Update #45 - Nov. 29, 2003
Gautier, MS - 10,216.9 miles (16,347.0 kms.)

The ride is still going and the mile totals are still increasing. Last Wedneday, I passed the 126,500 mile mark for this adventure since it started back in 1993. I'm now under 3000 miles on my recumbent from passing the personal record that I have on my 4th bicycle.

The ride from Apalachicola to here went okay. I did get waylaid for about ten days in the Gulf Shores, AL area because of a stomach virus that lasted for a little over a week and I had to get a new front wheel. The rim cracked after only 7,700 miles. It took nine days to get the new wheel because the bike shop that I had gone to get it ordered made an error in the size. Instead of coming out of Miami, it had to come from Seattle. It was good for me that I was made welcome in the home of an elderly couple outside of Gulf Shores. The gentleman was an avid cyclist even though he is in his late seventies and has ridden from Detroit, MI to Gulf Shores, AL.

These past three weeks has been a challenge for me emotionally and spiritually. I've been really trying to find some place where I could stop for a while and volunteer but it hasn't happened yet. Hopefully soon this will happen if it is in Adonai's Will. The ride has been getting to me a little bit since I do not get the chance to have some needed time off the road like I should. The responses from churches haven't always been favorable but there have been exceptions. I'm grateful for the help that I received from Trinity Episcopal Church in Apalachicola, FL; the United Methodist churches in Mexico Beach, Destin, and Gulf Breeze, FL; and the Baptist Church on Dauphin Island, AL where I spent Thanksgiving at the retreat center.

I'm on the way now to visit with a friend in nearby Ocean Springs. I had met him earlier in the year when I spoke to one of the Sunday School classes at the First Baptist Church in Ocean Springs. From there, I'll be following U.S. 90 westward through the rest of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi through Biloxi, Gulfport, and Bay St. Louis. Who knows, I might just keep on going and ride back to California. This will be my 14th crossing of the country. My heart has really been on the victims who have lost their homes during the recent fire storms in Southern California. On the way, I might make a jog southward in Texas to visit Brownsville again. This has been on my heart also.

I'll try to post an update as often as I can if there are any changes in my plans.