Southern Tier - Birmingham, AL

My last city on my Alabama Civil Rights City Trifecta was Birmingham, where I visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and National Monument next to the 16th Street Baptist Church. It's the church where the 4 little girls lost their lives due to a bombing of the church by the KKK. 

Additionally, MLK Jr. targeted Birmingham for his civil rights campaign because it was considered the most segregated city in the South.  

Southern Tier - Selma, AL

Southern Tier - Road Trip - Montgomery

Dexter Parsonage- MLK Jr. House.  He lived here with his family from 1954 to 1960.  The same house was bombed in 1956.  

Dr. Shirley Cherry (pictured) provided me with the honor of opening the front door to MLK Jr's home, just like Dr. King would have done back in the day.

Dr. Shirley Cherry, also allowed me to sit at Dr. King's kitchen table where he had his most (self-proclaimed) profound spiritual epiphany of his life on Friday night, Jan. 27, 1956.

...."With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud….The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory.” ~MLK

Dr. Shirley Cherry (our tour guide on the right) introduced our group to Mrs. Vera Harris (seat on the left, holding my hand). 

 Mrs. Harris and her last husband, Dr. Richard Harris, housed the Freedom Riders who had risked their lives to challenge interstate transit segregation. Upon the Freedom Riders arrival to Alabama’s Capital City on May 20, 1961, they were brutally beaten at the Greyhound Bus Station downtown. With a state of Marshal Law declared, the Freedom Riders were ultimately extracted under the protection of the National Guard, and secretly and safely taken to the Harris’ home for a respite.

Mrs. Harris and her late husband’s house is located only a few houses away on the same street as where MLK Jr. and his family house was located. Mrs. Harris still lives in the same house today at the age of 94. She was present the night Dr. King’s house was bombed. Living history.

We make a quit stop at Dr. King's barbershop at the end of his street where a cute guy was getting his haircut.

 Located in downtown, at a the site of her arrest, is the world's only museum dedicated to Rosa Parks. 

On the Civil Rights Memorial are inscribed the names of individuals who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom during the modern Civil Rights Movement - 1954 to 1968.

So much history on these steps. It's where Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the President of the Confederate States in 1861, and where MLK Jr. spoke after the Selma-to-Montgomery march in 1965 - a 104 years later.

After this tour of the Dexter Baptist Church, where MLK Jr was the preacher, I realize how center the church was to the civil rights movement. This is where they held numerous town meetings

I stop to take a picture of the Alabama State University and randomly walked by this historical marker. There's so much history in this city.

Southern Tier - Food

When you're on the road cycling everyday, basically you eat what you can find... most restaurants, fast food joints, motels, or dinners don't specialize in vegetables and fruit. 

Chris' Hot Dogs - Montgomery, AL

Wintzell's Oyster House - Montgomery AL

Quality Inn - Pensacola, FL

"Trash Plate" (hash browns w/ ham, cheese, onions, tomatoes, etc.) Waffle Iron, Marianna, FL

Cycling in Alabama

Most of the roads I've been cycling on in Alabama have been very desolate - not a lot of car or congested areas.

I don't know much about the weather down here, but I'm guessing, by the calendar, it's spring, even though it feels like summer. It's been almost 90 everyday.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of shade on the road. When I start to feel myself overhear, I 20 feet off the road under the nearby trees to cool off. It should be a little cooler as I head north, plus my body's starting to adjust.

Camping - Aliceville, AL

Leaving Mobile AL

About 30 minutes into my ride on my first day on my way out of Mobile AL it started to rain.






I really don't mind the rain, as much as I mind the heat and wind.

National African American Archives, Mobile AL

Ms. Dees, the founding President and Executive Director and one of two employees, gave myself and another patron a two hour tour of the Archives. It's been the highlight of my trip so far.

Off to Mobile AL

DISCOVER AMERICA'S LEGENDARY ROUTE TO FREEDOM

I should be in Mobile around 4 PM this evening. I'll be staying in a motel for the first two nights, taking care of last minute preparations and/or unanticipated mishaps like my bike not arriving on the same plane. If everything goes as planned, I’ll check-out the National African-American Archives and Museum tomorrow and then on Friday pedal north - starting with a 45 mile ride to my first campsite.