Ride start cancelled due to rain, almost. I’ve been down in New Orleans for several days hanging out with my friend Chuck Greiner, his wife Margaret Leaf, and their son Aidan, perhaps the cutest 11 month old in New Orleans. Their daughter Pearlie has been away at camp. We’ve had a lot of fun hanging out, playing with Aidan, swimming, tree trimming, tearing up carpet, and clearing off an area of the backyard for a garden. Chuck and I even fit in a trip to Jean LaFitte state park where we encountered several alligators and I came away wounded by a vicious fire ant attack. That ought to teach me not to leave the boardwalk for a closer look at the friendly gator.

Sunday morning I woke up to of thunder and pelting rain. Did not look like great riding weather. We went out for breakfast at one of their favorite cafes. The storm continued and got worse. At times the rain was coming down horizontally. Water was pooling under several tables in the cafe. The streets outside were flooding. Not so sure about riding in this… We got back into their Scion to head back to the house. We got about a mile from the house and Chuck had to park the car on a high spot off the road. We couldn’t get back to their house, the road was flooded! So we got out and slogged back to their house at times in knee deep water! Chuck told me later that it rained 6 inches in 2 hours.

The water receded in a few hours, the sky cleared up, and we loaded the bike into the back of their truck and they hauled me out of the city. On the way to route 61 we had to detour due to flooded streets.

So, with Chuck and Margaret’s help I got out of a soaked New Orleans and on my way. They dropped me off on route 61. On the right side of the road was a canal and it was fun to see an occasional alligator. One poor fella had crawled up on the road and had been hit by a car. He was about 2 1/2 feet long. We’ve all heard a lot about why the chicken crossed the road. Why, I wonder did the alligator cross the road? Was it just to get to the other side?