I woke up for a THIRD day of riding through Texas to a morning so muggy you could almost taste the rain. Following Hwy 7 - the Forest Trail - proved to be the perfect pace for wearing as little gear as possible. I'd shoved everything I could into my backpack and hooked my helmet onto the side of my bike, had to stop every so often to clean my padded sunglasses of bayou wildlife. The route naturally flowed onto Hwy 6 (El Camino Real de los Tejas) and at some point I finally hit Louisiana, purring along and somehow still dry. Passing through a little town I decide to push on towards Natchitoches for lunch, gave a nod to the state trooper catching speeders coming the opposite direction. I swear it doesn't matter how many rules I'm NOT breaking, every time I see those flashing lights behind me my heart leaps into my throat. Sure enough, he spins around and pulls me over. "I wasn't going over the limit, was I sir?" No. Are you coming from Texas? "Yes, Sir." But you're form Ontario? "Yes, Sir." Don't they have helmet laws in Canada? Ooops. He takes my license and registration and leaves me standing on the side of the road. Aaaaand then the rain starts. He waves me over and says I can sit in the back of the cruiser. I resist taking a selfie. Turns out they can't run a thing on Canadian plates in Louisiana so I'm off with a stern warning after assuring I am not a felon nor carrying contraband. He also strongly believes I should be carrying a gun and laughs when I tell him I don't know how to shoot one now own a license. His last words are "Find shelter, storms are coming."
So instead of looping back, what does stubborn me do? Push on thinking I could still make it to Natchitoches. Sure enough, half a mile down the road I have so much rain pelting my cheeks I can't feel them anymore and visibility is next to nothing. Nowhere to stop so I push on, hoping to other side comes soon! Another mile and it's like I'm in a gray ball of wetness, I have no clue if there are any other vehicles around and it's with a hope and a prayer that I'm still on the road. I come to a slippery stop under a tree near the road and sit in awe as the eye of the storm hangs right there for what seems like an eternity.
The best part of rainstorms is there is guaranteed sunshine on the other side. I stripped down at lunch, wrung my clothes out and laid them over the bike to dry. Made for one of my favourite photos!