Day 45- Milton to DeFuniak Springs

Monday, April 20, 2015- 55 miles

Nan and I stayed in a motel across from the KOA campground where the Coasters were spending one of their last nights in tents. So, in the morning it was a quick ride across a street to meet today's riding companions, Judy, Udi, Ken W and Lisa. These four riders had developed a disciplined pace line routine of switching leaders every two miles. My erratic riding style without an odometer presented all of us some challenges in getting into their rhythm. It all worked out and we enjoyed a pleasant, sunny ride east on US 90. Some readers may recall that this is the same highway that we used in Texas from Van Horne to Uvaldi.

We had one amusing stop and photo op at the Animal Tree along the way:

 No one knew the origin of this carved tree trunk featuring the heads of sheep and the initials, DCG.

We pedaled on stoping for lunch in Crestview. That's near Niceville. Simply Good Country Cooking BBQ featured a smash burger that included bacon and cheese all mushed together. Yummy! We soon reached, despite the heavy load of lunch, a fork in the road. My companions turned north towards the Paradise Island campground on a lake and I proceeded on to DeFuniak Springs and the motel south of town where I was to meet Nan. We spent a pleasant afternoon touring the historic part of the village. We learned that this town hosted the first Chautauqua Institute established in the late 19th century outside of its original western New York setting. The homes and and a library (first in Florida) were build around one of only two perfectly circular lakes in the world.

That afternoon I met John and his wife, Sue. They are from Milwaukee and know AD from the 2014 C2C. John is riding a recumbent bike solo across the country using Adventure Cycling's Southern Tier route. He left San Diego in early March before C2C and has ridden 40-50 miles a day with Sue driving support. As is the custom I invited John and Sue to join us for dinner. We all drove out to the campground and enjoyed a dinner hosted and prepared by the residents. Later we sat around a fire and listened to songs including a lively rendition of 'Bad to the Bone' by Chandler, despite his body brace, and 'Live your life as if you are Dying" led by Bubba.

Day 44- Dauphin Island, AL to Milton, FL

Sunday, April 19- 85 miles scheduled (46 miles completed)

The discipline of a daily post has escaped me. So, what is the story? All will be revealed as each day is described.

Nan and I rose early and departed after a hasty breakfast in a light rain. We drove south from Fairhope to meet the Coasters at the Fort Morgan eastern terminus of the ferry from Dauphin Island. We soon encountered heavy rain that required turning on the blinking safety lights. We did arrive just as the ferry was pulling into the dock. My iPhone camera crapped out as I went to take a picture of the boat full of riders and their bicycles. Perhaps, I should have taken this as an omen of future calamities that would occur this day.

The rain let up. Alan from Idaho, Murph from Colorado and regular companion on the 2014 C2C and I get set to begin the day's ride. We had fun raising our feet up like kids when we encountered flooded spots along the road. It was a splendid ride east along the coast, aka the Redneck Riviera.

We soon reached the beginning of the eighth and last state of the cross country ride. Here I am joined by Judy from Atlanta and the King Biking Group commemorating the accomplishment. So, all was good until we reached a small bridge over an inlet from the Gulf of Mexico where I was stopped by the first of four flat tires within the next seven miles. In frustration with #4 I refused to stop and rode an additional 10 yards which led to a painful fall on my left shoulder into oncoming traffic. I gathered myself and bicycle which at the time I was ready to throw into the ocean. Nevertheless Nan came to my rescue and transported the bike and me to the Bikes Plus shop in Pensacola. They administered emergency repairs, put on a new tire and sent me on. At that point I was happy to accept a car ride to our hotel in Milton, a delicious dinner from Chef Anne and a good night's sleep.

Day 43- Rest Day

Saturday, April 19, 2015

Nan and I started the day at a leisurely pace with breakfast at our hotel, pictured below:

This is Fairhope where California meets Alabama:

We departed for a brief look around Mobile before heading down the west side of the Bay. This is a restaurant and bar as well as a bike shop:

Nan spent the afternoon exploring the famous Bellingrath Gardens while I used the time to catch up with friends and staff from last year and meet the 2015 Coastsrs. Also included short ride on a borrowed bike for ice cream. Nan returned and we enjoyed our first dinner of chicken and beef fajitas prepared by Chef Anne. Then back to Fairhope to spend the night pondering the upcoming week of rides.

Returning to Coast2Coast

Friday, April 17- Drive from Atlanta to Fairhope, AL- 340 miles

Nan and I packed our luggage and biking gear in the morning and set out in a light rain from Atlanta. We drove southwest down I-85 towards Montgomery, the capital of Alabama. We stopped for a delightful lunch at the Amsterdam Cafe in Auburn. Nan used Trip Advisor to find this small spot near the Auburn Univ campus. We resumed our uneventful drive through Montgomery and then south towards Mobile. And that is when the skies opened up and we were deluged with rain. It was so heavy we pulled off the highway briefly and used our emergency blinking lights for much of the remainder of the journey. We left the Interstate before reaching Mobile as we were headed to the quaint village of Fairhope on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. We settled into our hotel and then set off for dinner of oysters at Wintzell's.. Yummy. They were from Louisiana, but I did not ask if we should be concerned about any after effects of the BP spill.

Here are a couple of pictures from our hotel balcony of the old City Hall and a fire engine inside it: