Cyclists stop for lunch in Franklin on 533-mile trek from Houston to NOLA

More than 75 cyclists riding from Houston to New Orleans this week are raising awareness and money for the American Red Cross along the Gulf Coast during Tour du Rouge.
The 533-mile adventure is held May 3-8 and takes cyclists past desolate coastal beauty, storm-damaged property, swamps and alligators.
Cyclists stopped for lunch Wednesday at Franklin’s Shadowlawn Plantation before continuing to a rest stop in Patterson and ending their day at the Morgan City Holiday Inn.
The cycling tour is a physical challenge as well as an endeavor in humanitarianism. The tour allows cyclists to support the Red Cross while doing something they love and to learn about disaster resiliency in an area that Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma devastated. The tour is arriving just a week after severe weather destroyed and damaged homes from Calcasieu Parish to Plaquemines Parish and just weeks before the start of hurricane season.
On the final day of the tour Friday cyclists will enter New Orleans riding along the top of the Mississippi River levee and will stop for lunch in Audubon Park. The cyclists will ride together through the French Quarter, led by a police escort, to the river front.
Tour du Rouge continues to grow and attract a diverse group of riders, from the area, across the country, and around the globe. This year’s cyclists are from 12 states and Denmark. Eleven are from Louisiana. About half of the cyclists are returning Tour du Rouge riders.
The Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
Each stop along the tour will provide opportunities for journalists to interview cyclists and Red Cross volunteers.