Day 42 - Ocean Springs, MS to Dauphin Island, AL

77.8 miles today
2,258.7 total trip miles
13.4 mph average
1,295’ climbing
FF - 5
MP - Cathy Mahaffey - a good friend & a true health insurance professional.  When a group of community organizers came to her with the idea for a health insurance cooperative, she shifted her career attention from being an agent to helping us create the Common Ground Healthcare Cooperative.  Creative, persistent & a true leader - I believe she is the best Health Insurance CEO anywhere.

We biked to the Gulf of Mexico today & it almost seemed like I could feel salt water in the air all day long.  We crossed a bunch of rivers & as we approached the Gulf the road leveled out.  We could see for miles down the road on a pancake flat surface.  That is something we have not experienced much on this trip so far.

Then we took a right turn & saw this in the distance.

That bridge leads to Dauphin Island where we are camping tonight.  The bridge hill to climb is a little imposing, but we have done longer & steeper.  The thing you need to know is that I am the person who won’t get in a hot air balloon because I am positive that I will fall out, even if the basket reaches up to my neck & I am connected in with multiple straps.  You can imagine what I was thinking when I got here.

Nothing but water on both sides & about a 4’ tall concrete wall to hold me in.  What to do?  I didn’t come this far to let some irrational fear stop me.  I pedaled to the top.  Unfortunately I had to do it with my eyes open.  And here I am at the Dauphin Island Campground to be able to tell the story. Tomorrow is a day off & I am happy to report that when we leave the island it will be on a ferry going east to the mainland so I don't have to climb this bridge again.

WDYLT - ILT in Germany when they serve raw beef & onions, it also includes a raw egg on top.  I’ve never had this feast, but adding the raw egg doesn’t make it any more appetizing to me.