A Century In a Day!!!

Well that was a video that we took on our first day on the trail. I can't believe we just finished our seventh day of riding! It is absolutely crazy. The last few days have been fantastic. On Wednesday, we went 75 miles. Yesterday, we went 100 miles. Today, 80. The wind changed directions and is now coming out of the South/SouthEast area so that has helped us a LOT. Doing 100 miles in one day was a first time thing for both my dad and I. We were biking for about 10 hours-tears were shed and I wasn't smiling the whole time, but BOY did it feel good when the day was over! We had some great time on the levee by the river, and had a little bit of rain today which was actually quite refreshing. Also, we've had some different types of roadkill that you might be interested to hear about! We've seen snakes, birds, raccoons (of course), and cows. Yes, that's right-I have literally seen an entire cow dead on the highway. But on a brighter note, I thought I'd tell you some of the reactions we've received after people here find out about our adventure. The most popular reaction is confusion. Most people don't understand WHY we would EVER want to do this. We've heard a few, "Y'all are crazy!". Some just stare at us wrecking their faces as they are trying to figure out what we're doing exactly. Sometimes I just want to have a sign on my back that says, "We're Odegards. We do weird stuff like this." Needless to say, we don't really blend in with the locals when we walk around in our neon vests with our cycling shoes that clickity-clack everywhere we go because of the metal on the bottom. (When dad wears his, I call them his tap shoes because they are so loud). Finally, I'm going to tell you a quick little story about our time here!
So, my dad-Keith Odegard is a bit of an oddball. He has a little bit of a different way of dealing with things, and he DEFINITELY doesn't care if people think he's weird. In fact, he likes to be a little "counter cultural"; especially if it embarrasses me. Anyways, as we bike on the road, sometimes we go through areas where there is a lot of farmland and there are DOGS roaming around. AKA no leashes. Now, of course these dogs (like the locals) are very confused as to what we are doing on their territory. They don't necessarily chase us or try to bite us, but they start running after us sometimes and my strategy is just to pedal faster and faster. Dad, however, thinks it's best to look them in the eye, slap his knee and yell out, "C'mon Chopper!! C'mon Chopper! You want to attack me, do ya? C'mon CHOPPER!" Or, my personal favourite, "C'mon FROSTY!". He makes up a new dog name every day and thinks that this protects him because they are confused by his behaviour. They most definitely are, and their owners sitting on their front porch are even more puzzled. Either way, he makes me laugh and we're having a great time.
Anyways, that's it for now!
God Bless!
A

After 100 miles:

I. Hate. Wind.

Alright, so we just finished Day 3 of the Mississippi River adventure. We've done a total of 186 miles now, and we're feeling good! The last two days have been rough conditions because the wind has been absolutely horrible, and half the roads aren't fully paved. The worst part is I feel like I'm flying-going 15 miles an hour, and then when I look down at my odometer, I see that I'm only going 9 miles/hr. Awesome. It's a little discouraging. But we are maintaining a positive attitude! It really helps that we are surrounded by such gorgeous scenery. Yesterday, Dad I and I had the chance to ride on a road that had live oak trees arching over it and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! (See picture in top left corner). It was also nice to have a break from the sun because the trees provide some nice shade. Today, we had a little bit of a different story because the "beautiful scenery" on our left and right was a variety of different chemical plants with roadkill sprinkled on our path. I had the wonderful encounter of running over an already dead racoon. Now, imagine how disgusting seeing roadkill is, and then imagine riding over it with your bike. It's twice as disgusting and almost made me throw up. Those lil' coon coons are EVERYWHERE!
Last night I also had the chance to go back into New Orleans and hang out with my friends, Pat and Anne! We had a traditional New Orleans meal, and a great chat which was wonderful!
Finally, today we got the chance to tour the famous "Oak Alley Plantation" which was absolutely incredible. We got a tour of the mansion, and a great view of the 26 live oak trees that line up outisde the front door. (There is a picture below). SO glad we got to do that-I learned a lot and it was a nice break for my butt! haha
Hope you all are doing well! I miss everyone at home. I hate the wind. But, I'm a diva, and I'm still loving life! Below are a few pictures from our time here so far. Please note my dad's use of sunscreen. He doesn't really concern himself with "blending it in". Love it.
I'll keep "y'all" updated!
A

And...We're OFF!!

Well, we made it to New Orleans, and I survived my first day riding with my dad! Everything went smoothly getting down here, and although we got lost driving from New Orleans to Venice at 1:00 in the morning and I got to hear dad say, "This is no good" a million times, we finally made it to our destination at 2 AM. I would tell you about the town of Venice, but there really wasn't anyting there. Seriously, there wasn't ANYTHING there. Today we rode our bikes 62 miles-starting from the Gulf of Mexico.
We are definitley struggling with the harsh winds that slow us down. However, later on in the day, it got better and we were able to go a lot faster. I'm hoping that tomorrow will go as well as today, but I'm a little nervous because my butt is already starting to hurt. It's been great biking with my dad, and my mom has been doing an AMAZING job of being our support van. I don't know what we will do when she leaves!!!
I will be posting some pictures soon, but I'm SO tired and need to get some rest for tomorrow!
More to come, but for now I will leave you with the Top 3 quotes of the day. These were specifically deemed the quotations that would NOT have been said if Luther (my brother) had been on this trip with my dad instead of me.

1. Annika: "Dad, are you wearing green today? Alright...then I guess I will be wearing blue."

2. Annika: "These cycling shorts are just REALLY unflattering..."

3. (Annika puts on fluorescent cycling vest before breakfast)
Dad:"Annika, you don't need to put that on yet".
Annika: "Dad, I know that. I'm just seeing how it looks."

...I may not be as strong as my brother, but I'm certainly providing an entertaining trip for my travel mate(s).

Life is great. God is good. I'll keep yopu updated!!