Louisville to New Orleans

This is exactly what I needed to pull me outta this foul-weather funk: Ride Planning!

My wife has a conference in New Orleans mid-March. She's flying, I'm riding; Sucks for her.

Rather than slab it for 12 hours, I would like to take a couple of days, and experience some good roads along the way. So, from Louisville, should I:

A. Go west into Missouri, south into Arkansas & Louisiana, or

B. Go south through Tennessee, Alabama, then west into Mississippi (coast, or stay north)?

I don't really know the roads in any of these states, so I'm open to any suggestions. Also, since I'll be there 3 days, any good rides near New Orleans?

Jager!

I dont know much of any of those roads, but HERE is a google map link that might help you plan.

Topo map from here to there. Drag the blue line to modify your route.

IndianaTom said:

I dont know much of any of those roads, but HERE is a google map link that might help you plan.

Topo map from here to there. Drag the blue line to modify your route.

Click to expand...

The topo feature is cool; never used that before.

I'll add a Zumo before this trip, as well. Haven't tried yet, but I read that lots of good riding routes can be downloaded to it. For this trip, I won't mind a couple hundred slab miles, just don't want 12 hours of Interstate.

Jagermeister said:

This is exactly what I needed to pull me outta this foul-weather funk: Ride Planning!
My wife has a conference in New Orleans mid-March. She's flying, I'm riding; Sucks for her.

Rather than slab it for 12 hours, I would like to take a couple of days, and experience some good roads along the way. So, from Louisville, should I:

A. Go west into Missouri, south into Arkansas & Louisiana, or

B. Go south through Tennessee, Alabama, then west into Mississippi (coast, or stay north)?

I don't really know the roads in any of these states, so I'm open to any suggestions. Also, since I'll be there 3 days, any good rides near New Orleans?

Jager!

Click to expand...

There are some really nice roads in southern Missouri and Arkansas, as well as Tennessee, don't know about Alabama or Louisiana. In mid March weather could be a factor, so I might plan both routes now, favoring one over the other till it got closer to the time & you had a better idea of how this winter/spring seem to be shaping up. Or, go one way & come back the other . I mean, you got to get back somehow, right?

There are some really nice roads in southern Missouri and Arkansas, as well as Tennessee, don't know about Alabama or Louisiana. In mid March weather could be a factor, so I might plan both routes now, favoring one over the other till it got closer to the time & you had a better idea of how this winter/spring seem to be shaping up. Or, go one way & come back the other . I mean, you got to get back somehow, right?

[SIZE=12pt]Yeah, I had weather in the back of my mind. The average March weather on the Gulf Coast is great, but Missouri & Arkansas could be a problem. [/SIZE]

You're right about riding back another route. Definately want to see as many roads as possible.

I remember driving through Cherokee Villiage, N. AR a few years ago for work; that's a beautiful area.

I'm unfamiliar with coastal AL & MS; even though it's 10 deg warmer down there, I don't want to be stuck with hours of flat & boring roads.

Jagermeister,

I recently moved from Memphis to Baton Rouge and am familiar with most of the route you're planning to ride if you come down the east side of the Mississippi. I'm also familiar with the Missouri side from St Louis down to Memphis.

If you choose to go to St. Loius, Hwy 61 is pretty entertaining for the 90 mile run down to Cape Girardeau. After that, it gets straight, flat and boring into Memphis no matter what road you're on.

South of Memphis you can take Hwy 61 all the way to New Orleans, but it isn't anything special unless you're into history or like to watch cotton grow while you ride. See this thread.

Donaldb also posted about some central Miss. roads that might be worth some route planning in this thread. You would probably do yourself a favor to get on I-55 from Memphis to Jackson, MS and then use donaldb's road to cut over to Hwy 61 to get the best ride.

61 will take you down to the LA state line where you can jump over to the river road. There is no real name or number, but if you look on a map south of St Francisville, the river road hugs the Miss River levee (curves and all) through Louisiana to New Orleans. It's mildly amusing, but definitely better than the slab.

Hope this is helpful. Remind me when your time gets closer, I may have updates on better roads. Since I've only been in LA a few months, I'm still exploring and may have some suggestions for the Arkansas/LA side of the Miss by that time.

Give me a shout when you're in this neck of the woods if you're interested in riding together.

uctofeej said:

Jagermeister,
I recently moved from Memphis to Baton Rouge and am familiar with most of the route you're planning to ride if you come down the east side of the Mississippi. I'm also familiar with the Missouri side from St Louis down to Memphis.

If you choose to go to St. Loius, Hwy 61 is pretty entertaining for the 90 mile run down to Cape Girardeau. After that, it gets straight, flat and boring into Memphis no matter what road you're on.

South of Memphis you can take Hwy 61 all the way to New Orleans, but it isn't anything special unless you're into history or like to watch cotton grow while you ride. See this thread.

Donaldb also posted about some central Miss. roads that might be worth some route planning in this thread. You would probably do yourself a favor to get on I-55 from Memphis to Jackson, MS and then use donaldb's road to cut over to Hwy 61 to get the best ride.

61 will take you down to the LA state line where you can jump over to the river road. There is no real name or number, but if you look on a map south of St Francisville, the river road hugs the Miss River levee (curves and all) through Louisiana to New Orleans. It's mildly amusing, but definitely better than the slab.

Hope this is helpful. Remind me when your time gets closer, I may have updates on better roads. Since I've only been in LA a few months, I'm still exploring and may have some suggestions for the Arkansas/LA side of the Miss by that time.

Give me a shout when you're in this neck of the woods if you're interested in riding together.

Click to expand...

Awesome, Thanks.

There are a couple loops between NE and BR I found so far, but am definately open to suggestions. The river road looks promising; should I try to pick it up in BR, off Rt. 190? Are the roads & LEOs better on the LA or MS side?

I'll be there March 13-15 (ride in the 12th, out on the 16th); If you're available to ride any of those days, let me know.

Jagermeister said:

Awesome, Thanks.There are a couple loops between NE and BR I found so far, but am definately open to suggestions. The river road looks promising; should I try to pick it up in BR, off Rt. 190? Are the roads & LEOs better on the LA or MS side?

I'll be there March 13-15 (ride in the 12th, out on the 16th); If you're available to ride any of those days, let me know.

Click to expand...

If you want to run the river road, you should probably ride Hwy 61 to I-110 and take one of the exits for LSU. The university sits right by the river and and following the signs to the school is the easiest way to get to it.

Two important things to note about Louisiana. 1) The LEOs in LA are awful. Hwy 61 and any interstate will be crawling with them, guaranteed. When I drive the cage on the interstate, I've seen as many as 14 patrolling a 39 miles stretch of road. If you come down 61, you can expect to encounter at least 3 on that 30 mile stretch. On the smaller roads, it's not nearly as bad. 2) The roads here are poorly maintained. They will beat your guts out with potholes, lumps of tar and every seam on most highways.

I've heard there are some interesting things to see on the west/south side of the river between NO and BR, but I think it's mostly sight-seeing more than it is good riding. I haven't made it that way yet. I'll see what I can turn up and will post here. The east/north side has some interesting country roads that run through bayous. The roads may be flat and only a little curvy, but it's a different experience, to say the least.

I'll try to clear a day off work to catch up with you for a ride on one of those days.

uctofeej said:

Jagermeister said:

Awesome, Thanks.There are a couple loops between NE and BR I found so far, but am definately open to suggestions. The river road looks promising; should I try to pick it up in BR, off Rt. 190? Are the roads & LEOs better on the LA or MS side?

I'll be there March 13-15 (ride in the 12th, out on the 16th); If you're available to ride any of those days, let me know.

Click to expand...

If you want to run the river road, you should probably ride Hwy 61 to I-110 and take one of the exits for LSU. The university sits right by the river and and following the signs to the school is the easiest way to get to it.

Two important things to note about Louisiana. 1) The LEOs in LA are awful. Hwy 61 and any interstate will be crawling with them, guaranteed. When I drive the cage on the interstate, I've seen as many as 14 patrolling a 39 miles stretch of road. If you come down 61, you can expect to encounter at least 3 on that 30 mile stretch. On the smaller roads, it's not nearly as bad. 2) The roads here are poorly maintained. They will beat your guts out with potholes, lumps of tar and every seam on most highways.

I've heard there are some interesting things to see on the west/south side of the river between NO and BR, but I think it's mostly sight-seeing more than it is good riding. I haven't made it that way yet. I'll see what I can turn up and will post here. The east/north side has some interesting country roads that run through bayous. The roads may be flat and only a little curvy, but it's a different experience, to say the least.

I'll try to clear a day off work to catch up with you for a ride on one of those days.

Click to expand...

:good:

I was thinking about making a trip down there at that time too. Was wondering if you decided on a route and when you were going. Care for some company?

My buddies and I road the great river road in Mississippi 3 years ago from Memphis almost all the way south. Then we hoped on the Natchez trace which we promptly hopped off of. We found one twisty road the whole route. from Memphis to New Orleans. Next time we will spend the trip on the west side of the river. It was so boring watching the cotton grow. It was the first trip of the year , April, and we were going to come back up through Georgia and North Carolinas and hit the twisty parts. It was a great trip just because we were riding. Sometimes its not the roads that make the trip but the fact you are riding.

cruzntn said:

I was thinking about making a trip down there at that time too. Was wondering if you decided on a route and when you were going. Care for some company?

Click to expand...

Sure; I'm probably routing through TN-AL. Have you made the trip before?

If you're available on 3/12, let's ride!

drjfjr said:

My buddies and I road the great river road in Mississippi 3 years ago from Memphis almost all the way south. Then we hoped on the Natchez trace which we promptly hopped off of. We found one twisty road the whole route. from Memphis to New Orleans. Next time we will spend the trip on the west side of the river. It was so boring watching the cotton grow. It was the first trip of the year , April, and we were going to come back up through Georgia and North Carolinas and hit the twisty parts. It was a great trip just because we were riding. Sometimes its not the roads that make the trip but the fact you are riding.

Click to expand...

+1

I miss riding so much, any road will do.

Where in Louisville are you?

Jagermeister said:

drjfjr said:

My buddies and I road the great river road in Mississippi 3 years ago from Memphis almost all the way south. Then we hoped on the Natchez trace which we promptly hopped off of. We found one twisty road the whole route. from Memphis to New Orleans. Next time we will spend the trip on the west side of the river. It was so boring watching the cotton grow. It was the first trip of the year , April, and we were going to come back up through Georgia and North Carolinas and hit the twisty parts. It was a great trip just because we were riding. Sometimes its not the roads that make the trip but the fact you are riding.

Click to expand...

+1

I miss riding so much, any road will do.

Where in Louisville are you?

Click to expand...

I'll send you a PM