However it wasn't all plain sailing to Florida. The first 3 hours yesterday morning was an unpleasant slog through downtown Mobile, up round the docks and railway sidings to the only crossing at the top of the bay that's not a tunnel, and hence open to bikes. There was nothing particularly wrong with Mobile, it's a leafy town with grand old South villas, and the traffic was nothing out the ordinary, it's just always a mentally exhausting chore getting through cities.
This is not remotely a US only issue, and all cities here are been significantly more biker friendly than London (In fact everyone out here is shocked by the cycling stats, and bile and violence directed at London cyclists, when I tell them. Most guys in the cycle shops seem to have seen the clips from London cyclists head cams of guys getting attacked - they are universally shocked and want to know if it's true. Guess it must've been on the news here).The problem is you just don't know the town, or where the dangers are, or where to look on crossings, or a thousand other things you get to know in your home city, and all this whilst you're navigating. It's tiring and can be frustratingly slow. It's also a shame because you can't fully appreciate the town or city centres.
However, ship yards, rail sidings and city behind me it was just under a 10 mile stretch over bridges where groups of prisoners in work gangs cleaning the shoulder were universally friendly, and then a long ride down the East side of the Mobile Bay, a wiggle cross country to the Alabama Gulf Coast, then a long 30 mile stretch along the Gulf Coast into Florida and onto Pensacola.
Along the Bay took me through some of the most chic neighbourhoods to date. Whilst the road was set back from the sea, you could see through to the water past beautiful gardens and mostly understated but seriously desirable homes. This was very sophisticated money, and the villages I past through were proper stylish old money. That said, I found the one BBQ joint filled with cops and bad language, so I was happy as pie. The riding was also pleasant, with some bike paths, and very considerate drivers.This continued through the quite cut in land, but ended abruptly when I hit the edge of Gulf Shores and the Gulf Coast. My heart sank, with 30 miles to go through built up areas, and by then running late, the prospect of more slow mental exhausting driving was grim. But I must've done something right in my life.
Literally on hitting the Gulf Coast I picked up a designated cycle route beside the road, which continued almost unbroken to my motel 30 miles later. And to add to the good times the wind roared up behind me. The coast line along the bottom here is more cheap and cheerful than what I'd seen earlier, but it's booming in this area. The huge tower blocks onto the beach are not my idea of a good time, but people looked happy and relaxed, so what does it matter. As you hit Florida it rapidly becomes noticeably military, with the huge Navy base to the West of the Pensacola, but the place is buzzing and busy, and along the coast strip of this city very pleasant.
Unfortunately to be near a bike shop I've been staying in a ropier end of town, with the usual strip of chain restaurants and motels that make for depressing viewing. Maybe because I know there is a full on Caribbean beach a few miles away it makes it all the grimmer, but such is the way.
Today has been a chores day. A visit to the very helpful guy in the local bike shop (Big Boy Bicycles) was a enjoyable hour and half with the owner who tuned the bike up for free, but he was slightly lacking supplies so I had to bike right across town to another shop to get a gear cassettes attached and buy yet another rear tyre, as a second one has worn through. As a result everything else (laundry, route planning, this, etc) has been rushed.It's an interesting part of this whole exercise, that the tiring bit is not really the cycling, it's all the other stuff. It's the getting to bike shops, worrying about routes, researching where to stay, worrying about twinges in your knees, getting stuff fixed or clean, you name it. That is what's tiring, never really kicking back, even on the days you are not cycling. The actually riding just is what it is, sometimes it's glorious, sometimes it's frightening, mostly it's somewhere in between. It doesn't help being in motels all the time, they're a great institution, but boy do you get bored of them after a while.
Any way, less complaining from the git on leave. Tomorrow I start heading North East in earnest, It should be 4 to 5 days to the Atlantic, then 12 or so days up the coast to New York. Getting there suddenly feels very real, which is exciting. I can't wait to get through the next 9 days or so, and then I'll be right up in that East Coast cluster of cities which will be awesome.Route - Mobile - Dauphne - Fairhope - Magnolia Springs - Gulf Shores - Pensacola
Thursday 5 May
Breakfast - Cheerios, 2 bagels and an apple in the motel
Lunch - Pulled pork sandwich - Ben's Jr. BBQ, Fairhope. The place was packed with cops, and the place looked like it hadn't had a lick of paint since 1975, but it was justifiably packed, this was a good sandwich, although weirdly the coke came in jam jars.Supper - Chinese buffet - Hong Kong Buffet, Pensacola. Literally the only place that is not a chain round here. It was a Chinese buffet in a room with no windows and only half the lights on, on the edge of a naval base. A pretty rough experience all round.
Friday 6 May
Breakfast - Super All-Star Breakfast - The Waffle House. A waffle, 2 eggs, toast, and a hash brown, washed down with coffee. Look, it was tasty, and the place had the all American feel, but I'm now craving a full English like nothing else, even went online to research them in New York.
Lunch - Pulled Pork sandwich - King's Bar-B-Q. Tired looking place next to the bike shop as they looked over my bike, but was a good sandwich. There is good Bar-B-Q down here, and it's all less full on than Bodeans in London.
Supper - Chicken sandwich and cookie - Subway. Subway sandwich, not much to report.
