F1-2

   Awakening at 5:30 AM on Friday morning, I began preparations for my ride to the old roads. By 9:30 I was off. I had chosen to start running the once main roads above Lumberton. I would use the route I'd learned during the Three Daze in MS ride to get there. But, first, I needed to get to Bogalusa where I cross the Pearl River going east..
     Let me make this point right now. The route, just the roads minus all the scenery and points of interest was 99% enjoyable. That 1% was the intersection of Old 11 and US.98 in western Hattisburg. Then New 98 is the pits, period.
     To begin the ride at the forementioned 9:30, a proud early exit, I zoomed up to Enon which sits on the beautiful Bogue Chitto River at the intersection of La.16 and La.437, approximately at the midway point between Franklinton and Sun, La. It is one of my much crossed crossroads. Choctaw Road exits north from town and makes its way to Pine and Thomas which sit just south of one of my doors into Mississippi. La.16, east and west is pretty, but prettier to the east and the Pearl River.
      Then to the northeast, La.60 exits La.16 East just outside of town. It is a very enjoyable ride all the way to Bogalusa, very enjoyable. Ray Fagan has even acknowledged itas being "good" which is red lining his explicative meter.
      I am again getting ahead of the page.

Enon

Bogalusa

Park

Pearl R.

Those brown lines depict "hills". There would be more brown lines where I was headed.

Bogalusa is a diamond in the rough. If you know a little history and understand "old mill towns", then more of its facets shine. When La.60 enters town it proceeds to switch back and forth through the neighborhoods. This area is dotted with examples of maybe "company houses" or developer's "cookie cutter" houses that were erected quickly to house the workers and their families. The main boulevard has two story homes. Back off the main route I found thsee "shotguns". Shotguns can be found all over south Louisiana. The Northshore and New Orleans are famous for them. Basically, one room leads to the next, all in a line. It is a very economical blueprint, I would think.

Across the street, these homes were fairing better.

      I've learned a few short cuts through the maze and soon I exited Bogalusa.
       I needed to adjust my chain. I do put off.
       After crossing the Pearl River, I looked for the first good place to do the deed. I accidently found the place below. It was an unmarked park on what is called Old River, probably an oxbow of the Pearl.

    It was a gorgeous place being only marked as "Dead End". Don't discount Dead Ends.
    There were fishermen coming and going and one stopped asking if I was having a problem. That was the first of several inquires of that nature on this trip. I wonder if I carry a "I'm having a problem" appearance? Maybe I should work on having a more a self-assured radiance? Maybe I should have tightened the chain in private?
     Could publc tightening reveal or suggest a cry for help? Of course it does. There I was lying in the dirt try to align filth covered measuring points on both sides of the bike. Anyone, rider or not, would have suspected a trauma had occurred. Tools were scattered about and the operation is not a "do it and it's done" deal. It is "trial and error" until the least error is achieved.
     Actually, I think he just wanted to "talk bikes". He gazed at the bike and then the stat-questioning began. Before it was over I felt like a floor room salesman. Then he had to reveal his entire motorcyling history and that of his brother's. I didn't mind because the place was so pretty, the smells so good and motorcycling histories are fun to listen to, having experienced a little of that myself and being armed with counter stories to his counter stories. Before it was over, an hour had passed.
      Moral of this paragraph, adjust your chain in private unless you want to invite company.
      I would discover another hook to entice the helpful down the road.

In Enon what caught my eye was not the Mason's building but the use of the name "Zona". Zona was a town on the old railroad that ran north of Enon from Tylertown to the main line between Bogalusa and Slidel. It is no more but obviously remembered in the use of the name here.

I was off to Bogalusa, enjoying the enjoyable ride.