According to Katherine: Day 45

It was a chilly 45 degrees this morning in Pascagoula. The beds and pillows at the motel were awful, but the kindnesses of the management made up for it! They added hard boiled eggs and yogurt for us to complement the cereal and English muffins (fun foreshadowing, little did we know!) they usually offer. I had two eggs and a yogurt, and took a PB&J sandwich and nuts to snack on.

We were pedaling 43 miles under clear skies to Dauphin Island, AL. We left at 8:30 a.m. for what is now considered a very short ride! It was a gorgeous ride, except for a tiring head wind. We stopped at the "Welcome to Alabama" sign and took lots of photos.

Today, Alabama. Tuesday, it's Florida!

Along the way I was careful about hydration, which is hard when it's cooler and you don't feel thirsty. I ate the sandwich and worked on the nuts. At the end of the ride, we saw the 3.7-mile bridge in the distance. As we approached it loomed higher, but it was only a six percent grade -- fun going up and over!

The 3.7-mile bridge we crossed.

It's beginning to look like the beach.

At the end of the bridge was our lunch destination, Barnacle Bill's. Most of us ordered the blackened grouper sandwich and sweet potato fries with freshly brewed iced tea. Divine. Just as the seven of us were finishing, an attractive 60-ish male cyclist opened the door and exclaimed loudly enough for the whole restaurant to hear, "I've found them! I've finally found the girls."

He was so excited to find us!

He was Dave of Dave, Matthew and John, three Brits who are doing the same route across America that we are. The two cyclists call themselves "Two Tykes on Bikes." It seems that men in Yorkshire, England are called "tykes." They had heard about us several weeks ago, and had been "chasing us" ever since. They are doing about 100 miles per day. John drives the RV, which is their SAG and sleeping vehicle. We had an uproarious half hour visit. They said they saw the bikes out in front of the restaurant, and thought they'd take a chance that it was "the girls." Their blog, which Dave writes in rhyme, is www.dmjacrossusa.tumblr.com.

Dave's great logo: Two Tykes on Bikes.

Dave, Matthew, and John wearing our WomanTours safety triangles.

After all the hoopla, during which Dave and Matthew scarfed up every one of our leftover sweet potato fries, they were off for 40 more miles, and we pedaled a mile or so to our comfy digs at the Dauphin Island Beach Resort, where we will be for the night and tomorrow for our rest day. We have a washer and dryer in our condo -- pure luxury!

We celebrated our guide Carol's birthday with her favorite meal: lasagna, spinach and strawberry salad and garlic and cheese bread. Her brother had arranged for a gorgeous cake that tasted like tiramisu, and three kinds of ice cream. I could not resist the cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

What a memorable day it was. Rest tomorrow will be divine. 2,532 miles behind us. 568 miles to pedal. Only 11 days and hundreds of WOCN Scholarship Fund donations to go.

Dr. Jeter Day 45 on Polyvore.com