48 States: Check.

I left the RV park near Mena, Arkansas, in search of breakfast. The first little town I pulled up to was Hatfield, and lucky for me they have a small diner. Most mornings I've been trying to find a diner of some sort rather than cook on my camp stove. The first few miles of a day are really tough without coffee; once I get into a rhythm it doesn't matter.

My next stop for the day was in De Queen, Arkansas, where I pulled over for lunch. Pizza Hut had a buffet. As I was getting up to pay, some men sitting near me asked about my trip. I told them about it and gave them my card and moved to the register to pay. As I was digging through my bag for appropriate change, another group of men came in the door. One of them pointed at me and said, "That's that guy!" The others didn't seem to know what he was talking about. "That's that guy we were talking about, hey, are you riding your bike all over the country or something?" he went on. Apparently I had been featured on the website of their local radio station or something. This is the first time someone has recognized me because of the trip. I didn't expect that to happen.

From there I rolled on down to the Texas line, where I entered state number 48 on my way to New Boston, Texas, for the night. I decided to check into the Tex Inn, partly because I was wanting to celebrate my final state with a night inside, and partly because I thought the clever name should be rewarded.

The following morning I went to the Wal-Mart across the road before leaving town. I needed batteries for my GPS. After purchasing the batteries, I was outside standing next to my bike when I heard a sound like something had just hit my bike, like a small rock or something. After further inspection, I discovered that a small piece of very necessary plastic had broken off of my front derailleur, rendering the spring useless. This means that when I release tension from the cable attached to the derailleur, it does not shift itself into a smaller chain ring. This means that I'm riding the rest of the trip in my largest chain ring on the front, unless I can find a bike shop to fix it.

Surly's newest injury did not hinder my travels that day and I made it to Marshall, Texas in good time. From there I looked up bicycle repair shops in Shreveport, Louisiana, to see if anyone could help me out. I was hoping that such a small problem could be fixed without completely replacing the derailleur. As it turns out, the derailleur should be replaced, but I decided to keep on trucking as is. There are no more hills along my travels, so I should be alright. I'll fix it when I get a job.

The next morning I got up and headed for Shreveport, Louisiana. Entering Louisiana was my 48th state sign picture. When I got to Shreveport, I found a book store to hang out in for a while. I was running quite ahead of schedule and I needed something new to read anyway. From there I headed south to the small town of Stonewall, where I stayed with Steve and LaBetha. It's always nice to have a home to stay in. I ended up spending a second night at their place. During my day off I helped Steve move a few things around. He was grateful for the help, and I appreciated the opportunity to feel like I wasn't a total freeloader. It was certainly disappointing to find out how weak my arms have become. They don't do anything all day, so when I was helping Steve, I felt like a wimp. That evening (of my day off) I got to attend a production at the Back Ally Community Theater in Grand Cane, Louisiana. Grand Cane is a tiny spot on the map, but they have managed to support a community theater for 10 years now. The musical I saw is called "Smoke on the Mountain". Well done, Grand Cane.

The following morning I took off about the same time as my hosts. I had ambitions of covering more than 95 miles on a bike with 1/3 of the gear ratios it is meant to have, so I hit the ground running (pedaling?) and didn't stop much. My goal was Leesville. When I arrived in Leesville, it was just after 3:00pm, so I made pretty good time. I continued through town and down the highway to the Sandman Motel. Why did I get a motel room again? It was supposed to rain that night and the following day. I'm just about done with my trip. I've spent less money than I thought I would. I'm getting lazy about camping. Take your pick.

This morning when I roused from the Sandman, it was indeed raining. Nothing to do but throw on the rain gear and pedal. It drizzled for a good part of the morning, but eventually let up just before lunch. I arrived in Lake Charles at about 1:30pm and got another cheap motel room. If not for the Cowgirl sheets I encountered in Florida, this may have taken the cake for crappiest motel room all trip. Sketchy would be an understatement. The man that runs the place seemed like a very nice person and he personally came with me to the room to make sure everything was in order and to ensure that I was getting a wireless internet signal. For the price I paid, not a bad deal.

Tomorrow I will ride down towards the Gulf coast and the Cameron MDS site. It will be a very short day to get there, so I don't think I'll set an alarm for the morning. In Cameron, I plan to take a day off the bike to work with one of the crews before riding the final two days from there to the New Iberia MDS site. The end is near. Within a week I will be in my parents' basement. We'll see how my integration back into a community goes.