Day 27: Wiggins, MS to Bayou La Batre, AL

Goodbye Mississippi, Hello Alabama



Distance: 86 mi (138 km)
Cumulative Distance: 2,392 mi (3,849 km)
Average Speed: 17.3 mph (27.8 kph)
Climb: 2,812 ft (857 m)
Cumulative Climb: 120,442 ft (36,711 m)
Flats: 2
Cumulative Flats: 16

Lee didn’t even get out of the parking lot before he discovered he had a flat tire. That was just the first of two, so after the second one we changed his tire and hope we get to a bike store soon. We have depleted our spare tires, but we did keep one of the old ones for an emergency (we do have tubes left). Keith, Lee and Dave should each get a new spare tire.

Don't know the name of these but they line many of the roads in Louisiana,  Mississippi and Alabama.

As a result of our re-routing to a decent motel yesterday, thanks to Keith’s special effort, we had to do a bit of re-routing again today. We ended upon a highway that was not recognized by the GPS (it must be less that two years old) but had a smooth surface, a wide shoulder, was in the correct direction and was mostly downwind. Does it get any better than that? But, the downside was that we got lost in Biloxi. Took a bit of “tooing and froing” and some help from a local cable guy before we finally got sorted out. The roads did not have a lot of helpful signs.

Gaby had the lunch location task today and selected a nice shady tree beside the house of James and Lu. They were very hospitable. They brought out extra chairs for us, offered ice for our water bottles, said we could use their bathroom and gave advice on the route. Great support for bikers.

The picture says it all. It’s great to be in “Sweet Home, Alabama”. We are looking forward to a nice local seafood dinner.