Entering Alabama

The end is near!  We just left Mississippi and rode into Alabama yesterday.

About  2390 miles done as of today

Our ride was 77 miles and the roads were remarkably nice.  Most of the roads we have been on are "chip and seal".  This is where they throw down small rocks and then put a tar substance over them.  They wear out your tires not to mention certain body parts.  But today's ride was on smooth tared roads.

Someone took one of our road arrows and instead of a right turn they had it point to the left.

One of the riders was not watching his cue sheet or watching his gamin and followed the arrow.  I was him and called out but he was going to fast.  So I called the sag team and they had to track him down.  By the time they reached him he had gone 15 miles off course.  By the time he got in to the finish he had completed a century ride (100 miles versus 77 miles).

Still fighting a headwind but we are resigned to the fact that it will be with us for the rest of the ride.  Quite remarkable that we have not had one day of solid tailwinds the entire trip.

But we are now in Alabama!  Seems shooting out signs in Alabama is a favorite pastime....

There use to be a big welcome sign to the State but it was so shot up they had to remove it. Probably done by someone that is living in the 2 story trailer...

Our target for the end of the ride is Dauphin Island in Alabama. Getting onto the island was a challenge as there was a huge bridge that we had to climb.  The entrance to the bridge was about a mile long and of course the wind was right in our face.

The bridge itself was quite steep and with the wind I was only able to climb it at 4 mph.

I was looking forward to the down side of the bridge but with the wind I was only able to reach a top speed of 8.5 mph.  Usually on a road this steep you can reach at least 25-35 mph.  

But we made it!

Today is a rest day and we are staying in an RV park on Dauphin Island, Alabama.  One of the better ones on the ride.  Great showers and the weather for sleeping was fantastic.  Not to mention the sounds for the Gulf drowned out the snorers.

It is a resort community so I am looking forward to finding a bar that serves fresh shrimp and cold beer.  Only challenge is that I have to ride my bike to get there - a whopping 3 miles!

 Nevertheless I am hoping to get some good photos to share.

Tomorrow we are heading to Pensacola Florida (our last state).  To get there we are taking a ferry.  Weather forecast calls for rain all day - so it will be wet ride.

Hoping that it stays in the 70-80 degree range.  Getting into the last state of our ride will negate any bad weather (I hope).