June 4, 2024

Laurel to Huntsville, TX

More rain this afternoon, but the ride was much nicer. I guess my head was in it a bit more, leaving the distractions of daily life behind. I met another rider, maybe ten years older than me, this morning getting coffee at the hotel, and he told me that he takes a month-long ride every year. He’s from north Florida and is headed to Montana on his African Twin. “Sounds like an adventure,” I said. “Yeah, I have to clear out the crap once in a while.” I think I see his point.

I left Laurel about 07:30, heading west on US-84, heading west. The GPS said I would arrive in Livingston, TX, about 17:45—yikes!? It was also trying to get to off US-84, but since I had looked up this route on Google maps last night, I knew it was the right way to go, so I ignored the GPS. At my first stop to return my morning coffee, I found that not only was “Avoid interstates” checked in my GPS preferences, but also “Avoid major roads.” Ah, that’s the issue. Once I disabled that preference, I was back on track and would get to Livingston by 14:30. Still, that was seven hours: a lengthy day of riding, and I was bound to hit some more weather, though this morning, there was not a cloud in the sky.

I made good time through the rest of Mississippi, and even enjoyed the weather. US-84 is a four-lane road through the state, so I just took advantage until I got to Natchez, MS, and into Louisiana. The road not only turned two-lane, but was not in the best state of repair. By the time I hit Alexandria, LA, about 12:00, I was getting fatigued and the rain was threatening again. I stopped for a coffee and to check the radar. Yep, there was a line of red-and-orange just north of LA-28, but I donned the rain gear and headed into the darkness.

It wasn’t too bad. The coffee sure helped. I think the rain mostly stayed north of me, heading east as I headed west. By the time I hit TX-63, I was enjoying myself under an overcast sky, riding through eastern Texas on a road that’s cut through a pine forrest. Lovely and isolated: this is what motorcycling is all about.

I still had about 75 miles to go, and the darkness to my north was still a concern. I had to stop for gas again, which I did at a station east of Jasper, TX. As I was filling up, the rain and wind hit hard. This was no place to wait it out, so I thought fuck it and continued on in the storm—tank full and 60-or-so miles to my intended destination for the night.

I pulled in to Livingston about 16:00 and was not impressed. I spent an hour waffling and getting a couple of necessities, before I just decided to head up the road a bit more. Onalaska was not any more promising, so 25 more miles had me in Huntsville, TX—about two hours from Austin. Another night in an economy hotel—this time the Sam Houston Inn. I traveled about 450 miles today and the BMW R 1200 GS was almost flawless—the gas tank not giving me as much trouble. Exhausting, but I enjoyed it more than yesterday’s ride.

Tomorrow, it’s Austin time.