The Ride For Event finally took place. I say finally because it was originally was scheduled to take place in April but the pandemic hit and canceled everything. The next date for the bike ride was the last Saturday in August. Then Hurricane Laura made landfall. Organizers decided to postponed once again to September 5th.
The Ride for Rox is an all-road bike that goes through the countryside of St. Landry Parish. The annual ride is organized by the nonprofit group TRAIL and is dedicated to the memory of Roxanne Richard.
We took off from Bayou Teche Brewery around 8 am. The course weaved through Arnauldville to Grand Coteau up the I-49 frontage road into Opelousas, Leonville, and finally back to our starting point. Riders have the option to do as little as 9 miles or up to 100 miles.
Heather, (my friend and co-rider) and I opted to power through the 34-mile course. It was absolutely beautiful. I definitely recommend this event to out of town friends and family. This a behind-the-scenes look at Louisiana. Even if you don’t ride often and don’t have a bike, you can still be part of this ride. The TRAIL office offers bike rentals. I actually borrowed one of their bicycles for this ride.
The first rest stop was at Lastrapes Nursey. They served us chips, granola bars, and water. We even got a chance to see Roxanne Richard’s sister. She was driving by smiling and waving at the passing riders.
The next stop was in Leonville in front of an old Acadian-style building. There was boudin, orange slices, and pickle juice. The ride ended with bowls of Jambalaya and beer from Bayou Teche Brewery.
TRAIL has more events coming up this year. It is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
Find out more or volunteer at latrail.org
