Day 40 Biloxi, Mississippi

Stats
Daily mileage 88 Ride Time 6hr43min Avg speed 13.01 mph Total mileage 2520

The day had finally arrived when I had to put on my clean pair of cycling shorts and hit the road once more. I woke up early and said my farewells to Kayla as she had to go to school. I then showered and made the most of all the homely things around the house as I was not sure where the night would take me. I decided to wait until the morning rush hour had passed so I packed up slowly and chatted with Duffy. The time came and I had to go. I said goodbye to Duffy and the dog and thanked him for their great hospitality.

The route out of town was no where near as crazy as the way in and infact the worst part was the rubbing from my cycling shorts. They felt so uncomfortable but then I realised I had put them on back to front! A swift stop at the rest rooms sorted that out.

Within about 15 miles I was away from the traffic and gliding along a road that was slicing up the marsh land. The sky was blue and the only sounds I could hear were the birds tweeting. I took my first stop after 3 hours at a little place called Pearlington. I sat in a chair and watched the world pass by. Just as I was about to leave a lady called Linda passed by and ask me what I was doing. One thing led to another and she wanted me to get on television and visit some schools in the morning. I spoke to the TV studio over the phone and they showed great interest and said they would liaise with Linda. Linda is an energetic lady who can pull lots of strings and has contacts pouring out of her diary.

Linda suggested I make it to Biloxi where she will arrange some accommodation for me and some dinner at a casino. The route kissed the Gulf Ocean and it was a real pleasure to cycle beside. With the sun setting, I met Linda who took me to John’s house. I jumped into the shower and we headed to the Imperial Palace Casino for a complimentary buffet dinner. We met another friend of Linda’s and I apologised in advanced for the amount of food I was about to consume.

I rated my buffet effort as a So-So Silver. 3 full plates of main course, a seafood gumbo and for dessert one bowl consisting of a cookie, 3 brownies all covered by a chocolate fountain sauce.

We returned to the house and discussed the logistics of the school and TV visits for tomorrow.