A Tale of Four Flat Tires

Wednesday, February 22

Day 7 was a best and worst kind of day.  I had no problems getting out of Pensacola and soon found myself entering Alabama.  It felt good to put Florida behind me as it ended up being a much longer--well, wider--state than I expected it to be.  The total biking distance across Florida ended up being 522 miles.

I also met my first fellow rider!  Mike is actually doing a circuit of the United States.  He started in January from outside of Atlanta, where he is from, and expects to finish sometime towards the end of the year.  Makes my ride seem small in comparison, but I don't have any desire to extend it either...  Mike, as you can see, if on a recumbent.  I was a little jealous as it looks like a much more comfortable way to ride across the U.S.  (My friend Chuck rides a recumbent, so I teased him by sending a picture of Mike.)  You can find Mike's blog here.

Mike is helping to raise money for school music programs with fender guitar.  You can find more details on Mike's blog.  I think I would have ditched the guitar at the first hill.   :-)

Mike also clued me on to an app called Charity Miles where I can raise money simply by tracking the miles I'm riding.  I now have the app installed.  Thanks, Mike!

A little bit after running into my first fellow rider, I rode past the Beach Club where our friends Jeff and Rose got married.  I was at their wedding here a few years ago, so it was fun to ride past it.

I was shooting to reach Biloxi Bay Ferry in Fort Morgan when, with about 5 miles to go, I had my first flat tire of the trip.  The flat was due to the valve stem pulling out of the tube.  (I had two cars stop asking if I was ok.)  I was a little worried but figured I could still make the ferry on time.  In fact, I got to the ferry with about 30 minutes to spare.  Unfortunately, when I came back to my bike after walking away for a bit, I discovered the same tire was flat again!

Ferry ride was neat (for only $5), and I met a nice couple from South Haven, MI, with a dog named Olive who was the spitting image of our dog Katie (when she gets a close hair-cut).

Outside, I repaired the flat again.  I discovered it was the same problem with the first flat: a failed stem.  Uh oh...  Turns out that tubes have a shelf life and I shouldn't have grabbed all my old tubes lying around.  The second spare tube ended up being bad as well, so I had to use my third and last spare tube to get going again.  It was a nerve racking ride the final 20 miles to my destination in Bayou La Batre with nary a bike shop in sight.

Day: 7
Time: 10.5 hours
Distance: 76 miles

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Thursday, February 23

Today I had to deviate from the standard route in order to find a bike shop.  I decided to take Highway 90 again as there was a Walmart and a couple of bike shops near there.  On the way, I entered into Mississippi already (2 states down!).  I was pretty happy to make it to Walmart without any issues and find some bike tubes.  I picked up two tubes and some groceries--while I'm here anyway...

Shortly after leaving Walmart, the last old rear tube failed.  I was relieved it lasted until I got some spares, but NOT happy to be fixing a flat for the third time.  New tube installed and on the road again but then about 20-30 minutes later, I noticed the rear tire getting soft again.  I can't repeat what I said at the time, but I was really starting to feel like I was born under a dark star.

I was dismayed to discover the issue was a roofing nail through the rear tire, but I was also a bit relieved to know that at least it wasn't the stem yet again.  Repaired my fourth flat in two days and was once again without ANY spare tubes.

The first bike shop I could find only had a single tube in my size.  Luckily, my finds at Tri Hard Sports hooked me up and I was able to get two additional tubes.  They also gave me some cold water and advice on how to get back to the route.  Two thumbs up for them!

I had almost 40 miles still to go, and it was already 1pm.  I made good time without any further mechanical issues and rolled into Diamond Lake RV Park about 4:40.  Cory the owner was nice enough to let me stay in an unfinished bungalow at a tent rate, which saved me the hassle of setting up my own tent after an exhausting day.

Day: 8
Time: 9 hours 40 minutes
Distance: 77 miles

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Friday, February 24

Some serious fog had settled in (again glad I wasn't in the tent, which would have soaked).  I was happy that I had my reflector vest and the new front and rear lights with flashing function today.

Once the fog cleared up, it felt like I had a strong headwind most of the day.   Perhaps it was the stress of the previous two days or not eating enough the day before.  (When I camp, it doesn't seem like I'm getting enough calories.)  Bottom line: I just didn't seem to have the same energy today.

I stopped for a Subway footlong around 10am and ate half.  I attempted to go off route again on the more direct Highway 25, but the shoulder quickly disappeared, and, while the traffic wasn't heavy, the not infrequent logging trucks made me think it would be wise to go back on course.

Made it into my third state in 3 days, Louisiana, in the afternoon.  The states from here on out will be much wider...

Made it to my hotel in Franklinton, LA, about 3:40 in the afternoon.  It felt good to finish relatively early for a change, and I grabbed some ready-to-expire and damaged packages of food at Salvage Store, a "Dirt Cheap" discount grocery store.  Here are my winnings for tonight's (microwave) dinner, and tomorrow (microwave) breakfast!

Day: 9
Time: 8 hours 40 minutes
Distance: 81 miles

(post by Will)