Cavaliers Stay Cool on a Hot August Night

The Cavaliers beat the August heat by taking an evening ride to the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Saturday, August 9. It couldn't have been a nicer evening for a sunset ride, with sunny skies and warm temperatures as we headed to the coast, and a beautiful nearly full moon reflecting on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico as we returned home.

The Cavaliers are ready to ride to the coast. From left: Doug, David, Mike D., Mark, and Collin.

Four bikes met at the Phoenix for a 5 pm rendezvous, two with passengers.
-Mark and Collin rode Mark's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

After a short hop on Interstate 10, we headed out the Chef Menteur Hwy through eastern New Orleans, passing the Bayou Sauvage wildlife refuge and the funky community of fishing camps along the waters of Lake St. Catherine. It felt great to be on the bikes with the wind of the open road to cool things off.

We crossed into Mississippi on US Hwy 90 and headed for charming little Bay St. Louis, a waterfront town of antique stores, gift shops, and great restaurants. The town holds its monthly Artwalk every second Saturday, and attracts large numbers of shoppers eager to prowl the boutiques for the perfect find.

The Cavaliers really got into the swing of things in the old town, strolling around for blocks and wandering through several of the stores. After making the rounds, several in our group were enthusiastic about the fun they had, and eager to return to try some of the many tempting-looking restaurants. The town seemed to be very biker friendly as well, with many bikes parked around town.

After we had our fill of browsing, we hopped back on the bikes and headed across the bay and along the beach. The sunset ride along the water was really beautiful and really cool and refreshing.

We headed for the town of Long Beach to meet George, the Cavaliers secretary, who had recommended we eat at Lil Ray's. George was particularly eager to have us try their fried pickle chips. We were intrigued.

Lil Ray's is in downtown Long Beach on Jeff Davis Avenue. The place doesn't look like much from the outside, or from the inside either, for that matter. We seated ourselves on the benches at a big picnic-style table and George immediately ordered us some onion rings and two orders of fried pickle chips. The onion rings were great, and the fried pickle chips were addictive. Imagine pickle slices you'd use for sandwiches, that are battered and deep fried. Yes, they have too much fat and too much sodium, but damn they're delicious!

We all ordered an assortment of fried seafood and other dishes. My fried catfish was absolutely wonderful, with a crispy outer crust and tender and moist inside. George had his favorite grilled tuna poboy. The only complaint I heard was that Mike D.'s cheeseburger poboy was a bit too well done. Otherwise everyone seemed to really enjoy their meal, and we left absolutely stuffed.

After a quick stop for gas, we headed back along the beach road toward home, with the full moon hovering over the waters of the gulf. It made for a lovely ride, with temperatures falling into the low 80s. We followed Hwy 90 home, and the road was blissfully free of traffic. I cranked up my highway lights, aimed my high beam well up the road, and we roared through the marshes of eastern Orleans Parish. It got cool enough that a few times near the water it seemed almost chilly.

At I-510 Mark and Collin headed Uptown, while Mike, Doug, David, and Michael W. headed through Chalmette towards the French Quarter. We hung out for a while at Lafitte's, where bar manager Joey generously bought us a round. We then headed for the Phoenix, where we saw many of our good friends, including Tommy from the Lords, Mike M. from the bears, and Mr. Louisiana Leather Mark.

The evening ride was a wonderful way to beat the August heat. We can't wait to do it again sometime.