Follow my journey through the southern tier of America on my bicycle through my blog.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Day 8: Total overall distance: 633.07mi Total distance today: 87.34mi Total time: 7.32.51 Avg speed: 11.5mph Top speed: 30.0mph

Random thoughts of the day:
-Alabama was like the movie doll Chuckie, short, ugly, and gave a good fight
-Now I know why bikers are supposed to take the ferry
-I think I've seen these docks before...in a movie...where no one survived
-I sincerely hope that the "refrigerate after opening" line on the grape jelly jar is more of a recommendation than a rule
-Saw an Australian Shepherd today, made me miss our old one, Kelsi
-Mississippi had no "Welcome" sign on the highway I came in on. I wonder if it's because the sooner you realize you're in MS, the sooner you'll turn around and leave
-If you ever find yourself on Highway 98 in Fairhope, AL...first ask yourself why...and then go to "Two Sisters Bakery and Deli" they advertised best cinnamon bun in town and did not disappoint

Today was easily the most dangerous, nerve-wracking, white-knuckled ride yet. It also had the hardest portion of a trip so far. The route that takes you onto the ferry is there for a very good reason...because the route around Mobile Bay with no ferry is absolutely brutal. My day started riding 15 miles into a very cold 24mph breeze dead in my face. That slowed me considerably obviously. After I finished that battle, I had to cross 6 lanes of I-10, a very major highway. I had to merge onto US-90/98 and go over a massive bridge, which like most bridges, starts off with a large uphill climb...not fun on a bike loaded with about 60-80 pounds of stuff...and me. Anyway after that battle, I then had to go on an 8 mile detour along a truck route because bikes aren't allowed in the tunnels into Mobile. The detour was into the wind. I forgot to mention the other bridge I went over into the wind where I almost witnessed a bad accident. Great driving to stay on the road by a guy on the opposite side as me. Anyway, after the detour, I was led by the maps down into the rail-road yard and by the docks. Not the nicest or safest places to be...ever. Then I had to travel 20 miles through the center of Mobile on a "highway" with no shoulders at all. That was not enjoyable in the least. However, I must commend the ma makers, because they led me right to where I needed to be and they said ride defensively, which I did. So here I sit typing this blog on my foldable bluetooth keyboard in a small heatless hut in Vancleave, MS.
I guess you could say today was a confidence booster and proved that cars don't want to deal with hitting me as much as I don't want to be hit. I also only had 1 angry honk, which is pretty good.
Today's ride had a little bit of everything: highways, bridges, main roads, roads nobody should ever see, country roads, bumpy roads. Mississippi welcomed me with the bumpiest road ever which slowed me down. I had to race the last 18 miles because I was running out of daylight. So I cranked myself into 5th gear and got to the campsite in an hour and 10 minutes, just before dark. For you non-math majors out there...I went fast.
Not too sure what I'm doing tomorrow yet, I am hoping to hear back from some more warmshowers people and if they can host me, it would be about 75 miles away. That would be perfect. Otherwise, I have no idea.

Thank you again to Linda who not only let me sleep in her camper (good thing because around 3am I woke up to some severe thunder-storms) but also fed me a great dinner and breakfast! I truly do appreciate it, and that goes for all of my hosts thus far: Dave, Robert, Mark, Glen, Al & Sally, and Linda. You guys have made this trip 100% more bearable.

3 comments:

  1. OMG, your family must be besides themselves with worry about you! After what you went through yesterday, however, I am convinced that you will make it to San Diego! Great job!

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  2. I am the school counselor at your sister's school. I just read through all your blogs. I must say I am truly impressed. Keep up the great work.

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