DAYS 38 & 39: 10/27 Gulfport, MS to Dauphin Island, AL; 10/28 Dauphin Island, AL to Milton, FL

Day 38 10/27 Gulfport, MS 80 miles to Dauphin Island, AL and Day 39 10/28 Dauphin Island, AL 69 miles to Milton, FL – 

Leaving Gulfport, we faced good news and bad news. Good news was another day of water views, very flat terrain (it turned out to be a mere 680’ of climb over 80 miles which is like nothing), and heading to a host on a beach on Dauphin Island. The bad news was fierce winds off the water strongly against us and weather advisory of high winds coming in for the night. 

Flags showing the wind against us at 9:30am

The first 14 miles towards Biloxi were mostly Gulf views like yesterday. I was enjoying watching a group of 4 seagulls flying in formation together and each diving down to the water to try and scoop a fish. I kind of forgot I was cycling while focused in on them. 

We then crossed the Biloxi Bay Bridge, 1.7 miles of a private bike and pedestrian lane on the Gulf side affording the best wide, sweeping views, similar to Bay Saint Louis. 

On the east side of the bridge, we discovered the town of Ocean Springs, MS that we really enjoyed riding through. We happened upon Tri-Hard Sports, a bike shop directly on our route. We figured it would be smart to stop in and check all 4 of our tires. They had a really cool beer wagon with 4 different beers on tap for customers and when people finish group rides there. They offered me a drink, but I politely declined as we still had a big ride ahead of us. 

Bike shop beer bar

We met the amazing staff: Duncan, Grant, Chuck and Gavin and enjoyed their company, so took a group photo. 

The Tri-Hard Sports team

Before leaving, I again asked Heather if we should buy another foldable spare tire as we passed their display. She again thought it unnecessary. We left there at 10:35am and rode through the rest of the town and back onto Highway 90’s shoulder. We had gone 8 miles into a headwind when Heather shouted out to me from about 20 yards behind me that she got another flat, she ran over a nail. I told her to walk the bike ahead to meet me at the next pull out, an entrance to some homes. 

In the few minutes while I was waiting for Heather to meet me, a guy in an SUV pulled over to talk with me. He just saw us with our paniers and asked me if I was the guy he emailed with from Warm Showers? It turned out he was Brad, the guy we had asked to stay with the night before, but he could not host us as he was out of town. What were the astronomical odds of him driving by at that exact moment when we were in need? Talk about freaky. 

Heather then arrived and we saw a big nail in her tire. We discussed it and I didn’t want to change the tube given the tire was pierced. Brad offered to drive us back to Tri-Hard Sports, the shop we just left and that he frequents regularly. He also went above and beyond, and said he would hang out there during the repair, and then drive us back to the spot where he picked us up so we’d have zero extra miles. Do you believe in angels? Who is to say angels don’t exist as we just do not recognize them in our daily lives? Especially when unshaven? 

So about two hours after we took our photo with the bike store crew, we walked back in to the shop and had a good laugh at returning so soon. While Heather’s tire was being patched at their suggestion (instead of a new tire) and a new tube put in, I decided I needed to check out the beer wagon with a small sample and a toast to Brad. 

Bike-shop beer w Brad

Now here’s a moving part of this little story that I could not have created better fiction. Heather’s tire and tube were repaired by Chuck who uses a wheelchair, having lost function of his legs from a spinal cord injury in 2002. How apropos and coincidental while I ride for the Reeve Foundation.

After a second warm goodbye at the bike store, Brad generously shuttled us back to our meeting spot and we talked dog chases and heard about a dog biting him. 

Back to where Brad found us

After two more hours battling the headwind, we crossed another state line. 

Welcome to Alabama

There are two route options from Alabama to Florida. The first is after the state line, head towards Mobile to ride the bridge across Mobile Bay into Eastern Alabama and then onto Florida. The second is the one we chose which is to pass through Bayou La Batre (of Forrest Gump fame as Bubba’s home and where Forrest captains a shrimp boat) and then onto the barrier island, Dauphin Island. From here you take a 30 to 45 minute ferry across Mobile Bay to Fort Morgan, and continue to ride through beach communities including Gulf Shores and Orange, AL and Sandestin, FL. The ferry option is in our opinion far more scenic and gives more beach time. However, the ferry is vulnerable to weather disruption. 

As we rode onto the causeway that was about 4 miles long leading up to the Dauphin Island Bridge, we were completely exposed to the gusts of wind sweeping unchecked across Mobile Bay on our left. From my experience kayaking, I estimated a wind against us of at least 18mph, and higher at points of the gusts! As we crawled along the causeway with the bridge looking unobtainable still so far away, I turned to Heather and said riding across this bridge is probably a stupid idea. I was half hoping she’d be the voice of reason who says yes, we should call our host to pick us up. But she replied yes it probably is, and passes me to ride forward. So much for that idea to bail me out. 

Somehow, we managed to get to the actual bridge, itself over 3 miles long. And as the road curved left towards the island, we were heading even more directly into the gusts which felt stronger now that we were higher up. The shoulder is about 6 feet wide, so if riding dead center, there is a few feet buffer between passing cars on the left as well as to the guardrail on my right which is lower than I think it ought to be. The problem was I could not ride dead center of the lane, I actually could not even hold a straight line due to the gusts. To make matters worse, it was now dark and as we first got on the bridge, it started to rain. From the wind blowing it so hard into my face, I mistook it at first for hail as it stung on my cheeks. Luckily, the rain lasted only a few minutes. 

Ahead of us was the “hump” where the bridge rises to its highest point of 83’ above the water to allow greater boat clearance below. Naturally the wind is even stronger higher up. As I started to climb, I was truly afraid. I’m thinking I might survive a car collision, but there’s no surviving going over the guardrail. This was different than cycling into NOLA two nights  ago. Then I was nervous, but felt in control. Here I had to concede that I was not in control. These were without doubt the most dangerous elements in which I had biked, hiked or paddled. With that realization, and thinking of seeing my kids again, I decided to do something I had not done ever before on any bike trip. I got off my bike and decided to walk the remaining climb and the first half of the descent over the hump. It was about 80 yards in total. With both feet on the ground, I felt more secure, yet very tentatively walked forward until I caught up to some crazy woman who rode ahead of me, I mean Heather, who was taking photos of me. 

Fear written all over my face as I walked over the crest of the Dauphin Island Bridge

At 6:40pm, we arrived in complete darkness at the home of our hosts Sue and Bill. Sue greeted us waiting outside and in mere seconds we sensed her warmth and genuine care for others. She ushered us inside, where we met Bill who is immediately likable. The two of them made us feel instantly at home as if we were family members home for Thanksgiving. Once showered, we enjoyed their hospitality and delicious home cooked dinner, and warm lively conversation. We learned they had raised their two daughters in the Chicago area and 10 years ago retired to their dream home at the beach. They too, love exploring our National Parks. 

We learned the wind was about 22 mph and up to 40 mph when gusting, and there was a tornado warning and small craft advisory. Lovely bike weather indeed. A funny thing is we felt Sue’s maternal nature reviving us after the last few hours of biking, yet she’s only a bit older than I am.

We went to bed with the feeling that had Sue and Bill lived in our community at home, we’d be friends. They have no airs about them, are curious about others, have self-deprecating senses of humor and here’s the kicker. They are not even official Warm Showers hosts. Their neighbor is, and when we had contacted him, he had already accepted other guests but said his friends Sue and Bill offered to host us. 

We woke to see for the first time what it looked like outside. 

Heather eating breakfast on the porch

The porch faced the Gulf directly as the house across the street had to be moved due to beach erosion. The porch was like an outdoor living space with daybed, bar stools, swing and sitting area. 

Porch

Over a wonderful breakfast that our new friends cooked up for us, we learned the ferry was not operating due to the high winds. None of us were surprised. Bill offered to drive us across Mobile Bay to put us in the equivalent spot in East Alabama where the ferry would have taken us. (About a 75 minutes drive away so 2.5 hours round trip for him.) They also offered us to stay another night. We were really tempted to stay as we liked them so much and the setting was idyllic, but we did not want to impose and overstay. In addition, Heather and I now had a plan for a meaningful final bike date, and an event the day after that which we wanted to maintain as our schedule. So we accepted Bill’s generous offer, beyond the call of hosting, to drive us after a short tour of the island. 

Truck loaded for Mobile Bay crossing

We said an important goodbye:

Still working on my canine therapy with new friend Jack

We got to feel the sand. 

Walk on beach

Our Alabama beach house

Bill drove us around the small island and the last stop was another aha moment for me with goose bumps. We stopped at Fort Gaines where a big sign is hanging with Admiral Farragut’s famous charge during the American Civil War.   

Recall the following exact entry from this blog on day 10, about a month ago, recapping our ride From Globe AZ to Safford AZ:

I was in that mode that I can get into when fixed on an objective that Heather knows I call “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”. It was Mark Segal mode when he’s on a mission. 

Here is the sign at Fort Gaines:

Another aha goose bump moment when Bill educated me about this Civil War famous phrase

With me still stunned by the personal connection to this history lesson, we headed out and Bill drove us to near Barnwell, AL. Although the ferry would have gone across to Fort Morgan, that would have been another hour drive, so 2 hours for Bill that I could not think of asking, and Barnwell was a perfect equivalence without compromising the integrity of our ride. 

We had always planned for a short day after the ferry, 34 miles in our original plan back in blog “the route” so starting to ride at 12:07pm was not a concern.

But once we started to pedal, I saw that with little effort I was over 20 mph. The wind that closed the ferry yesterday had reversed direction in our favor! Tailwind, a cyclist’s best friend. 

I’ve always said to Heather as long as something is great, ride the wave. So there was no way we were going to cut our ride short. In the morning, when planning the destination with Bill, we figured we’d ride up to 46 miles to Pensacola, FL. But now we milked that tailwind and pressed on an additional 24 miles to Milton, FL, for half day ride total of 69 miles at 15.9 mph, our fastest of the trip or of any training ride with paniers. I guess one might say we decided (forgive the modification) to “damn the torpedoes and ride full speed ahead”.

I'm living history

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