Day 54
Biloxi Mississippi to Dauphin Island Alabama
I’m sitting on the second floor deck of a B&B on Dauphin Island. I’m just 2,000 yards from Fort Gaines. Fort Gaines was one of the sites where the Battle of Mobile Bay was fought during the Civil War. Admiral James Farragut was reported to have said “damn the torpedos.” In those days a “torpedo” was a mine placed in a harbor or waterway. You might recall this, I had to look that up. The reason I’m sitting on the deck is because there is a storm brewing to the Northwest. There is a magnificent light show and even a bit of thunder. The temperature is dropping and I have a strong suspicion this little island is in for some rain. The bigger question for me is, what will it be doing in the morning?
So this morning in Ocean Springs I got an early start. I arrived at Buzzy’s Breakfast Joint at 6:30am. By 7am it was raining. The weather app said it would stop at 8. That turned out to be true. While I was hanging around waiting for the weather to break, a woman showed up with her service dog in training. He was a pure bred Italian Mastiff. He was just a puppy, but already larger than most full grown dogs. He is a beautiful dog. His owner keeps his drool wiped up regularly so he doesn’t drench you when he says hello. He likes to say hello a lot. We chatted and she gave me some good recommendations on how to get out of town. She also told me about a famous donut shop in Ocean Springs that makes all their donuts using potato flour instead of wheat flower. My itinerary for the morning is now set. I leave at 8am. I breeze through a couple of downtown streets, then head for the “Tato Nut” shop. The Tato Nuts are very good. A bit heavier then donuts made with flour. My three Tato Nuts are roughly equivalent in weight to 2 wheat donuts.
It’s 8:30am now and my early start has turned into another slow start. The flat terrain is my friend though. I make the destination, Dauphin Island, at 3:30pm. That’s not bad for 64 miles. That includes a flat tire and a stop for lunch and a stop to buy water.
I’ve already written about how cool tubeless tires are. Today’s experience reinforces that again. About mile 15 into today’s ride, I looked down and saw that the rear tire was almost flat. You actually feel it first, that’s what causes you to look down. I was right in front of the Gautier Police Station. I pulled into their lot to have a look. I thought I had run out of luck and I was going to have to take the tire off and put a tube in it. When I got off the bike I could hear the hiss of escaping air. The culprit was a staple. I pulled the staple out but I could tell air was still escaping. I pumped the tire up a bit and rode around the parking lot to get sealant into the puncture. I stopped and added more air twice before the leak was staunched. How amazing is that? I rode the rest of the day with no issue. I should add more sealant to the tire since I did loose some when I removed the staple.
I caught up to my old group today about 15 miles outside Dauphin Island. I pulled up to one and we had a nice chat. When she gets to St. Augustine she plans to keep going down the Florida coast all the way to Key West. I told her I thought that was very cool.
You have to take a ferry to get off the island. I suspect the group will be on the 8am ferry. Breakfast here at the B&B is not until 8, so I’ll be on the 9:30 ferry. I may not see any of them again until I get to St. Augustine.
Miles: 64
This little island is now getting rain.
