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Cycle, Camp, Repeat

Bikepacking in the Bayou State

by

Marek Piwnicki

One spring, it occurred to me that the weather was perfect for a ride from a friend’s house in Star Hill to the home of some other friends north of St. Francisville. It wasn’t that far a ride, less than fifteen miles, and I’d done it before. This time, however, I decided I would bicycle camp.

Reflecting on it years later, two things stand out about that trip: The Big Three of Spring—daisy fleabane, spider wort, and butterweed—which slid past me as I churned northward on U.S. 61 headed for the Angola Road, and the posh cyclists from California I encountered minutes into my ride.

I had just turned out of a private road in Star Hill onto the road that would take me to U.S. 61 when I was overtaken by the half dozen riders on expensive road bikes. I was on a mountain bike rigged for an overnight’s camping.

As they overtook me, we exchanged greetings. They and their bicycles were being transported by airplane to advertised rides around the country and had found themselves here. I thought to myself how much we locals take for granted the lovely riding around St. Francisville and the Tunica Hills.

[Read Publisher James Fox-Smith's story about bicycling in the Felicianas here.]

“So, where did you start?” asked one of the riders, eyeing my sleeping gear, mess kit, and tent bungeed to a rear cargo deck and panniers (saddle bags), bulging with quick-cook food, water, and clothing.

“Back there,” I said, nodding in the direction of the homestead where I’d left my truck.

I should have said Taos.

The guy fixed me with a look and rode on. To outdoor enthusiasts with money to burn, it’s necessary to travel far from home for bikepacking to mean anything. Most backpackers travel by car, airplane, train to start their treks. I’d argue that the experience’s very charm comes from its ability to turn the shortest camping trip into an adventure.

Most backpackers travel by car, airplane, train to start their treks. I’d argue that the experience’s very charm comes from its ability to turn the shortest camping trip into an adventure.

Bikepacking on the Mississippi

In Baton Rouge we have the Mississippi River and the levee, which make it possible for bikepackers to start the adventure from their front doors.

The levee has always been rideable by mountain bike, but deep ruts in unpaved stretches discourage riders of skinny-tire bicycles. In Baton Rouge, levee paving from downtown to L’Auberge Casino at River Road and Gardere Lane was completed last fall, and eventually will extend all the way to New Orleans. This stretch of levee is a favorite of bikepacker Will Adams.

Adams found himself in Baton Rouge seven years ago, when he was making his way to Argentina from Georgia. Hitting Louisiana’s Capitol city, a large truck damaged the bike trailer he was pulling. He found work and lodging in the Mid City bicycle shop on Government Street and simply never left. Since then, he’s taught bicycle mechanics to young people at Front Yard Bikes, a non-profit organization with a youth development program and at McKinley High School. Adams is also the education coordinator and adjunct welding professor at Baton Rouge Community College. And the levee access points in downtown Baton Rouge are just a short ride from his Garden District home.

The levee top is a safe place for children to ride with their parents. It affords an education and a sense of place.

Starting downtown, the business district yields quickly to scattered marine company yards and pasture. Traveling south, “the river on your right and the big sky” are what bring Adams and other cyclists and runners to the levee. Leaving the outskirts of LSU behind, you pass the Farr Horse Activity Center, a remote-control model airplane field and a huge, sloppy eagles’ nest high in a tree at the edge of the Mississippi River. At a bend in the river, you pedal past the ruins of the Cottage plantation house to the left and the moonscape of a sand and gravel works on the river side. The levee top is a safe place for children to ride with their parents. It affords an education and a sense of place.

What to Pack when Bikepacking

Speed is not why people bikepack. It is the getting there and, of course, the journey itself. But before that, there is the packing.

Bikepacking and backpacking are first cousins. They use the same light-weight tents, sleeping bags, and cooking gear. If the stove is smaller than the pot you use to cook, it’ll do for camping on a bicycle or on foot.

[Read our guide to bicycling the Atchafalaya Basin here.]

Camping one night in warm weather, you can get by with what you can cram into a large backpack. For cooler nights, a tent, groundpad, tarp ground cover, sleeping bag, cooking utensils, water, and food have to be strapped to the bicycle and carried in panniers.

My camping gear is bulky; vintage Colorado truck camping. After strapping my gear to a mountain bike a couple of times, I eventually decided to get a bike trailer, which I also now use for grocery shopping.

Speed is not why people bikepack. It is the getting there and, of course, the journey itself. But before that, there is the packing.

A trailer isn’t really an option for riders camping in mountains or the Tunica Hills north of St. Francisville. Most riders would opt for mountain bikes with minimum, light-weight gear and plan to take on water and food along the way.

“When bike camping, you weigh whether you really need something or not,” said Adams. “Three plus three plus five pounds, it’s the addition that kills you.”

Robert Collins

The St. Tammany Trace and the levee make it possible to pull a trailer. Good trailers go for $100 brand new. Adams sleeps in an enclosed camping hammock that combines tent, fly, and bag all compressed into a pack. He cooks on a camping stove or brings prepared food from home. His trailer accommodates a small ice chest.

Friends who bike camp together may designate a rider to carry a stove for everyone’s use. The stove is used primarily for heating ready-to-eat food and boiling water. The weight of water and food may be distributed over several bicycles. Water may be cached at the camp site ahead of time.

Where to Sleep when Bikepacking Louisiana  

The ride from Adams’s house to a campsite just above L’Auberge takes about an hour. He has camped on the riverbank with friends over the years. The levee top is maintained and policed by the Pontchartrain Levee District headquartered in Lutcher, but the batture, land between the river’s low and high water marks, may be privately owned. Public access to the batture is a sometimes-contentious situation, but “we’ve never had any trouble,” Adams said. There are no “no trespassing” signs, and there’s physical evidence of long use. “At night, I can hear the river traffic,” he said. “In early fall, the mosquitoes aren’t bad. Waking up, it is so peaceful.”

Monica Gorman, executive director of the Pontchartrain Levee District in Lutcher, whose jurisdiction includes East Baton Rouge Parish, knows people visit the batture.

“The levee is an easement,” she said. “Nine times out of ten, the batture is privately owned and people are trespassing.” 

Batture camping is not for everyone. For starters, as Gorman said, you’re probably trespassing. And unfortunately, there are no designated campgrounds along the route because of seasonal high water.

At little cost, the Baton Rouge Recreation and Parks Commission could designate a place for tent camping near the bicycle station already at FARR. The station offers bathrooms, air, water, and picnic tables. Follow the car path through the RV area to a pavilion inside Farr south of the River Road entrance.

[Read Publisher James Fox-Smith's story on the Natchez Bicycle Classic here.]

Until then, as the paved path stretches south, cyclists riding from Baton Rouge to New Orleans may have to forego camping in exchange for more structurally-established accommodations. Off of Gardere Lane, there is a nice cluster of affordable stays via Airbnb that are easily accessible from the levee. Then of course, there is always L’Auberge. In Plaquemine, you can take the ferry across the river for an easy ride to the Best Western or America’s Best Value Inn, or find a few other Airbnb options in the area. It’s also worth checking out warmshowers.org, which for a one-time $30 fee will grant you access to a community of touring cyclists and people willing to host them for overnight stays in their homes at no cost.

For a more tried and true bikepacking experience, our region does offer spectacular bicycle trails and campsites along the St. Tammany or Natchez traces. Plan your trip at nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/camping.htm (Natchez Trace) or at tammanytrace.org. 

Bikepacking Packing List: A Few Essentials

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