Cavaliers Get Familiar with Bayou des Familles

The Cavaliers hold a ride planning meeting twice a year, and in July it was time to get together and plan a ride calendar for the fall and winter. True to form, the Cavaliers would rather ride than hold a stuffy meeting, so we took a little trip to Crown Point on July 27 and held our meeting over lunch at beautiful Restaurant des Familles, named for the scenic bayou it overlooks.

The group met at the Phoenix for the short afternoon ride across the river.

-Lance rode his 2001 Suzuki Marauder 800
-Mark and Collin rode Mark's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-George rode his 2003 Honda Shadow ACE
-Guy rode his 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

We were particularly pleased to have Collin along for his first official buddy ride with the Cavaliers.

Our route took us over the Crescent City Connection to Barataria Boulevard. We followed Hwy 45 south to the town of Estelle, where the main Lafitte-Larose Highway turns off. Rather than take the fast road, we stayed on Hwy 45 and followed the slow road where dozens of home sites are being carved out of the swampland. The road winds through Jean Lafitte Park, before curving back to the main highway right at our destination.

We stopped at Restaurant des Familles for lunch. The restaurant has a quaint country cottage appearance in the Creole style from the highway. But upon entering the restaurant, you're transported into this beautiful modern space, with soaring cathedral ceilings, stained glass, and a wall of windows facing picturesque Bayou des Familles. We sat at lunch admiring the postcard-perfect scenery and the wildlife that is part of the bayou's ecosystem.

The restaurant has a great menu of creole and contemporary favorites. We all ate ourselves silly with appetizers, gumbos, entrees and the most delicious desserts. The food and service were excellent.

After ordering, we discussed some ride ideas for our fall and winter ride calendar. Doug suggested riding to the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom. Mark suggested a ride to the casino in Marksville. George suggested the Flint Creek Campground near Wiggins, MS, where his VW club has been in the past. Guy said he enjoyed the Grand Isle ride and wanted to go again. Mike suggested a day ride to Natchez, MS. Collin suggested an overnight ride to Pensacola, FL. And Mark said he wanted to return to the Taste of Bavaria restaurant near Ponchatoula.

We also looked at a long list of festivals and other events from September through December. Popular choices included the Biloxi Seafood Festival, the Baton Rouge State Fair, the Ponchatoula Oktoberfest, and the Bonfire Festival in Lutcher.

Some of these events will make our monthly ride calendar, some will become lagniappe rides, and others will be saved for the spring. We'll be posting our fall and winter ride calendar soon. Check our Events page for details.

After lunch, most of the group headed back to New Orleans, while Mark and Collin rode along with David and Michael W. to follow the highway down to the end of the road at Lafitte. The mixture of old fishing camps and spectacular new homes makes Lafitte an interesting ride. We turned around at the fishing pier at the end of the road and retraced our path home.

July beer bust sizzles with fiesta fun

Our July 25 beer bust was a blast, with lots of new and old faces enjoying our party on the patio of the Phoenix.

Michael W. really outdid himself, turning the patio into a fiesta-themed delight, complete with inflatable peppers and cactus, a sombrero full of chips and salsa, and a crock pot full of fajitas to stuff the tall stack of tortillas. It made the beer bust a lot of fun, and got compliments from everyone. The patio never looked more festive.

Doc literally let her hair down at our July beer bust. She also used the occasion to submit her application for membership in the Cavaliers. Welcome, Doc! Photos this page by David.

Mike D. spent the evening behind the bar, pouring beer and socializing with our many customers. His partner Doug made his usual rounds selling tickets for our 50/50 raffle, which fattened the club treasury.

Cavaliers founding members Mike D. (left) and Doug played host at the Cavaliers July beer bust.

We were thrilled to have Doc join us for the first time at a beer bust. She really let her hair down and gained quite a reputation! She even got her boots shined by the Phoenix's new boot black Simian. And she used the occasion to submit her application for membership in the Cavaliers. We couldn't be more thrilled to have Doc join us as a full member!

Our friend Alan from NOBLE joined us for our July beer bust.

We had lots of new faces on the patio, including Don, Dave, and Jeff who just moved to the Northshore from California. Don rides a Honda and was eager to get more info about our rides and our club.

Thanks to our friends in the Lords of Leather who lent us their cold tap box for this summertime beer bust, and thanks also to Phoenix bartender Marty who helped us hook it up.

Thanks also to our many friends from other clubs who showed up to help support our beer bust, including Alan from NOBLE, and Mike M. from the New Orleans Bears.

Cavaliers take a grand ride to Grand Isle

After a long, wet spring with thunderstorms nearly every day, the Cavaliers were itching to get out and ride. The forecast for our Grand Isle ride on Sunday, July 13 was looking bleak, but it had been almost six weeks since our last group ride, and we had canceled or postponed far too many rides already. So the call was made to ride even with a 50 percent chance of rain.

It turned out we made the right choice. The sun was out in full glory for the 9 am rendezvous at the Pheonix, where nine bikes showed up for what would become a really grand ride.

-Doc rode her Honda Rebel 250 on her first ride with the Cavaliers
-Lance rode his 2001 Suzuki Marauder 800 for on his first ride as a rider with the Cavaliers
-Alan rode his 1996 Honda ST1100
-Mark rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Guy rode his 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

The sky was blue and the morning sun shone brightly as we headed over the bridge and out US 90 toward Raceland, with David in the lead. About 40 miles out, Mark separated from the group and signaled that he was turning back and heading home for some much-needed sleep after working all night. We're sorry he missed most of the ride, but glad he made a prudent choice. He called to let us know he got home safely.

Doc joined us for her first ride with the Cavaliers, and led us through her old stomping grounds in Lafourche Parish.

We made our first rest stop in Raceland, then David turned the lead over to Doc, who is a native of Lafource Parish. Doc was something to see on her Honda Rebel 250 leading seven big, burly guys on their even bigger machines. She did an awesome job!

Doc led us across the little bridge over Bayou Lafourche at Mathews so that we could ride down the east bank along Hwy 308. The ride couldn't have been more scenic, passing sugarcane fields and historic homes on one side of the road with the calm waters of the wide old bayou on the other. The area's deep roots in fishing and shrimping were apparent, with dozens of charming boats lining the banks of the bayou.

Lance joined us for his first ride with his new Suzuki Marauder.

As we headed south, we crossed the bayou again at Galliano, and made another rest stop there. Doc said she grew up only a few blocks away from where we stopped. We headed off again soon after, and rode very, very, slowly and carefully through the town of Golden Meadow, notorious as a local speed trap with a vigilant constabluary.

We hadn't gone far when the clouds began looking ominous. A look at the radar before we left showed rain bands heading our way from Tropical Storm Claudette out in the Gulf of Mexico. The dark gray sky ahead of us showed that they had arrived. We had planned to eat when we arrived in Grand Isle, but Doc wisely pulled over at a restaurant she knew in Golden Meadow and suggested we sit out the rain over lunch. The timing couldn't have been better; we parked the bikes and went inside just before the rain began falling.

Alan showed off his blue fingernails. He did drag for the first time the night before with the Lords of Leather.

It's great when you have a local showing you around, because Randolph's Restaurant turned out to be really wonderful. Our group of eight pushed some tables together in the back, and yakked our heads off. Doc told us about how her parents followed a local tradition by making "little meat" gumbo for the kids when she was growing up, chopping up chunks of luncheon meat and tossing it in with the gumbo. Doc said she still makes it that way herself as an adult.

Our lunch at Randolph's was a wonderful combination of local delicacies, including great some seafood. My fried catfish was light, flaky, and oh, so good. When the waitress brought Alan his big bowl of gumbo, Doc pointed and shouted, "You've got 'little meat'!"

Mike D. quipped what the rest of us were thinking, "Doc, you should never point at a man and say he's got 'little meat.'"

We tasted Alan's "little meat" gumbo and it had that wonderful country homemade taste that you can only get in a small town restaurant.

By the time we finished lunch, the rain had just stopped. By the time we all got on the road again, we only had wet pavement to contend with. The wind and thick overcast following the passing storm made it deliciously cool, making the rest of our ride very pleasant indeed.

We followed Hwy 1 south from Golden Meadow heading towards Grand Isle. South of Golden Meadow the landscape changes dramatically to the broad, flat expanse of coastal marshes that make up most of south Louisiana. The highway becomes only a narrow strip of pavement with water on both sides, with almost no development, and plenty of wildlife, espcially waterfowl like pelicans and egrets.

Camps raised up on stilts are the primary housing on Grand Isle.

Leeville is not much more than a cluster of buildings with a really big bridge, but Port Fouchon surprises you with huge developments of massive new houses sitting 20 feet up in the air on stilts. The road turns here and heads for Grand Isle, crossing a small bridge before entering the funky community.

Grand Isle is Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island, with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Barataria Bay on the other. It's been populated for centuries, starting with native Americans, who were followed by Jean Lafitte's band of pirates known as the Baratarians. During the last century, Grand Isle became a fishing resort and summer vacation spot. The island is mostly developed with "camps," older wood frame houses up on stilts to protect them from the frequent storm surges off the gulf. Many are available for vacation rentals. As we rode along the island, we saw where crews were hastily making repairs to the levee that had been breached when Tropical Storm Bill made its way inland along the southeast Lousiana coast at the beginning of July.

Doc led us all the way across the island, to the very end of Hwy 1, stopping at a marina where we got a good leg stretch. We also got to watch dolphins splashing in the bay and pelicans swooping low over the water in search of lunch. Doc said this marina was her childhood playground in summer when she visited her grandparents who lived close by on the island.

After a good rest, we turned around, gassed up at the local Conoco, then retraced our route north as far as Golden Meadow, this time with Lance in the lead. Lance was planning to split off with Guy to go and see an old family friend. Poncho followed them as well. The rest of us got on the "back road," the fast four-lane Hwy 3235 which cuts through just west of the communities along Hwy 1. Alan sprinted ahead to get home quickly, leaving only four, until David and Doc lost Mike and Doug when the latter two stopped again for gas. Doc led David back to Hwy 308 on the east side of the bayou, and the two headed home along US 90, as clearing skies broke through to full sun again.

Even though the group split up on the way home, most of us found our way back to Lafitte's. David and Michael got there first, followed soon after by Lance, Guy, and Poncho. Mike and Doug followed a little later. We had good reason to celebrate after our first group ride in six weeks. David checked the GPS and the official mileage was 230 miles. It was truly a grand ride.