Plenty of time this morning. Slight wind in my face but improving all day. Strong tailwind to finish with.
Lots of discussions last night as to which route I should take I-10 fast road but good hard shoulder, H-90 frequently no shoulder, not so busy. Lots of advice on the internet
I decide to take the I-10 (Debbie 😞). It’s not raining yet but it has been and will do again soon.
Only been on the road 15 minutes and the Police pull me over. (Well it’s happened in all previous countries for one reason or another). I’m not allowed on the Interstate. So what am I to do. He suggests I get off at the next junction and clear off out of his district down the H-90. That has no hard shoulder I say. He replies, it takes you away from me. Stood there, six foot five, fit, armed and in his scout leader uniform.
So the 90 it is. Through Lafayette first and the rush hour traffic, chaos. Once through the roads busy with no shoulder. Give it 15 minutes and it doesn’t improve. So I take a back route. Much quieter but the roads aren’t great. Turns out I’m on the Spanish trail. Raining hard and I’m soaked to the skin, one hour in to the ride. Just keeps on raining, but with the wind behind. Keep my head down and push on. Given up trying to avoid puddles it’s a waste of time. Twice my front wheel skids out on the white line. That wakes me up, but I don’t crash. Some times it rains and then it rains harder. Horrid day. Torrential now I pull over to a fast food joint. Need to eat, warm up and use the WiFi.
Book a motel 25 miles down the road. Get back on the bike and realise I’m proper cold now. Why did I book it so far away. Last ten miles or so is battling 30>40 Mph gusting winds. Keeping myself to the right handside, press on past the air museum. Birds of prey are surfing on the winds above. Dozens of them. As they swoop down low I have a great view of my first “Bald Eagle” Excellent.
As Morgan City appears there’s a large bridge to cross. Hope it’s not like yesterdays. Lane closer, perfect I dodge between the cones and ride the empty lane. Perfectly safe. On the descent the other side they've left a machine blocking my access. Hope the keys are in it. No problem, just take panniers of one side and I squeeze through.
Approaching the ellevated take off lane for my hotel my bottle cage drops off, probably due to the poor road surfaces today. The yellow Bottle bounces in front of me and disappears down the drain onto the grass below 10 metres. Looking down I console myself that it’s lost.
Into the motel dripping, shower and dry my gear.
Out for dinner at a local shack. Soft shell crab, chips and salad. Pretty good to be honest.