Day 12: Dauphin Island to Gautier

February 26, 2025

I got to bed before 10 and had a pretty good night sleep. I woke up a little before 6:00. We had a map meeting at 7:30. I had my lunch packed and ate a slice of pizza, 2 instant oatmeals and a hard boiled egg. After the meeting I finished packing, made a final bathroom visit and was off at 8:24. It was a beautiful morning, starting in the low 50s. I work shorts, a long sleeve Canari jersey, and half-finger gloves. The bridge back to the mainland was beautiful, with a little fog. I leap frogged PB, JE, and SR on the causeway several times as I stopped to take pictures. On the other side, BD had a flat tire. All of us helped (or watched) him change it. It was a pure puncture with nothing left in the tire.

After the tire change I took another picture and passed the other 4 riders. When I did, SR jumped on and we went for a fast ~20 mile ride. I was riding tempo power and we were gong 20 mph. He took a couple pulls. At 25 miles, he told me he was going to join the others. I was pretty tired and stoped at a convenience store and got a milk and ate an apple and part of a cliff bar.

The rest of the ride was pretty hard. I wore bye Salsa shorts and they aren't as padded. My rear end and feet both hurt. I rode with JW a while. I thought about visiting Pascagoula but was tired. So, I rode straight to the campground. We are staying in Shepherd State park. It is a very nice setup. We had African stew (sweet potatoes and veggies). For desert we had cake.

I was very conscious about hydrating before and after the ride, and felt good. Tomorrow is an 80 mile ride and I am cooking. I will meet Bennie at the grocery store. We are going to do burgers and hot dogs. Maybe potato salad and a salad. I ride very close to Kim's dad and step mom in Biloxi and will try to stop and see them. I am going to go to bed early and hopefully get a good night sleep and an early start.

My chain was a little noisy today. I cleaned it after the ride and see some grit on it. I would probably change the tomorrow except that it is supposed to rain next week. I will probably oil it again tomorrow and see if I can change the chain after the rain.

Today's ride: 49 miles (79 km)
Total: 595 miles (958 km)

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