
By Ron VanHoose
Today is Tuesday and day 11 of our bike adventure. We rode 48 miles from Opelousas to Oakdale, La. The weather was great but the roads were mostly bumpy.
We saw acres and acres of crawfish farms. They also grow rice in the same fields. It definitely is the major business in this area we’ve been riding through. Everyone has really been enjoying eating all the crawfish. Unfortunately, I am allergic to shellfish so I haven’t been able to enjoy it, too. There still has been plenty for me to see.
Louisiana is by far the largest producer of crawfish in the United States. Industry experts estimate that Louisiana usually accounts for 90%-95% of the total U.S. production from year to year, either from wild waters of the state, or on farms.
About 1,600 Louisiana farmers produce 130-150 million pounds of crawfish per year with a combined value to producers of over $172 million, LSU AgCenter figures show.
The Opelousas Episcopal Church gave us all kinds of bread, coffee, peanut butter, cookies, lunch meat, cheese, etc. They were such a blessing in not only the food but for their fellowship.
Tomorrow we up the ride miles back up to 80.3 miles. Our destination is Sulfur Springs, Lam, at the Oliver Baptist Church.