What’s with the Weather Channel? Can you even find local on the 8s anymore that gives you local weather? “Here’s your local forecast” and the scrolling through all the cities in the world begins. That is except for the one you’re in. Covington is across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans and I’ve heard a rumor that they’ve had some weather issues. You would think that of all the places in the world you would be able to get a local weather report for New Orleans, but no. It appears that it will be a nice day in Cleveland.

My PocketPC shows a huge storm coming through Baton Rouge with relatively clear skies after that. I can live with some rain if there’s hope of clearing afterward and at 6 am I split.

One of the first things I see is a stunningly beautiful rainbow. Is this a good sign? The next and continuous item I experience is H2O and lots of it. In many parts of the US there’s a water shortage. I found the missing water. Around Lake Charles the rain gets serious. I only ask that the coroner dries me off before he cremates me in a nice, dry and warm fire. Galveston brings another bout of Biblicus Rainicus Uninterrupictus.

Finally there are clearing skies in Houston and I start to dry out. This will take awhile. Purple Haze is playing on the XM Radio which is the namesake for my bike. The bike seems to run stronger when it hears the music and that strengthens my resolve. At the west end of Houston, which is in a different weather climate, the rain begins again and continues all the way to San Antonio. My friend Mike stated that he only gets light rain in San Antonio with no lightning. That must be a laser show up ahead and light rain is a relative term. As I pull into Mike and Sara’s driveway I notice that it is raining in every yard but theirs which explains Mike’s interpretation of the weather.

A finer and more interesting couple you’ll never meet and they treat me like royalty. I used to think that Sara’s morning fruit smoothies couldn’t be topped until she made me a turkey sandwich. The rain becomes a minor inconvenience for such a feast.

We take the bike to a local dealership for a change of rubber, possible chain replacement and general look over. I’ve carried a set of tires from Florida which have several inches of rain in them. The next day we are going to work on Mike’s bike and install a set of engine guards and bash plate. His bike is one year older than mine and doesn’t have the same engine mounting setup. In order to pull the bolt we need a special tool and take the bike to dealer instead. My bike has been pronounced good to go. The tire change cost $126.00, yikes, and the chain has been pronounced fit for another 4,000 miles. I take a spare chain with me, but forget to have the dealer cut the chain to length.

Mike rides my bike back to his house while his bike is being worked on and I follow in his truck. He has a lot of faith in me because I’ve put a whooping 1,300 miles on a car in the last year. His truck is easily twice as big as my car. Should I have a lead car and “Wide Load” signs? Later we pick up Mike’s bike and do some shopping where we run into a tour guide for Edelweiss. He is sitting outside a Starbucks and has at least 3 coffee drinks while we are there. The boy is wired, but a nice guy. His 2007 V-Strom looks like it’s been through a war.

Don arrives that night with a smile on his face and song in his heart. He has just ridden 900 miles and avoids most of the rain. Amazingly he pulled in and says “Let’s go to dinner.” I would have been toast and ready for bed.