seeking ideas for expanding alabama coastal connection route

[bobbiedobbs]

Hi: Just read Cindy Ross' article in the Dec/Jan issue - she writes about a 160-mile route in the Mobile, AL area, basically a loop that starts in Grand Bay, then across through Dauphin Island to Gulf Shores, north to Foley and Fairhope and then ending in Mobile. This sounds intriguing but I need more miles to make this worth my while. Any ideas of how to branch into surrounding parts of Alabama/FLA/Miss to make this a say, 250-350 mile route? Looking for some general ideas. I would want to make this a loop trip starting and ending in Mobile, probably (where I could ship my bike to and from, and fly in and out of...)

[lilybelle]

One idea would be to go from Grand Bay to Pascagoula and then west along the Mississippi coast as far as you wanted, along hwy 90, hitting Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis. Hwy 90 has a good shoulder from Pascagoula to Ocean Springs, but from Biloxi westward I would suggest using the pathway along the beach due to heavy traffic and no shoulder. It would be out and back unless you wanted to loop northward and back through the Desoto National Forest, which does have some nice biking roads.

Another worthwhile detour would be to go east along the beach from Gulf Shores to Perdido Key, checking out FloraBama and Johnson Beach at the eastern end of the island.