New Orleans, LA - Longview, TX Motorcycling

The New Orleans thunderstorm caused us to stop for 90 minutes in Metairie, just west of New Orleans.

51. After spending 4 days in New Orleans attending and presenting my 2 papers at the American Society of Engineering Education's 2016 Conference, we're ready to get back on the road on Thursday, June 30 at 07:45. Weather forecast said there was a higher than 50% precipitation around New Orleans, but we didn't expect to get a monsoon rain (thunderstorm) for more than an hour, as we started to leave the city.

52. My helmet has a sun (dark) visor behind the outside protective glass. The heavy downpour filled the glass surface with water beads that severely reduced my visibility. On top of that, water started accumulating on the right lane of I-10 westbound, which signals the possibility of hydroplaning. So, I decided to exit the highway in Metairie. We initially were marooned at a gas station and then moved to a coffee shop nearby. The rain didn't stop until 90 minutes later. Our jackets and pants were completely wet. I ran into one guy who said humorously: Are you having a regret motorcycling today? I answered with a smile that I couldn't afford to have a regret since I still have 4000 km to go. He's planning to visit Niagara Falls (the more picturesque side in Canada) and Atlantic Canada.

53. After the rain cleared, another cloud formation was moving from the Gulf of Mexico. So I decided to outrun it westward – if I could. We're lucky that we arrived in Baton Rouge, about 100 km west of New Orleans without any more rain. We had to stop at the BMW Motorcycles of Baton Rouge to have my motorcycle's tires replaced. I thought this would be a good decision since the rear tire already had 2 plugs and could last a maximum 3000 km. I don't want to get stranded with worn out, punctured tires in a desert.

54. The 90 minute rain stop and another 2 hour stop in Baton Rouge made today the longest ride day. Total time was 12 hours from 7:45 am to 7:45 pm when we stop for the night in Longview, covering 640 km. We took Route 190 (Airline Highway) to get us to Opelousas, LA to get us back into I-49 northbound. The I-10 route between Baton Rouge and Lafayette was more picturesque, by the way. But the landscape between Baton Rouge and Opelousas, LA on Route 190 reminded us of Solo - Yogya route in Java, Indonesia. We stopped at our favorite gas stop in Natchitoches, LA, that sells delish, just-spicy-enough-for-motorcycling meat pies.  The ride between Alexandria and Shreveport was good, if not slightly boring after awhile.