Day 24 (1) Bossier City to Saline, LA

 Today I biked from Harleton, TX to Bossier City to the point where I stopped my ride last year, then I rode southeast through Castor and Saline into the Kissahatchie National Forest where I’m camping tonight. I hope you enjoy the pictures, if they managed  to upload. If not I’ll fix tomorrow. More details tomorrow.

Back in the Saddle: Ride Across the Southern US to resume around June 9, 2026.

 I'll be resuming my ride across the southern US (which was cut short in June 2025 due to a family emergency) in approximately a week from now. Tentative starting date will be June 9th or 10th, 2026. Plan for now is to pick up in Harleton, TX for a "day 0" ride back to last year's finishing point of Bossier City, LA (near Shreveport) and from there continue to the ride across the southern US at day 24 (It took me 23 days of riding to get from Los Angeles to Bossier City, LA last year).

This year's ride will be what I call a "doorstep to doorstep" tour. I'll still be riding somewhere to the eastern coast of Florida to finish the Ride Across the Southern US that I started last year, but from there I will turn around and ride back via a different route to my cousin's house in Harleton, TX. I enjoy this kind of tour because it demonstrates the independence that bicycles can afford--they are indeed a legitimate means of transportation, as you can simply ride back to where you started when you're finished! It will also give me the kind of mileage comparable to what I've ridden the past few years. 

I will be blogging every day (more or less) during this trip just as I did last year. My blogs are written for an early childhood demographic (4-7 years of age) but I maintain a matter-of-fact style which I hope is palatable for people of all ages. I'm a preschool teacher by trade and since there aren't many people blogging about their cycling adventures for young children, I'm trying to fill that gap.

If you'd like to donate to Ryves Youth Center in Terre Haute, which is the cause for which I've dedicated this ride, you can donate here (all donations go to Ryves Youth Center; I receive nothing): Ride Across America

For information about what Ryves Youth Center is and the different services they offer, click here: Ryves Youth Center - Catholic Charities Terre Haute - Terre Haute, IN

Day 23: Harleton, TX to Bossier City, LA (6/28/2025)—Ride Across America now on hiatus until a later date

 My plan was to do the ride across the southern United States all at once, but things have changed. I need to break this trip into two parts. Part 1 (LA to LA—i.e. Los Angeles to Louisiana) is now complete. Today was my last day of riding for awhile. I have some important issues going on at home with my family that require my immediate presence there, so I am headed homeward in the next few hours via train/bus. I want to think everyone who has helped me out along the way—I’m sorry we weren’t able to complete the journey this year, but I’m still planning on making it happen—Bossier City to the east coast of Florida will be completed in the future Lord willing, probably next summer.

Today Cherry Chicken and I crossed into the state of Louisiana! We had been in Texas for 16 days—that’s a long time! It was cool to cross into another state finally. The sign says “Welcome to Louisiana” in English, but it also says “Bienvenue en Louisiane” which means “Welcome to Louisiana” in French. The reason the sign is also in French is that many people who originally settled in Louisiana were from France. Here are some pictures at that sign, just outside of Waskum, TX:

Since there wasn’t a “Welcome to Texas” sign on the road on which we entered Texas in El Paso 16 days ago, we also got some “Welcome to Texas” sign pictures, even though we were actually leaving Texas. Here they are:

I got some pictures of pink flowers that I saw a lot in Texas and that I’ve also seen in Louisiana. I don’t know what they’re called. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is some of them are a darker/richer pink color, and some of them have a lot more white in them. What do you think of these flowers?

Here’s Cherry Chicken as we went through the city of Shreveport:

Here’s a few pictures going over the Red River bridge between Shreveport and Bossier City. Look at the color of the river here. Why do you think it’s called the Red River?

Here’s what my bicycle looks like right now. In the second picture, you’ll see the brand new sign that my cousin Aimee made for my bicycle for the rest of the trip. She was very helpful to me and I appreciate the sign she made for me and for giving me a place to stay on Thursday and Friday nights! My old sign was a bit torn up from the weather but this new one is made of better material, and in my opinion it looks a lot nicer than my old one. Do you know any of the letters on the sign? It’s a sign that shows “cycle4kids.blogspot.com” and if people type it in on their computer or on their phone on the internet, it brings them to the same website you’re looking at now!

I hope you enjoy the rest of the videos—the city pictures are from either Shreveport or Bossier City. If you scroll to the end, I have a link to the video I made ending this leg of the trip and putting the ride across the southern US on hiatus. Have a great rest of your summer, everyone!

.