Day 45 - Merryville, LA to DeRidder, LA

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​When bicycling I feel very in tune with my body and today my body and a slight headwind were telling me to take it easy. I listened to my body and am glad I did. 

I met a young couple (Matt and Esperanza) from the Pacific Northwest who are bicycling the perimeter of the U.S. in a clockwise direction! They are currently riding westward on the Southern Tier route and we were able to exchange information about our respective roads ahead. In the course of conversation I learned that the Adventure Cycling Association very recently changed the section of the southern tier route west of New Orleans. Matt and Esperanza were kind enough to give me the new map for that section.

I took a tour of the Gothic Jail in downtown DeRidder that served as the Beauregard County Jail from 1914-1983. Some gruesome things happened there, including the 1926 execution by hanging of two convicted murderers, and today it is believed by some to be haunted.

As you will notice in the photo below, this gothic-styled Jail has a lot of windows. The jail was not heated or air-conditioned, so the thought was that cross ventilation and sunlight would be important for the inmates. The incarcerated women were held in a large cell on the second floor facing outward toward the highway. The women were originally able to go right up to the windows and enjoy the sunlight and breeze. According to my tour guide, that all stopped when the women started flashing passersby.(I didn’t think to ask whether this sort of thing happened only during Mardi Gras or year-round! :-)) The authorities responded by building a wall of bars several feet from the window that kept the women inmates out of a sight of passersby and vice versa!


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