I stopped in Bogalusa, LA to get some lunch and try another walmart (they had patch kits this time which is an improvement over the last store, but still no inner tubes). And the cashier told me that just up north on my route a convict escaped from the correctional facility just off the highway I was taking. When I grabbed a bite to eat, two other people made a point to tell me the same thing. Since I had wanted to make Columbia, MS before nightfall, I couldn't invest too much time to research where this guy was expected to be except on route 21 (where I'd be).

So I decided to grab a cheap hotel here in Bogalusa, get a chance to shower, freshen up, and bide my time to see how this plays out by tomorrow. This also lets me leave way earlier in the AM, letting me relax a bit more knowing I won't hit nightfall in the middle of the woods with an escaped convict potentially nearby.

On a more positive note, I met four cyclists today who are on a tour of their own. They're doing a route known as the 'southern tier' starting from St. Augustine, FL to San Diego, CA. They're riding to find a cure for ALS. You should check out their blog which documents their trip http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=13918&v=8r.