Day 15, Gulfport, Mississippi, 60 miles, 657 miles total

It was kind of a rough day today.  On the positive side, besides a few sprinkles, the rain didn't start until I was in my room again.  But on the negative side, Biloxi and Gulfport are two of the worst communities I've ever seen in terms of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

A rumble strip right in the middle of the bike lane on Hwy 188 just out of Bayou La Batre.  It was an omen of things to come.

As soon as Hwy 90 enters Mississippi it deteriorates badly.  Then when it nears Biloxi it improves dramatically, until it enters Biloxi, where the shoulders disappear completely.

There were sidewalks I could ride on in Biloxi, but after awhile even those vanished.  The traffic was fairly heavy so I decided to implement my backup plan, which was to follow Google Maps bicycle directions to the motel.  That wasn't much better.  It put me on a maze of side streets, only one which had bike lanes.  A few of these streets were multi-lane thoroughfares with a significant amount of traffic.

At one point I had to make a left turn at a busy intersection.  I opted to cross the street and then press the "walk" button for pedestrians.  I looked across the street for the walk sign, but there was none.  There was one on my side of the street but I couldn't read it because it had a metal grid over it that made it impossible to see from so close. So I had to watch traffic and guess when it was green.

At least they have the 3 foot law.

Pascagoula.  Who knew?

Just west of Pascagoula.

Closing in on Biloxi

A fishing boat heads out into the Gulf from Biloxi Bay.

The Biloxi Bay Bridge spans Biloxi Bay just east of Biloxi.

Presumably owned by Jimmy Buffett.

Biloxi is becoming the Atlantic City of the south.

No gambling Mecca is complete without a Hard Rock Casino

The lack of bike lanes and busy traffic had me stressed out and I had forgotten to stop for lunch.  It was 1:30 and I hadn't eaten anything since around 9 am.  I was getting weak.  I spotted a Subway and pulled in, but didn't get my foot unclipped in time so went over sideways right in front of the place.  I made quite the entrance.  No damage other than a small scratch on my left shin, and a bruised ego.

After finally making it to the motel and getting cleaned up. I tried to walk to the store across the street for some supplies.  It's a very busy 6-lane road, and I walked about an eighth of a mile to the nearest intersection with a traffic light so I could get across safely.

I couldn't believe it when I got there.  No crosswalks and no walk buttons or signs.  I waited for awhile for the light to change but it was not timed, and was only activated by vehicle sensors on the side street.  And when it finally changed for them, it was way too quick for me to get a across in the allotted time.

I gave up and walked back toward my motel, then darted across half the lanes during a break in traffic.  Then I stood on the island until the cars in the opposite direction backed up to the point where I could walk between them.

When they decided to lay out the streets here, they should have given the project to some local 4th graders.  I'm sure they would have done a better job.

NEXT---)