Sunday, August 18, 2024
We left Altus, Oklahoma earlier than we’ve been leaving. We knew it was going to be super hot so we wanted to get in some miles before the heat. Altus, OK was supposed to be 108°. Once it broke 90°, we started taking breaks every 45 minutes or so to stop and chug water. We wanted to stay hydrated since both the heat and sweating can cause dehydration quickly. It’s not quite as luxurious as being in a car where you can crank the AC and have some water with you to easily drink.
We weren’t in Oklahoma long before we crossed back into Texas. We started off on route 283S and followed that south until we reached Route 287S through Wichita Falls, TX. Our goal was to head towards El Dorado, Arkansas before dipping south into Louisiana. We continued on route 82S for about 220 miles before reaching I-30E which heads towards Texarkana, TX. All I could think of when we saw signs for Texarkana was the movie “Smoky and the Bandit” since the plot of the movie was to head there. It got hot around noon se we ditched our riding jackets. Eddie had a T-shirt and I had one of those warm weather long sleeve shirts which helped a lot!
Once we got close to Texarkana, I realized the interstate I-49 is on the western border of Arkansas. So, since it was brutally hot and there were minimal clouds in the sky, I decided to just head south into Louisiana and make it as far as we could. I was originally hoping to stop and visit Gabe in Russellville, AK, but time didn’t allow. He’s the one I did the first two trips with.
Shortly after crossing into Arkansas, we hopped onto I-49S. We weren’t on there for about 20 miles and saw no signs for fuel. So, we decided to pull over under and overpass, for shade, to drink some waters. I try to keep spare waters in my cooler for reasons like this. While we stopped and chugged some water, I wanted lube my chain since it was way too long since the last time we lubed the chain.
After about 10-15 minutes on the shoulder of the highway, getting some water, and lubing the chains, we continued until we crossed into Louisiana I was excited because I’ve never been to Louisiana. We stopped off the highway just outside Shreveport, LA to fuel up and get more water. While there we pine a place to get some food which was another hour away in Ruston, LA. We hopped on to I-30E and continued another 70 miles or so until we got to “The Dawg House” for food. We didn’t know it, but that’s home of Louisiana Tech University which explained all of the college kids.
After we stopped off and had dinner, we continued on I-30E. The next destination was Vicksburg, LA. We checked the weather at dinner and realized there was a storm cell coming in, but it appeared to be moving slow and were confident we would make it to Vicksburg where we booked a hotel. After about 30 minutes on the highway and watching a bunch of amazing heat lightening, we experienced 40+mph gusts of wind. It was honestly quite sketchy and a little scary. It was already dark and the first wind gust happened while we were riding at about 75mph and legit blew us across the entire lane. I saw a cloud of grass fly in front of me and then got blown over. It was so bad that we speed down to about 50mph until the next exit.
We got off the highway as soon as we could and checked the weather. It looked like the speed of the storm picked up. Trees were sideways from the wind. We were not in a safe place and contemplated making it to the next gas station before suiting up in rain gear. It honestly seemed as if a tornado was going to come through. However, it was coming very fast and we quickly suited up and hopped on the road again for 8 miles until we could get a little shelter at the nearest gas station near Delhi, LA.
It started raining just as we got on the highway. We took it easy until we reached the next gas station and waited for the bulk of the storm to pass. We met another biker and talked with him a bit before getting back on the road. We got back on the road and the wind gusts died down. The heat lightning was the most intense I’ve ever seen. It was really neat to watch. After about 40 minutes riding through the rain, we finally reached Vicksburg, Mississippi where we booked a hotel.
We finished the day with about 620 miles. I didn’t take many photos due to being hot and only caring about being hydrated and comfortable.
Google Photo Album: Day 10
Adventures of Matty Q 