Little Fish, Big River, Bigger City

Just another brief update from Mobile, Alabama. I've now gone about 1112 miles and have around 2700 to go. I crossed out of Florida and into Alabama a couple days ago after riding for 1034 miles. Florida is big. I guess I said that already. I've been met with rain, a bit of wind and some steep but short enough to climb hills. I need to get a new chain ring for my bike before I take on anything larger. I struggle up the hills now since I don't have any super-low gears, but again, it's building my legs (I guess?).

I've discovered that kayaking gear really helps when you can't find a bike shop that carries any cold weather clothing. I ate gumbo for the first time after venturing into a part of Mobile that everyone along the way warned me to stay out of so I wouldn't "git m'sef kilt"...of course, that sent me headlong into the area just to see if there was anything worthwhile. I hoped to have a gun pulled on me. The worst that happened was I met some nice people, ate gumbo and a hamburger in a parking lot outside of a club, saw some interesting clothing (a guy wearing some bright gold pants and a beret..no lie) and a few people honked at me. I've started calling everyone "dog" after a guy last night was saying "yo dog...you need to be careful out there."

There it is again, everyone warning me to be careful of everyone else who is warning me to be careful of everyone else.

In the meantime, I've seen the USS Alabama, rode through some beautiful countryside and crossed over an amazing new bridge.

My schedule was a tad brutal but slow the last few days. I swam in the Gulf of Mexico the day after Thanksgiving and enjoyed the sun. I did some minor surgery on my ankle, lost my wind/rain proof gloves that I had shipped to me from Seattle before the start of the ride and I enjoyed myself and relaxed for a good amount of time before heading out. The beach was simply too perfect to leave too soon.

I departed around 1 p.m. on the 29th, and rode along a great highway with wide shoulders which made up for Thanksgiving night where I rode all night through some of the worst roadways ever...Fort Walton...total road construction, dark, drunk drivers, etc. I should've died yet again when I pulled my bike onto the sidewalk and two seconds later a utility truck scraped the curb way spraying sparks about just where I would've been before I stopped and hauled off the street. Eventually, I made my way about 5 miles in over two hours. It was freezing. I pulled into a closed Arby's parking lot to rest. A cop checked up on me to make sure I was okay. I set out again, made it out of the construction but couldn't go on as my shoulders were cramping from trying to ride the rough cement. I pulled into a campground and slept for two hours from about four to six. Woke up and took off asap. I think I left my gloves here.

I eventually found Navarre Beach and the most perfect place to pull over. I rode through the sand dunes for miles before coming to a park that was completely empty. I sat on a perfect beach, the weather was about 75. I swam in the Gulf of Mexico. I sat and did nothing and then eventually read the introduction of "Kon Tiki."

I left around 1 p.m. and made it to the Florida/Alabama border. I took a photo. I think I fell at some point along the way, too. I just know I'm up to 10 falls now. And on one of them, I actually fell to the left side. I'm getting to be a pro at wiping out but the darn shoes simply do not come out of the pedals, especially when I've got the windproof boot covers on. The material sticks on the binding and I actually had to unscrew the plate to get a shoe off one of the pedals at a "gas station gatorade stop." Really, it's not my fault, I do have an ounce of coordination.

I rode the next day against headwinds until I reached Perdido Key where I slept under the deck of the Pink Pony Pub in the sand. It was 4 a.m. I was freezing and the previous "campground" was full. I don't know how they called it a campground...it was nothing but motor home and trailers side by side sitting on gravel...they were all about 36" apart and it looked more like an RV sales lot than a campground. While trying to take a brief nap under the deck, it began to rain and the wind picked up. I thought about how to stay warm. You see, it gets below 30 with the windchill and I simply don't have any more clothes to put on. I didn't want to totally unpack my sleeping bag and undo my trailer to get to it, so I thought about the turtles they keep advertising on every beach: "DON'T MOLEST THE TURTLES!!! THEY ARE ENDANGERED!!!" etc. etc.

It dawned on me to dig a hole into the sand. I dug a bit pit, the sand was all dry and ended up making a wall that kept the wind off of me enough for me to warm up. I napped for about 40 minutes like this. It started raining even harder. I sucked it up, put on my wet weather gear and headed out. My hands weren't making it in the rain so I pulled into an ACE hardware store and bought another pair of thick rubber plumbing gloves. These fit better than the last pair and did the trick. I pressed on for miles and hours, and crossed some really scenic rivers and creeks, one with a huge blue heron. I finally crossed over into Mobile and simply had to stop last night after 142 miles in 2.5 days with just 2:40 sleep since thanksgiving eve where I got a full 8 hours. I checked into an "extended stay inn" and slept a full 10 hours before showering, doing laundry and finding this Kinko's to update.

With any luck, I'm now off to Mississippi soon! I'm still having the time of my life despite the cold which is becoming a laughable joke.