I left home at 8 a.m. and arrived in Titusville, Alabama, just east of Birmingham, at nightfall. Traffic was mercifully light with only a couple of slowdowns in eastern Tennessee.
My bike rack made buzzing noises the whole way but I fought back with loud music. I’m deaf now but them’s the breaks.
I took a bio break at a truck stop and checked hotel prices in Birmingham. They’re very high. So I grabbed a truck stop salad to save some money on dinner and drove until I saw a decent hotel. They gave me a 10% discount which was more than offset by over $40 in taxes. I kid you not.
The room is nice and the place is quiet. Tonight there are raging storms about 300 miles west of here. Some will pass through overnight. I expect to drive in heavy rain for 4 or 5 hours tomorrow. At least my bike will be clean.
Time to shower.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Glad you made it to Alabama! You can get a discount if you book your hotel via the internet. Then show up and tell them you have a reservation that you made online. Hope the rains aren’t too bad tomorrow!