Bike, Hike, Hobo & Build

Pensacola to Mobile, AL 89.9 miles but really 96.6
 miles

Waking up is a lot harder when you are leaving a big futon instead of a thermarest. A lot more difficult! I dragged myself out of bed and prepped for the day ahead. Rumors flew about the route: it was now 60 miles, it was really 101 miles, we were taking 2 ferrys, ect. We finally had our route meeting where the milage of 89.9 was announced. That kind of made me relieved because 89.9 seems so much easier than 90. There really isn't much of a difference, but in my head it is huge. I set out with Summer. We made it to the end of the street before we had problems. Summers cleat was lose on her shoe and so she couldn't get it off of her pedal. She had to take her shoe off so the guys could struggle with it. 15 minutes of every shoe removal technique you could possibly think of finally prevailed and we were on our way. We traversed a long bridge out of Pensacola, then headed to Alabama. I was very sad because I had accidentally packed my camera in my bin that morning and had to rely on others to take pics for me. We took pics on the bridge and at the sign. We made it to first lunch pretty quickly, had some food and were on our way. Kristina and Alyssa were nice enough to ride with us between lunches. I had a. Lot of fun biking with Summer again. We struggled up some hills as the air got hotter and the wind picked up. The last 5 miles before second lunch were a real struggle. We finally made it to lunch where Summer made the hard decision to finish the day in the van. She had worked hard and pushed a lot, but starting again on a 90 mile, 95*F day is not easy. Lunch was also where we first heard about the reroute. The original route included a tunnel, which was mot safe for cyclists. A local helped the first group plan a reroute, but it was going to add miles to our day.  Kristina,Alyssa and I set out for the last 30 miles into Mobile. Biking into cities is tricky because you can see the city from far away, but you never know exactly where in the city you will be, so you anticipate arrival a lot faster than actually happens. It didn't help that the wind was gusting quite a bit, especially on bridges. It is a strange feeling being on a road that is at sea level. The road seems to float on the surrounding waters. We were heading for the city when we saw the detour. It took us about 3 miles away from the city, across a scary bridge, and 3 miles back to town. And it smelled like poop. The three miles out were pretty normal until we saw what was ahead. The most massive, sloping suspension bridge ever. If I didn't have to bike across it I would have thought it was pretty, but I did have to bike, so it was just scary. We slowly cranked our way to the top, where we stopped to take a picture, just to prove we did it. And then it happened! The gusting winds grabbed my pinwheel, yanked it out of my pack and flew it away from me. It took a very long time to fall. A very long time. We decided to go slow down the bridge, which really wasn't that hard because the headwind kept me at a steady 19 mph on a decline that would normally have me going at least 30 mph. The miles back to town were a death spiral around the city, or at least thats what it felt like. We rode straight for the city for2.5 miles surrounded by trains on both sides. I think that I could probably just hobo my way to Cali if the biking doesn't work out :) not really but it's nice to dream! Then we turned and headed away, then back towards the city and then away again. So frustrating!  We got closer to town and met up with with Corey and Kenan. We traveled back to the host together. I was doing ok until the last 4 miles.  I just it a wall with all of the hill climbing. I really just wanted to stop and cry, but I knew if I got off my bike or started crying it would just be that much longer and that much harder to be at the hosts and off my bike for the night. It all worked out ok. I was so happy when we made it to the church and saw "you made it" chalked on the ground. I settled all of my stuff in the corner and went to enjoy a cold glass of chocolate milk and fruit provided by our wonderful hosts. The Episcopal church of the Redeemer really rolled out the red carpet for us. Not only did they provide snacks, dinner and a place to sleep and shower, they had air mattresses, towels and linens. Two parishioners gave us their vehicles... Thats right, they gave us their cars for the next 3 days. They were absolutely fabulous to us. After seeing Alabama as a place with no shoulders, rough roads, and mucho road kill(dead armadillos) this church really made me see all of the good in Alabama. Thank you so much!