Thankfully mostly cool and mostly advantageous S wind today. Still quite humid with thunderstorms all around. Sadly one of the least fun days on a TransAm ever. The first 20 miles was the most unpleasant 20 miles of the trip so far leaving Baton Rouge on “scenic Hwy” 61 – horrible road surface, tons of debris, tons of industry. One highlight was crossing big John James Audubon Bridge over the Mississippi River! We’ve been near or along it for quite while. Good bye for now as we head west! Finally at mile 57 a lovely country road west of the Mississippi river into Simmesport with mostly a tailwind, but that only lasted about 18 miles. Then we turned on another equally bad road for 10 miles with cracks every 5-10’! We did cut off some mileage during the day by not taking a few suggested loops and stayed on the main highway. Then finally in Cottonport, 12 miles from our destination, and after 91.4 miles, 994’ elevation and off and on cloudbursts with lots of rain, I had a flat tire…. again! Crappy roads will sure do it. Brand new tube was faulty with a split in it! Didn’t have any more with us and started pouring again! I called it quits at the gas station where we had taken refuge… it was called “Y-Not Stop”! Figured that was message enough for me! Boys continued on. Jody came to my rescue… again. Thanks Jody!! Boys finished with 103 miles. We are in the very small town of Bunkie, LA in a very 2 star motel for 2 nights. My aches and pains are lessening, but my upper left leg and hip looks about the same deep purple as the LSU Tiger colors!!

Well I got back on the bike! 👏 (no joking!) As my friend, Steve Boyer suggested, my hip/thigh would probably feel better and heal faster cycling rather than walking. True that! Of course, every big bump I went over caused pain in my left wrist and rib, but hey, beautiful ride of 41.3 miles, 150’ elevation gain. The last third was on the Mississippi River Trail which is on top of the dike. Short day so we could see a little of the very busy river town of Baton Rouge, LA capital!

Well no cycling for me today. 😢 Steven and Tom took off as scheduled, and the forecast thunderstorms aren’t expected until after they should arrive in Burnside, LA on the Mississippi River. They get to cycle quite a ways on the Mississippi River Trail west of NOLA. Sorry to miss the cycling and the Trail.

Urgent Care visit and xray of left hip, pelvis and thigh. No fractures apparent. Left rib area was hurting a bit this morning too. Jody got in her morning workout, and then we went grocery shopping. Finding a Trader Joes in NOLA was great. Thanks friends for reaching out to me about my condition. ❤️

Gulfport is a big port city. We enjoyed some good bbq last night and watched UConn upset Duke in men’s March Madness bball. More cycling west along the Mississippi Sound in the Gulf of Mexico. MS drivers and roads have been as good as FL and AL, other than the rumble strips that are wider and take up a big part of the already narrow shoulder.

Calm and cool start through the pretty Gulf town of Pass Christian (Google the origin of that city name!) and Bay St Louis (the town) and St Louis Bay (the Bay). Cute coffee shop stop and onward. Mississippi ✅ Very quick visit to Mississippi’s gulf shore. Total MS mileage during late yesterday and early today: 89 miles

Then headed SW into Louisiana and New Orleans for a short overnight! We enjoyed an extended stay in NOLA a year ago and loved it. Today’s ride was the best yet at least for the first 60 miles.

Louisiana

• motto: “Union, Justice & Confidence”
• bird: brown pelican
• flower: magnolia
• nickname: The Pelican State

Finished at 81.5 miles today, since I sadly and stupidly went down on the street pavement slipping on very wet multiple interlacing trolley tracks at Harmony Circle on St Charles Ave! 😩 I know better! Should have been walking my bike. Probably will have a good looking left elbow and left hip tomorrow morning after lots of ice and ibuprofen. Everything else seems fine. Steven and Tom were great help, and of course Jody came to the rescue for a pick up the last 5 miles. The rain had begun again in earnest, too! Don’t hold your breath about me cycling tomorrow. We’ll see how the hip, elbow and wrist feel. Out for LA bbq soon! 😋

As forecast, the S/SE wind leaving Dauphin Island was strong and unsafe for me to cycle across the bridge to the mainland. Although the winds were a lot less than yesterday. Jody drove us 10 miles north to Alabama Port where we hopped on bikes and took off with a lovely tailwind the rest of the day. Cloud-covered skies were also appreciated. And have I mentioned that Sunday morning traffic?! It’s the best cuz there usually isn’t any! Total today 76.2 miles, 991’ elevation. Alabama ✅ Thanks for the short coastal visit of only 61 miles (would have been 10 more without the car ride this morning). In another small Airbnb house in Gulfport tonight.

Hello Mississippi

• motto: “Virtute et Armis” Latin for “By valor & arms“
• flower: magnolia
• bird: mockingbird
• nickname: The Magnolia State

Finally a day of no cycling. So nice to enjoy island life – relax, catch up on other life, read, sightsee, eat. Visited the very popular Lighthouse Bakery, West End Beach where you can enjoy a sandy walk a very short distance between the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay, & Alabama Aquarium. Cooked in both nights.

Lovely bike ride on multiple paths through Gulf State Park and the city of Gulf Shores this morning. Then west to Fort Morgan and the ferry across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island for 2 nights! Don’t worry, I didn’t count the mileage on the ferry in my cycling mileage! And how are we so lucky to encounter calm seas and breezes and cool temps?! 😊 30 miles, 289’ So happy to now have a break off the bike til Sunday morning.

Florida days cycling: most of 7 days, miles: 508, elevation: 11,477’ elevation gain…. amazing when the highest point in the whole state is less than 350’ elevation!

Busy Hwy 90 for first early hour with heavy fog and morning traffic, then glorious back country roads, then lovely Blackwater Heritage Trail, then back on 90. And sadly “Gulf Beach Hwy” along Pensacola Bay doesn’t mean beautiful. Finished off along the Gulf of Mexico with a lot of high rise buildings and white sand. Another long gritty day! 88.6 miles, 1962’ elevation gain. Jody adeptly secured a new car battery!! Thank you!! 👏 👍

Welcome to short visit to Alabama along the Gulf of Mexico and across Mobile Bay the next few days.

• motto: “We Dare Defend Our Rights”
• flower: camellia
• bird: yellowhammer, aka northern flicker woodpecker
• nickname: The Yellowhammer State or The Heart of Dixie or The Cotton State

Yesterday Tom decided to count churches. From the outskirts of Tallahassee to Marianna, Steven and I helped Tom count 43 churches – actual churches on the route of varying sizes, mostly Baptist or Pentecostal with a smattering of Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopal and Lutheran. Signs for churches off route didn’t count! There were a lot of churches; not sure about attendance.

Another big mileage day today of 85.8 miles and 1819’ elevation gain – all on highway 90 which varied in number of lanes and shoulder width. I-10 parallels 90 to the south, yet 90 is a fabulous road with little to a lot of traffic. Three separate times today a wide load came by and serendipitously we were already pulled over for a short break each time! With a gorgeous tailwind; cloud cover til 11am; no navigating necessary…. One can notice all sorts of things along the way! The last 30+ miles were quite busy with lots of traffic so less enjoyable but all safe! A cute Airbnb tonight in Crestview and then on to Alabama tomorrow!

Would have been nice to spend some time in Tallahassee and see the Florida State campus. Will have to return for a longer visit. Sunrise departure for another long day, but we crossed over to the Central time zone, so life is now an hour earlier! 75.7 miles, 2509’ elevation gain as we entered the NW of FL and rolling farm land. Even the soil changed from a sandy white color to a bright orange after crossing the Apalachicola River in Chattahoochee (a stones throw from the Georgia state line). And did I mention what an utter joy it was to have the slightest east/northeast tailwind most of the day??!! Totally amazing to end day 5 a bit sore in the wrists and tushie when the rest of your body and soul isn’t wiped out from battling a headwind. Staying in another clean 2 star motel in Marianna, another county seat with a gorgeous old courthouse and lots of history of battles between humans. And so great to arrive at our destination and our amazing support driver Jody already has us checked in and bags unloaded! Luxury!