Southern Tier 2021

  Cloudy and a little windy but a fine day to hit the beach. Just 32 miles, fortunately much of it on a bike path, before the last stretch of highway and then a few hectic city miles. Group of noisy conservative demonstrators at the last bridge blessed us as we rode past trying to ignore their signs. To the beach, a front end dip, some champagne and some family greetings. No one went swimming, surf was definitely up. Today definitely reinforced my convictions: I really enjoy bike paths and am really, really, really tired of busy highways and crappy roads with no shoulders. Don't get me started on RV parks. Glad this trip is finished. The hotel hot tub awaits. Unfortunately it's broken. And this area is Florida's potato capital, according to this barn sign. Some quick notes on cyclo-touring after 70. 1. Aches and pains: inevitable and widespread. Most concerning are knees and neck, which seem to be both "normal" wear and tear but increasingly proportionate to stres...

 Drizzle at 6am, but in no hurry to fight mosquitoes over breakfast so stayed in tent rather than rushing packing and trying to keep it dry. Stops after half an hour anyway. Out of park and onto highway a while before picking up first stretch of rail trail -- half our miles today on separated bike paths. Swamp, farm land, slightly rolling terrain but essentially flat. Clouds give way to sun and warms up. Soon back on road riding fast, drafting at end of line with Monte, Matt, Mark and Chuck. On one stretch Mark just ahead of me clips a broken branch on the narrow shoulder which kicks under my wheel and I sideswipe it, nearly rolling me down. Momentum kept me upright, though I did swerve over white line. Good thing nothing was speeding by or I might have been toast. Neither of us saw it in time. Can't be too careful, always need to attend to what's happening in front of your wheel -- yet another reason not to be drafting: no reason to rush on next to last day. After that experie...

 Not sure if swamp qualifies as prairie, but that's what we rode through to get here. We are south and east of Gainesville, which we had to traverse. Some bike paths, but mostly narrow lane or narrower shoulder. Not even that many bike paths around the University, busy streets and lots of pedestrians. 58 miles no wind, just overcast and muggy, and some nice slightly rolling terrain for a change. Campsite is lush and buggy, with a chance of rain tonight. This is our last outside night, motel tomorrow to look forward to. Then short Saturday ride into St. Augustine and dip front wheel into Atlantic and done. I was hoping for beach weather for my  decompression day (a do nothing Sunday to start the readjustment process, of being off bike and no particular place to go). Weather forecast not cooperating. Trusting that my return flight Monday night isn't impacted by potential storm. Intense mosquito activity made eating dinner a pain. And an armadillo strolled underfoot, fearless and...

 58 mile day, another cold and dewey start, but reached 80 degrees -- with a strengthening headwind in the sunny afternoon. Last breakfast duty, so happy there was no rush and no big mile day. Still flat at first, but climbed out of the swamps and into agricultural land: hay, corn, soybeans and poultry. That pulp mill outside Perry was labelled a "cellulose" plant, same thing and smell. Meant logging trucks, competing with smelly chicken cage haulers. Crossed they Suwannee river -- which is where the "way down the Swannee river" song derives, clipped of a syllable to scan better. And the area we are in is famous for limestone springs and caves -- scuba spelunking. Here's the blue hole next to our campground. Biked alone much of the day, enjoying my own pace even if it meant no drafting behind others. Really enjoyed the last few miles, curving back roads and no traffic on approach to state park and this private campground, compared to the long, straight and borin...

 Beautiful if cool weather, 72 miles of mostly swamp, slight headwind but nice shoulder and even a bike path along some of it. Kind of boring being inland from the coast and no views, so no photos. Another RV Park, but this one has a hot tub -- but Matt and I cooked so barely time to shower, shop, prep dinner, no time to relax. Chicken pad Thai, with tofu for me. Long prep and cleanup so just a quick entry. RV park noisy, overlit, and downwind from pulp mill. Cold night, wet dew, yep I'm wimping and whining. Perhaps you can guess I'm ready for this long strange trip to be over! Leisurely departure after cleaning up my last meal duty, just 60 miles and another beautiful day ahead. Things are looking up, as soon as I pack my cold wet tent.

 A little warmer last night, starry and windy, so not as much dew in the morning. Didn't matter to the 7 of us inside the two cabins. Another leisurely start with just 42 miles to this state park, 35 plus miles along the gulf coast before turning a little inland north, but by then the north wind we faced heading back over bridge from St. George's  Island had diminished. The Forgotten coast is being developed but only spotilly, with lots of vacant lots and houses for sale. Road shoulder kept vanishing, and at times traffic backed up but another beautiful riding day, flat and not windy. To this state park, long ride in from the road, five reserved spaces for us to spread out over. We're south of Tallahassee, riding east toward Perry tomorrow, just a few miles inland, heading toward Gainesville.

A beautiful short day, so a late leisurely start at the Airbnb since only going 42 miles and it was just 45 degrees at 9am. Chuck made pancakes and eggs again, and there were leftovers from last night's feast plus the usual breakfast spread. We're marching on our stomachs for sure lately, this last week of the trek. Leave a bit after 10:30. After Port St Joe comes Florida's "forgotten coast" -- undeveloped stretch for 30 miles or so until Apalachicola, nice small historic town where Chuck and I stop for coffee/hot chocolate and lunch two hours later, sitting in the bright sunshine outside cafe. Then cross two long bridges and causeways over to St George Island (thus the "SGI") where we are staying at this Baptist church retreat. Nice little beach and lawn. Option is to tent outside with access to two cabins for the bathrooms, or individually pay an extra $15 to actually sleep in bunk inside. No seeums and another cold, windy and dewey night make a convin...

  Surreal in St Joe, our Airbnb for tonight, luckily for us after our 83 miler. Which was actually easy since we had a tailwind much of the day, cruising along the beaches. And also past strip malls and high bridges for the river/bay crossings.  We went through Seaside, setting for the movie The Truman Show, and later this Ripley's Believe It or Not attraction. And then Tyndall Air Force Base, still showing evidence of the 2018 category 5 hurricane Michael which destroyed every building on the base ($5 billion to the base, $25 billion to the surrounding area). Trees were leveled, then burned in a later fire. At our Airbnb, we did a lottery for the guys' rooms, and I lucked out again getting the single room and not one of the two cramped bunk bed rooms. Being in an actual house with big tv (nonstop college football games so far), full kitchen (Donna didn't ride so she seemed to spend the afternoon cooking -- chicken for the masses and a veggie quiche for me plus cornbread an...

 Nice stay in Pensacola, brew pub then the Methodist Church were lots of fun. Leisurely departure after breakfast since we were crossing a long busy bridge. The bike/pedestrian separate lane was closed off fur to construction, so Beth Ann escorted us, following  behind  with flashers on. Of course there was one jerk who blew his horn blasting past her and trying to pull into our lane. We make it over to Gulf Breeze and then the Gulf Islands National Seashore, a long stretch of barrier beach and lovely white sand dunes. Which don't seem to offer much protection since the water seems high -- may just be high tide but still. Lots of pricey shore front houses on stilts or fancy condos and tall complexes and  hotels on this redneck Riviera. Warms up to mid 70s but a cool feel to the day. Push against slight headwind, eventually cross back to mainland over a scary narrow bridge sidewalk. Then lots and lots of traffic, sometimes a bike lane, sometimes a shoulder, sometimes ...

 No rain, nice night, no critter reports. Leisurely breakfast as Chuck and Matt made scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage. No hurry to do 16 miles. Another lovely morning, not hot, flat, mostly shouldered roads, not even that much traffic considering we're riding into a city. To the First United Methodist Church, which lets cycling groups stay inside, right downtown, with multiple bike shops and brew pubs nearby. I take bike around corner to check for chain stretch (still ok) and to buy a replacement shifter cable to replenish Chuck's stock. The church is also the town hub for homeless services, offering meals, etc. Right at home. They even let us use their laundry, for small donation. "Champing" (church camping) once again. Might have showers this afternoon and overnight, so nice to be inside. Then clear weather for a week. All is good. Walked around town seeking beer and food. Found beer at least. Midnight (ok, 8:30, but midnight for us) raid with Matt and Monte of...

 Best campsite by far: clean and big bathrooms, bugs went away at dusk, beach so close, nice trees to camp under and no dew. Then a ferry ride, 5 miles from Dauphin over to Fort Morgan, then 42 miles, flat and perfect, bike path through the more developed area in Gulf Shores, then along Perdido beach and across steep bridge over bay to Gulf Beach, Florida. And my front derailleur cable snapped, so the remaining 10 miles I was limited to lower gears but could still roll along at 13mph to state park. Fortunately Chuck had spare cables and tools so I was able to put a new one in without too much grief. Nice sunny day, low 70s, but turning cloudy, chance of rain tonight. This state park not quite as nice, with plenty of no-seeums and mosquitoes, even an armadillo sighted around the tents. First campfire of the trip, s'mores for dessert, helps keep bugs and critters away. Very easy day tomorrow, practically a zero as we ride 16 miles into Pensacola to stay at a Methodist church communit...

  Not as cold or dewy, but swamp damp this morning. A more leisurely start since only doing 50 miles. Over the bridge to Pascagoula, birthplace of Jimmy Buffet, nice wide shoulder on US 90 east, crossing into Alabama. Then south to the Gulf, over the Gordon Persons bridge to Dauphin Island, at the bottom of Mobile Bay. Shipbuilding facilities, oil rigs, lots of boats fishing or bringing in oysters. And this first gator sighting, of sorts. Tomorrow we'll have another easier day to Pensacola, taking the ferry first thing from this island to Fort Morgan, the Bon Secour wildlife refuge, and then crossing into Florida at Perdido Bay. Beach 5 minute walk from campsite.

  Another cold, damp, dewy night: packing up a soaking wet rain fly again. Sunny, not really warm, but fun riding weather. Today we rode 84 miles south and east to the Gulf Coast, eventually leaving the hills and ranches behind as we return to bayou country. And friendly people talking with us during our few breaks at convenience stores or at a Dollar General, telling us to be careful and ride safe. A few dogs did their thing, but so far no one has had an actual nip or bite, just noisy chases.  Camping at the edge of a swamp in a crowded campground -- crowded with the TDA tour group we last camped with three weeks ago. No time to wait for a shower (or warm water) since I was cooking. Fortunately Donna and I had shopped yesterday after returning from NO. Menu was once again pasta and veggie heavy tomato sauce by me, and some sort of sausage by Donna plus her fabulous kale salad. And chocolate cake dessert of course.  No wifi again, but I didn't take a single photo today an...

Preservation Hall. After a very cold and dewy night and the time change falling back adding an extra hour to huddle in sleeping bags, we rode the van into New Orleans to spend four hours having fun.  After walking around in the sun for an hour or so I met up with my ex-inlaws Suzanne and Mark for delicious pizza and then ice cream. Very nice to catch up with them and family news.

 Dewey morning at the police station, not quite as cold but saturated my rainfly. And tiny snails (none larger than 1/4 inch) leave trails on both sides. Easy day, nice shoulder first half, then scenic and little traffic the rest of the 50 miles. Cross into Mississippi. Up and down like yesterday, just a bit of a headwind.  Sun comes out but stays cool until midafternoon, when I have a beer and sunsoak at the RV park tiny  swimming pool, while doing laundry. Starting out rest day early.

 Cold, damp night, low 40s, cold cloudy morning, cold riding. With enough clothes on to stay warm it was hard to regulate sweating, since we are now in undulating hill country. No flood plain flats, though we crossed lots of rivers today. Not really steep hills but ups and downs add up, though no real wind today. A lot of blown down trees and a few smashed houses from a recent storm or tornado littered the side of the road for a while. 74 miles, felt pretty good, a few silly dogs to race, dairy cows to admire, and then this roadkill: prime boar. I apologize if this is too gruesome but it was the most impressive thing I witnessed today. We did ride near Britney Spears home town, Kentwood today. We are camping behind the town police station, with access to showers and wifi and nice lawn. A variety of police vehicles share the space with our van, and a dog just wandered by, but not a police dog apparently as we chased it away from our tents.

Nice night in the church community hall, avoiding the evening rain and cold. Cold damp morning, and a sidewind from the north heading east across long bridge over Atchafalayal river and then sugarcane fields everywhere. Some being harvested, after which they get burned off. Lots of trucks today, hauling cane or coming back empty. Hot cocoa after 20 miles, then long approach to the Mississippi river, with a massive flood control dike and narrow bridge on top. Eventually cross the big muddy after New Roads, on the still new John James Audubon bridge. Then on to this hostel near Jackson, a 60 mile day. Tenting and outdoor cooking, open air shower, owned by real bike mavens, doing this 16 years. The Natchez Trace trail is just north of here, making this hostel conveniently located -- along the southern tier and Mississippi river routes.

  Dawn over the bayou. Fun time in our deluxe accommodations, easy to pack up and get moving. And we even had some microwaved Eggo waffles and real maple syrup for breakfast. Out of park onto not great Evangeline parish roads, no shoulders for much of the day. Flat, again the slight headwind from the east, not as cold as last few days. Into sugarcane fields, and in Cottonport a row of almost 200 year old live oaks. Easy enough 56 mile ride today to Simmesport and this big Catholic church with a dwindling congregation. The priest lets us into the community hall building, where we will sleep inside out of the rain expected this evening. Showers are in the adjoining parish school building.  A full kitchen for Monte and me to make dinner. Menu reverts to scrambled eggs, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, and hash browns, plus the usual appetizers, big salad and bread, and for dessert the cookies left over from the Merryville history society dinner. But first an excursion with Chuck to...