Tour of New Orleans (The Crescent City)
Road extended tour / Saturday, November 22 through Friday, November 28, 2008
Escape the dreary midwest November with this one week tour of Louisiana and Mississippi. Our customers have been requesting this destination for many years, and finally in 2008 it is on the calendar. New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are still marked by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, but the region is well on the road to full recovery. Now is an excellent time to both see some of the original damage and witness the rebirth of the region.
We leave St. Louis on Saturday by motor coach, and spend Saturday night in Tunica, Mississippi, the gambling mecca of the Gulf states. Sunday we continue to New Orleans, home of world famous food, jazz music, and night life. We spend Sunday afternoon on a bike tour of the French Quarter, then ride through Audubon Park and see the campuses of Tulane and Loyola. On Monday we ride along the Mississippi River on a portion of the Levee Bicycle Path. This ride offers many striking views along the levee, with the mighty river rolling toward the Gulf on one side, and low lying portions of the Crescent City on the other. Tuesday starts with a bicycle tour of flood damaged wards in the morning, with the afternoon and evening free to revisit the French Quarter, go shopping, and take in some nightlife. On Wednesday we ride the Tammany Trace, a rails-to-trails conversion that follows the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain through St. Tammany Parish, across the lake from New Orleans. We will visit the towns of Covington, Abita Springs, Mandeville, Lacombe and Slidell.
Thursday morning we transfer by coach to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This is the home of Southern Mississippi University and the start of the Longleaf Trail, which we will ride for 41 miles from Hattiesburg to Prentiss, Mississippi. The Longleaf Trail is another rails-to-trails conversion, with gentle grades, rural surroundings, small towns and plenty of chances to spot wildlife. We spend the night in Prentiss. On Friday we board the coach to return to St. Louis, arriving home in the evening.
The tour includes transportation throughout the trip, hotel rooms in Tunica (1 night), New Orleans (4 nights) and Prentiss (1 night), double occupancy. Six evening meals are included (and breakfasts are provided by the hotels). Mechanical support, guides, water stops, and maps are included. Cost of the tour is $715 per person.
For more information or to sign up, call 314-739-5180, email to tctours@touringcyclist.com, or write to
Donald Humphries
The Touring Cyclist / TC Tours
11816 St. Charles Rock Road
Bridgeton, MO 63044