Monday, August 27, 2012

Starting the Ride Home

The trip to Florida ended up being a complete washout.  We managed to have fun and eat some good meals, despite the rain.  The house where we stayed had a smoker on a covered patio, so I spent a day smoking a brisket while reading a book and watching it rain.  The Summer Olympics kept us somewhat entertained, as long as synchronized water dancing or ribbon twirling weren't the day's events.

  

The ride back wasn't looking good from the start, considering I had seen rain every day since leaving Dallas a week prior.  I decided to stick to my plan and hit the scenic coastal roads and head to New Orleans to see my friend Brian, who is a good friend from college.  I knew the ferry was closed in Mobile the previous day, so I would have to head north at Gulf Shores to get around Mobile Bay.  After passing Ft. Walton Beach, the sky got really dark and I could tell there would be heavy rain ahead, so I detoured north through Eglin AFB to miss the rain.

I was just delaying the inevitable though.  Just east of Mobile, the sky turned black again and it was as dark as I've every seen it in the middle of the day.  My phone was not in a waterproof case, so no pics.  I powered through the rain, and luckily the deluge only lasted for a couple of minutes.  After passing through the tunnel in Mobile, I hit another storm. This one was much worse.  It was the heaviest rain that I've ridden in, and not safe conditions at all.  Cars were throwing their hazard lights on, people were slamming on their brakes, the water on the road was deep and visibility was horrible.  It didn't help that my visor and glasses had fogged up.  I took the first exit that I could find and called it lunch.  By the way, D'Michaels has excellent cheese steak sandwiches and is just west of Mobile if you're ever in the neighborhood.

After making it past Mobile, I was back to the beach roads, which turned out to be a really bad idea.  The wind was blowing in from the water at a good clip, so I was sand blasted from Mobile to Gulfport.  It was physically painful, since I had stowed my jacket in Mobile.  I tried to get a pic of the sand dancing across the road, but the photo doesn't truly capture it.


Once I reached Gulfport, I checked the weather and contacted Brian.  I was only 80 miles from NOLA, but it looked ugly.  I ditched the idea of meeting up with my friend and headed north to get out of the rain.

There were several more showers throughout the day, but it was minimal compared to what I had been through earlier in the day, so I powered on to Vicksburg for the night.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Interstate of Mind

Yesterday was a little boring, as far as scenic riding goes. It was nothing but interstate riding across 4 states. Riding on interstate is noisy and windy, and can be a beating after 7 hours. I managed to fix my headphone cord issue, which took the annoying aspect out of the new iPhone setup on the bike.

One highlight was my first ride through an underwater tunnel. I've been through the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile a few times, but never on a bike. It's really cool how the freedom on a motorcycle can completely transform a familiar experience into something new.

I was able to dodge the heavy rain today, thanks to a tip from Les to bypass Destin to avoid some traffic and double back. I missed the traffic, and as I pulled into Santa Rosa Beach, the rain bands were dark gray in the direction that I would have ridden.

I'm settled in now and looking forward to a few days of relaxation on the beach. I have a much more scenic route planned for the ride home, and will be avoiding the interstate highways. Good times to come!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

A Day in LA

It was a fairly uneventful day on the road. I left the house around 8 and made good time to Louisiana, thanks to the new 75 mph speed limit.

Before leaving home, I installed a new mount for my iPhone on the handlebar. I wired a power cord to the mount, but didn't think about the location of the headphone jack. About 20 miles into the trip, I was already tired of the cord flailing around in front of my face. A trip to Best Buy and $5 later, I won't have that problem tomorrow. It was really annoying for 450 miles, but my tunes were more important.

By the time I made it to Natchitoches, I was ready for some of the town's famous meat pies, and they did not disappoint. The weather was not bad this morning, but by the time I finished lunch, the heat index was 104. It took 3 hours before I found bearable riding conditions. Not too long after that, I spotted a bridge in the distance that was not on my GPS. I made a u-turn and headed for the bridge, and it was well worth it. It cut some time off the ride and it was the coolest bridge I've ever seen. With a $409 million price tag, it should be. The Audubon bridge crosses the Mississippi, and is a similar design to the new Large Marge Bridge in Dallas, but the Audubon bridge actually goes somewhere. I saw thunderstorms building nearby, or I would have stopped for some better pictures.

I circled the city of Baton Rouge for an hour, trying to find a way to avoid the thunderstorms. The lightning was popping all around me and the thunder made a sound like the sky was ripping open each time. I finally gave up and unpacked the rain suit, so I could make it to my hotel. I drove through rain that was heavy enough to slow the interstate speeds to 30 mph, but only had to spend 20 minutes in it to make it to my final destination for the day.

After a shower and shave, I headed to Chimes for dinner on the LSU campus. I had never been to LSU, so I took a drive through campus at dusk and it is beautiful. I cruised around University Lake, and that campus is amazing.

After a good burger and a couple of IPA's, I'm ready to get some rest and do it again tomorrow.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Beach Bound

It's been a while since I've had any two-wheel adventures, but I'll be heading out early Saturday morning for Baton Rouge, with a final destination of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  The return trip will include Bourbon Street, Louisiana swamps, and a few stops to visit with old friends and family.

The Harley is in tip-top shape after a full service, new battery, new stator (charging system), and new exhaust.  The old exhaust cracked all the way through, but I reaped the benefit of some sweet sounding Vance & Hines True Duals that paired nicely with the existing Sreamin' Eagle mufflers. 

If you would like to follow me, there is a link on the page to my GPS tracker.  I will report back with pictures of my adventure, and hopefully a few good stories.