Well, Happy Birthday . . . to me! Now, on to the day's ride! Which started out cold! 61°F . . . which is not horrible but colder than expected. But that was at 7:00 or so, and I could wait. There was no rush today, as I was only going 34 miles to Bay Saint Louis and, again, with favorable winds. So I lallygagged around and decided to do the hotel's "free" breakfast to hold me over till I reached one of the many Waffle Houses along today's course. And I mean many . . . like one every mile. That may be an exaggeration, but I was not without choices! So at 8:30 I wandered down for two bowls of cereal, two cups of "orange drink" (posing as orange juice), and two coffees.
I hadn't heard back from my B&B about an early check-in . . . earlier than the 3:00 PM stated time, so was in no rush to hit the road. I finally left around 10:30 and took a leisurely spin through Ocean Springs so I could align myself properly for the bridge crossing over the Biloxi Channel.
So that was pretty pleasant. I now had to deal with US-90 through Biloxi. When I laid this course out using OSM Cycle, I assumed I would be riding on a bike trail. Well, not really. It was sometimes bike trail, sometimes sidewalk, and lots of bad curb ramps (some not ADA-compliant at all), and really, just a hodgepodge of potentially good to just bad infrastructure. Whoever mapped this in OSM Cycle has low standards for bicycle compatibility!
On the far side of the bridge, one is welcomed by Harrah's Casino . . . and it takes a while for it to get better (hence my overnight in Ocean Springs).
As you penetrate further, you realize the "bike trail" is just sidewalk for the adjacent US-90, which is all curb and gutter with no bike lanes . . . and lots of traffic.
And even where there is a nice addition, like the Biloxi Boardwalk around the I-110 termination interchange, it was not properly signed, and I missed it completely, resulting in this interesting problem (which I successfully navigated, but only by breaking all of the rules).
So, it didn't start out well. And it really did not get much better. I think Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country . . . and it shows. But, as I indicated earlier, I was in no rush, so took the time to peck my way through it all. But then again, there really was no choice. I guess one could go inland a couple of blocks and ride a parallel road, but they are not contiguous, and you would need to return to the mainline at some point . . . plus, my goal was to ride along the coast! I think someone is missing an opportunity here . . . but I will let the pictures tell the story.
Beyond the interchange, this is the bike trail . . . basically an old, poorly maintained sidewalk.
As I made my way along the coast, I started to see some improvements like this "real" boardwalk . . . a wider section of concrete pavement that seemed more recent and better maintained.
But a large part of it was just more of this . . . I actually saw an older gentleman (probably a grandfather) pulling a trailer with a child in it trying to navigate the "bike trail." Clearly a tourist . . . and clearly a sad experience for him and the children.
One of the bright spots was this park in Gulfport, but it was only a brief respite, as beyond it, you needed to cross the roads leading to the port facilities . . . and guess who was given priority?
Beyond Gulfport and going into Long Beach and Pass Christian, things really improved in a noticeable way. And not just in the infrastructure, but also in the real estate . . . this is where the money is. And where there is money, there is (typically) good infrastructure.
And, at this point, an interlude. Ever since I had left Dauphin Island and turned onto AL-188, I have seen, here and there, beads . . . Mardi Gras Beads . . . a (the) trail of beads to NOLA maybe?
At this point, I was less than six miles from the end of the day's ride, so decided to wander a bit around town. One plus of the Garmin is that you have all the mapping in front of you and can make changes on the fly, especially in "urban" areas where there are multiple paths forward.
And the approach to the bridge, which has wide shoulders providing ample cycling space . . . although the far side has a separated bike/ped facility. At the time I crossed, I did not see the sign in the foreground . . . yet there was no signage to the bike path either!
