Week 33

Day 225

Saturday 8th February 2020

New Orleans.

It was lovely to have a lie in on our first day off since San Francisco, but it was short lived as there were jobs to be done. We headed into the famous French Quarter in search of a laundromat- and found one that was also an antique shop. We ate breakfast in a fab cafe which did lovely flat white whilst waiting for the washing. We then took Alice for a service to Michael’s Bike Shop (including a bit of a clean). I had my obligatory haircut and we stocked up on provisions.

The French Quarter is a complete contrast to what we had seen so far in Louisiana. It’s full of colourful clapper board houses - all individual- a wonderful eclectic mix. Jazz is played in the bars and restaurants and by buskers lining the side of the roads. It’s a vibrant mix of noise and colour made more exciting as the city is getting ready for Mardi Gras - the houses and shops are decorated including many flying the rainbow flag in a celebration of diversity.

We went to the famous Cafe du Monde which serves a renowned donut covered in icing sugar. The cafe is incredibly busy. The coffee has hickory in it. It’s a great place to people watch.

In the evening we went to the infamous Krewe Du Vieux - which is for adults only. Most of the floats involved effigies of President Trump “involved” with a phallic object - it was fun and vibrant but also had serious messages about freedom and the rule of law.

Day 226

Sunday 9th February 2020

New Orleans to Gulfport.

We woke to find the New Orleans marathon and half marathon being run outside the place we were staying. Music was playing to keep everyone going. We headed down to Cafe Du Monde for a final coffee before leaving New Orleans. We met Alida who’s husband was running in the marathon and chatted to her about New Orleans and our trip.

We headed out of New Orleans. The road surface is terrible - probably a legacy of the hurricane damage. A car passed us - driving through a massive puddle resulting in a tsunami of water drenching us. We were soaked - my ear was full of water! It was however also incredibly windy - which helped dry us off.

We had to take a diversion on the Interstate 10 heading out of New Orleans then rejoined Highway 90 over Lake Pontchartrain which was incredible. We followed the coast passing houses on stilts - which appeared to be holiday homes facing out to sea. We also saw pelicans and lots of heron.

We crossed the border into Mississippi and continued along the coast following a fantastic golden beach to Gulfport were we met Patricia Klein who is running ultra marathons around the USA - Trish held the world record for the most ultra marathons ran back to back - respect!

Day 227

Monday 10th February 2020

Gulfport to Dauphine Island.

We set off along an amazing white sand beach on route to Alabama. We literally (well almost) ran into Trisha - the ultra marathon runner who we had met the night before - running another ultra marathon. Trish screeched when she saw us and started introducing us to other runners. We met a guy who had run 2200 marathons - which in terms of numbers of marathons makes him number 4 in the world. Really inspiring stuff!

The beach stretched for miles and was practically empty - we passed the O’Keefe museum which would have been amazing to look around had we not had 80 miles to ride into a headwind.

We stopped for coffee in one of the many casinos lining the route (as it had a Starbucks concession) and waited ages to get served as people tried to trade in their casino credits for coffee.

We stopped at a great bike shop to blow up Alice’s tires - the guys said if we had any problems for the next 100 miles - they would drive out to help.

We crossed over the border into Alabama and rode over an amazing causeway to Dauphine Island as the light was fading. The wind was so strong we could hardly hear each other - it was slow going but well worth it as the view was spectacular- back to the mainland tomorrow.

Day 228

Tuesday 11th February 2020

Dauphine Island to Loxley.

We got up early - cycling to the ferry to catch the first crossing. We arrived at the terminal and were told that the ferry was delayed because of fog. We went in search of coffee then headed back to the ferry. It was still foggy so we waited and waited and waited! We thought the fog was clearing -but the temperature dropped and it was as thick as ever.

One of the ferry crew said that it was unlikely that the ferry would run today and there was a risk that the fog could set in tomorrow too.

We decided to ride (it was lunchtime) which meant an extra almost 100 mile ride to get around Mobile Bay - (as opposed to a 4.5 mile ferry trip).

We crossed back over the causeway to the main land - it was foggy but we could see pelicans taking off. It was magical in the haze.

We stopped for snacks at a garage - the miserable looking women at the register asked where we were from - England we explained “have you met the Queen” - she asked - yes I said (as I have!). It must be “like meeting our President” - sometimes it’s probably best not to say anything - Raz said “well I wouldn’t curtsy for him” - fair comment!

We eventually arrived in Mobile - starving so we headed to Burger King where we met the lovely TT - who offered us food - which was very kind - she gives food to the homeless.

We headed further north to cross the Mobile River - we crossed over bridges and causeways - finally heading east. The road was busy - and we were riding hard to catch up.

We rode around 70 miles - which is shorter than usual - but we set off late. Planning a long day’s ride tomorrow to get us back on track!

Day 229

Wednesday 12th February 2020

Loxley to Crestview.

The problem with cheap motels - apart from dirty sheets and general grimness is either, the total lack of breakfast or how awful it is if supplied. Today was the awful variety - Cheerios (with no milk- hence very old Cheerios- as no one can eat them), orange juice which was off and white bread. We had black coffee and two slices of white toast - sitting in the reception overwhelmed by the smell of curry (we still haven’t recovered from curry 3 meals per day).

We have moved away from coast, (as the ferry wasn’t running the other day), and are in land - following Highway 90 which is busy and a bit featureless.

A few observations about the Deep South - it is full of churches of every variety. All have messages to us “sinners” - many are grammatically incorrect - with missing apostrophes or “to” rather than “too”. It’s tempting to correct this - but according to the messages - I’m likely to be damned - as “Saitin = ruin” - and I’m sure grammatical corrections are a sin - so I don’t want to risk it. Although, I could check in with one of the numerous palmist or tarot readers - which advertise their powers at frequent intervals. If all else fails - I could call one of the numerous lawyers grinning down on us from huge bill boards.

It’s either very rich or very poor - mainly poor- many people live in trailers, RVs or equivalent type of housing. Alternatively, people live in massive houses - but there’s not much in between.

It’s difficult to get good food on the road - hence Starbucks (which we found after about 30 miles) - is a real treat.

People are friendly and polite - and happy to chat.

Lots of people smoke dope - it’s a very frequent smell as we ride along.

Anyway... apart from all that - we did pass by a huge wildlife reserve - wood/ swampland and watched local prisoners working at the side of the road keeping the vegetation under control.

We also passed over the State border into Florida (our last State).

We are sitting in a laundromat having been to Dollar General in a desperate search for fruit - we have apples and bananas - all is good in the world.

Day 230

Thursday 13th February 2020

Crestview to Marianna.

Today was a day when I could simply write - we got on Alice (tandem) and rode 86 miles - nothing much happened! But... I’ll try to fill in the blanks.

We woke to a storm - it was pouring down and windy. We waited to see if it would pass - but in didn’t so wearing plastic bags, we set off. Florida is called the Sunshine State - we haven’t actually seen the sun yet, but we live in hope.

We are banned out of McDonalds (not for doing anything inappropriate) but as part of our fundraising effort - this is actually quite a challenge - not because of Big Macs (I’ve never actually eaten a Big Mac - neither has Raz - or so she claims), but because more often than not its the only place where we could get espresso coffee. So we sat in Love’s (service station) soaking wet - drinking drip coffee (which is the coffee of choice in