September 14th Orange to Riviera
I took my first bath of the day but i actually wanted a shower, no mater how hard I tried there was no way of switching the taps to shower mode. I had awoken early because I  think getting to the bike shop had been playing on my mind. The oil change I'd arranged yesterday was straight forward enough, but looking at Horizons Unlimited (American Website for people doing what I'm doing) someone had posted that you could use gear oil in the Scottoiler, which sounded great. If I couldn't keep my chain lubricated satisfactorily the life of the chain would be seriously diminished and there was no way it would last the duration of  the trip and I wasn't confident a new chain and sprocket could be obtained that easily.
The people at Triple L Honda were great, they had fitted me first , so that they could complete the oil change and I could be on my way, after all I ha 350+ miles to do today. The assistant also rigged up a means of me filling up the Scottoiler with gear oil - Scottoiler provide a dispenser and tubing which makes it very straight forward - but unfortunately i didn't have one. I'd anticipated being able to buy one anywhere in the States but it appears that the East Coast and West Coast (the more urban environments) are where they can easily be sourced. The bike shops in this part of the world mainly service farmers with Quad bikes etc and the number of actual motorcycles they sell is small. So no real demand.
By the time my bike had had new oil and filter and I'd bought 2 containers of Gearoil it was 11am. I did want to buy a tyre and brake pads but they didn't stock these either. My tyre is ok.but I don't think it will last the 10,000 miles I need from it. So my plan is to get to a shop in Mexico (somewhere nice) and get the bits ordered and wait till they turn up!!
Again it was a very hot day and though I set off late I made good progress along the Highway - bike felt great but I think that is really the placebo effect playing tricks with me. My mind is also fretting about the tyres but this is mainly because I've seen so many cars with punctures by the side of the road. The hard shoulder is also festooned with the remains of old car tyres and I think this is because Americans tend to be neglectful when it comes to maintenance.
I stuck to my 70  mile principle and duly pulled in for my second stop of the day for fuel and a drink (my first stop which was around lunchtime, I'd endured the most awful chicken sandwich ever. I was offered some Beef Jerky at this second stop, but having bought some when with Tas and found it not to my liking I graciously declined. I'd stopped a little early at this stop because on the horizon I had spotted storm clouds brewing. My thinking was maybe it would blow by my bit of road if I gave it 20 minutes or so. The shop/cafe were playing country music on the verandah, so I thought I'd 
drink my drink, listen to the music and live the dream - storm clouds, what storm clouds.
While drinking my drink I was approached by a jovial American who was keen to shake my hand and then told me about a Honda dealer just down the road in El  Campo who might be able to help me with my tyre dilemma. So I bit the bullet and jumped on my bike though two miles down the road I could see the most awful storm approaching -  I accelerated and got into the shop without a drop touching me. Unfortunately no joy with the tyres but I did manage to purchase a petrol canister which fits nicely on top of the panniers and now gives me a rare of 300 miles without having to top up.
All this stopping meant it was now getting on at 4pm and I still had 190 miles to go to Riviera where I planned to stay for the night. With determination I thought whatever the weather i HAVE JUST GOT TO GET THERE. Within a few miles the storm clouds had got worse, not better and I stopped on the hard shoulder to take a photo, as I did so a police car joined the road and my heart skipped a beat. It was just my luck I thought, but to my surprise he rode on by. So I took the opportunity to take the picky and put on my lightweight jacket. 

As you can see from the picture it looked mean but I thought it would be a 5 minute dunking

As soon as I approached I realised this was worse than the previous day, This really was full immersion I was completely soaked and had my second bath of the day. it was getting worse, the wind was incredibly strong and the road was like a river, I could feel the bike beneath me aqua planing. Visibility was down to a few yards and all but the mega juggernauts were slowing down. In fact this was my main concern, that a vehicle would hit me from behind. i SWITCHED ON MY HAZARD WARNING LIGHTS, though it took some doing as I could hardly make out the plethora of switches on the bike. My anxiety increased further when almost beside me was the most enormous bang - for a moment I thought it was a juggernaut hitting me. It was thunder followed by lightning. This downpour lasted for about 10 minutes and unlike the previous day the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees and I felt cold. When I eventually drove out of the maelstrom I was reminded how lucky I was , as before me was a Porsche that was sideways on and had obviously bounced off the central reservation. The van behind it wasn't in much better shape. I decided to pull over as I needed petrol and a change of clothes. I'd become complacent about the weather for all my wet weather gear was buried at the bottom of my panniers, with my jacket in one and my trousers in another. I decided to just change the jacket, on the basis that my thin trousers would soon dry out again once I entered the sun. The beauty of my jacket being at the bottom of my pannier was that it was being cooked all day by my metallic oven, when I put it on it was like wrapping myself in a hot water bottle. Lovely.

I continued to go through rain showers, but nothing like I'd just experienced, so eventually I dried out. I was enjoying this part of Texas a lot and apart from the Smokies it felt like the America I'd had in my minds eye before I started this trip; small garages, little cafes and long straight flat roads. It was less corporate than other parts and less busy - pity about the extreme weather. The road signs had been flashing for about 50  miles - Be prepared this is the Hurricane season. Let's hope my luck continues and I don't encounter that tempest!

My funky 2 gallon petrol canister - what a perfect fit and it was as firm as a rock even through the downpour!

Tonight I ate at a Mexican Cafe (greasy Manuel's but delicious food). They told e getting through the border would be a sinch - I don't believe them but we will see tomorrow. A short 108 miles to the border. Not sure where to stay but will make my mind up once I'm on Mexican territory.