Update #28 - October 06, 2006
Gulfport, MS
7683.8 miles ( 12,294.1 kms) since March 27th,
8175.1 miles ( 13,080.1 kms) since Jan 01st

It took me about ten days of riding and almost 670 miles of pedaling but I made it to Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday afternoon. The trip went well. I'm a little surprised at the high mileages that I had most every day. The two weeks off the road in Americus, Georgia didn't get me soft. In fact,the very first day out of Americus had me pedaling the second highest distance for the year. I was quite surprised at going beyond one hundred miles in a day again. The rest of the days were between 60 and 90 miles per day.

I made some new friends along the way. Several motel rooms were donated along the way and I slept in several churches. Two nights were spent in my tent but as my friend in Austrailia says "the mozzies (mosquitoes) were little buggers". I wished that I hadn't lost those bug repellant wipes back in North Carolina. I've become quite proficient in killing mosquitoes by catching them when they land on the inside of the tent.

It took a little bit of time and riding but I got connected with a church in Gulfport that needs me as a volunteer for a while. St. James Baptist Church is a small black church. Yesterday afternoon, Pastor Eddie Hartwell, Sr. welcomed me with arms stretched out wide. He says that I can be with them as long as I want to be here. The second floor Sunday school classrooms have been converted as bedrooms. I was given one to myself so I can have the recumbent in the room with me. An extra plus, is that the church has wireless internet access.

Overall, the reception that I've gotten from the church members that I've met has been pretty friendly. It will be interesting worshipping with them on Sunday. I've only worshipped at two other black churches in all of the travels that I've done these past thirteen years.

I am not really sure how long I'll be here in Gulfport. We'll be taking it day by day. I still would like to make it to Bay St. Louis, Pearlington, and Waveland to see how things are there because these cities were the first ones destroyed when Hurricane Katrina made landfall. This also depends on whether there are any hurricanes this year that might affect the Coast. We've been pretty fortunate since none of the hurricanes made landfall this year and there was only one tropical storm that made landfall. There is still about seven weeks left in the hurricane season.

I'll try and post and update as often as I can if my plans change. The next update should be posted between October 13th and October 20th. This all depends if and how I can get connected to the web when I get to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.