Day 10: Milton, FL to Gulf Shores, AL

Today’s Miles: 58.4 Total Miles: 528.1

One state down!

I woke up thinking that today was going to be a nice, easy day. I was so wrong. Last night we didn't sleep too well and then with the time change it was 9am before I set out. A short 7.5 miles later I started hearing a clicking sound and was afraid that I had run over something. A half mile later I was certain that I had, and that I had a flat tire. Great. Yesterday I jinxed myself by telling Mary that I was surprised that I hadn't gotten a flat yet since there was so much stuff in the road. Then, boom, today it happened. And it was the back tire, which is harder to change because you have to remove the chain. And I had to change it in the uneven grass next to a very busy road. The grass was full of small, biting insects and mosquitoes, and I got eaten up. It took me a while, but I got it changed and then headed back out. The map indicated that I would be riding right by the waterline all day, so I was expecting a nice, flat ride. Wrong again. I rode ~12 miles on the Scenic Highway into Pensacola which is right by the water, but up a huge cliff away from the water, and the road continuously rose and fell. 

Mary celebrating at the state line

I finally made it through Pensacola and met up with mom around 12:30 to eat a late IHOP breakfast, but at that point had only finished about 28 miles. Things picked up after IHOP, and I had a nice ride down Perdido Key over a few big bridges and into Alabama. I met up with mom again at the state line and then we cruised the last 12 miles into Gulf Shores as it started to rain. We weren't able to get a single hotel room in Gulf Shores due to Spring Break and a state softball tournament, so at 5pm we finally made it to our hotel 7 miles down the road in Foley, Alabama. We are both exhausted and looking forward to having a good dinner and getting some rest. On the up side, one state down and no more knee pain!!