals on your cycling jersey. 
Good luck, and post pictures of your ride when you’re done!
Good luck! Remember salty foods are good source of electrolytes as well (at least sodium). Drink lots of water. If you’re like me in this humidity you may have to take a rest every now and then just to wring out your sweat soaked gear! 
And remember the number one rule: HAVE FUN! 
Beware of the occasional alligator on the Ponchatrain bridge!
I would suggest taking a Camelback of water and a water bottle with Hammer Heed high energy electrolyte drink with a highly concentrated powder to water mix.
Also instead of messy energy gels Clif Shot Blocks are a great alternative.
Is it legal to ride on the bridge?
The shoulder is pretty narrow and cars will be buzzing along pretty quickly, and the wind can gust a bit coming across the water.
Be careful out there.
Hm. I guess I’m going to have to find a new path. Good call on the legality of the ride, schnoz. I called the police office, and they emphatically told me that unicycling across the bridge would not be allowed. Good thing I looked up more paths… I’ll post the one I pick later on.
New Path
Ok, I think I’ve got it. Not as appealing, but it will be about equal mileage:
That takes me across the ferry in Plaquemine, then down on the W side of the river all the way into New Orleans. The Google estimate of 111 miles is slightly high, because the ferries will shave a mile or two off of that.
This is dependent on the ferry being open, which the woman on the phone assured me it would be. There are many more paths to take if I need to.
After I get to NO, I get to ride the Algiers Ferry back across the river, with a short jaunt left to get me to the Superdome.
I considered the Huey P Long bridge, but that would be pretty heinous to ride as well. The Hwy 70 bridge is simply out of the question.
Oh, and thanks to everybody who posted tips on how to stay electrolitic!
Another possiblity is the Mississippi River Trail, in particular the Baton Rouge to New Orleans segment. While I don’t know much about it, I have a friend of mine who set the record, on foot, on this 125 mile section several years ago. Might be worth exploring some more???
The MRT takes the Edgard Ferry, which is only operating between 6 and 6 M-F. It would be about a six mile difference, and it would take me through a different part of NO, but I think the path I have posted is the one I’m going to do. I plan to drive the path this weekend to make sure that there are appropriate roads for the whole thing. There is a 40 mile stretch where there are no large towns, but if there is a gas station with food/drink halfway through, I won’t have to conscript someone to bring me anything.
When others do long distance rides, how often do you stop? Every 10 miles? Every hour?
Ride Successful!
Made the trip Saturday. Total riding distance was 117 miles. I averaged 10 mph and made the trip in 15 actual hours. It was a good experience – I got to see a whole new side of Louisiana. Riding through New Orleans was the most stressful part of the trip. There were abundant people on the streets on the E part of the river and abundant cars on the W side of the river. Other than that, though, I was able to make it without disrupting traffic almost at all.
The worst part of the trip was the very end. I made my final objective in Jackson Square, but I couldn’t find my ride. My cell phone had died, so I couldn’t call her, and I hadn’t written down her phone number. I wound up borrowing a phone so that I could call my grandfather, who gave me my father’s number, who gave me my brother’s number, who gave me my sister’s number, who sent a facebook message to one of my friends who messaged her back with her number, and finally I called that number and got the number for my ride. It took three hours before we found each other. She called the police to tell them that I was dead.
Other than that, though, the ride went smoothly. I met a lot of friendly people all along the way. Many of them laughed at my attempt, and I laughed along with them. One man rode his bike next to my uni for a distance, then told me that I should join the Marines. I’m really glad that I did this. Now on to whatever the next challenge is…
Congratulations…sounds like a great ride, and kudos to you for doing in such a hot/humid place.
If this was your first century, don’t forget to add yourself to this thread.
Great job! Sounds like you had quite an adventure! Even more inspiration for me as I go for a half century to metric century ride next week.
Wow, cool, nice ride, but a lousy way to end it. Did you at least have some cash for a celebratory beer and poboy at the end?
Ro
I had planned to have a cool beer at the end, but I was really scared from not being able to find my ride. I did have some wine and dinner with some of my friends when I got back that night.
Posted to the Century thread.
“My cell phone had died, so I couldn’t call her, and I hadn’t written down her phone number. I wound up borrowing a phone so that I could call my grandfather, who gave me my father’s number, who gave me my brother’s number, who gave me my sister’s number, who sent a facebook message to one of my friends who messaged her back with her number, and finally I called that number and got the number for my ride.”
This is probably the best game of telephone in recorded history. Kudos. This is Alex from LSU, by the way.