Post tour thoughts #1

I've been meaning to say this for a while, but before I forget: We are living lives of enormous luxury! After you're out there on the bike, with nothing but your own energy to get you places, camping, etc. you come to realize that "normal" life is quite luxurious. All of our needs get fulfilled with very little effort on our parts. You won't believe this, of course, but its true! I think this leads to the next observation, which is that people have an innate need to complain or be dissatisfied with things. The better off we are, the more trivial the things become, but we still *feel* the same sort of dissatisfaction. Studies show that if you make a million dollars a year, you will still feel unhappy if you think your friends are making two million a year. That makes a kind of psychological sense, of course, but from an objective viewpoint, its silly. And... its a sad (but also wonderful) aspect of human existence that we are anything but objective!

Day 58, Wed. March 10, 2010: Silver Springs to Ocala, 6

Odo 5882.8
I got up, and rode very slowly into Ocala. Its a pretty big city, so I spent a fair amount of time finding the motel we had reserved for that night. I got there about noon, and spent the rest of the day just lazing around. After sitting around for an hour or so, I start feeling even more tired. Thursday, I felt just as tired, or maybe more so. Friday, I started feeling better. The way I felt friday was much like the way I would have felt if I had ridden 100 miles the previous day in normal circumstances. The next long tour I do, I am taking more rest days!

Day 57, March 9, 2010: St Augustine to Silver Springs 86.60

Odo 5796.1
Actually, this is from Anastasia Island to Silver Springs. Details can be so pesky, don'tchaknow?

I felt better, and I think the accomplishment was finally sinking in to me. I was pretty tired after riding so many days straight, and in fact, I had not taken any rest days since Feb 12th, when I resumed the eastern part of the tour from the Blanco picnic table. Well, ok, there was one day where I only rode 25 miles, but I don't think that is as restful as not riding at all! Anyway, it occurs to me that I'm probably a lot more tired than I felt, and I do feel tired. I decide that maybe I can make it to Ocala, which is where I'm meeting up with Sara, who has driven from Austin to pick me up. Then I can just rest the next day, having arrived a day early. The only problem with this plan is that its about 90 miles to Ocala. I take a more direct route down the coast and then inland back to Palatka, where I stop again at Angel's diner, and have another one of those wonderful chocolate milkshakes! After lunch I realize that I have about 45 miles left to get to Ocala, and about 2.5-3 hours left to do it in. I figure its doable if I am diligent. Its very pretty going through the Ocala National forest, and I make pretty good time, however, it gets dark when I have about 5 miles left to go, so I stay at a motel in Silver Springs.

Day 56 (Mar 8): Palatka to St. Augustine 54.59

Odo 5796.1

It was a pretty day. I followed the route as best I could, but gave up during an intricate series of turns. I finally took the main highway into town. A woman in a pickup shouted to me, "Are you part of a group?" I assumed she was following a group, but had misplaced them. It was hard to stay on the route when the roads say 14 miles to St. Augustine, and you know your route will take you 25 miles.

It did lead me to the St. James River with some beautiful scenery. I met up with a couple who have just started and who seem very nice. Their blog is on crazyguyonabike.com, and it's called, "You're going to do what?"

Getting to St. Augustine, I crossed the Lion's Bridge to get to the beach. The sand here is very fine, like powder, and it was very hard to get the bike to the ocean. A guy with two kids snapped my picture as I stood watching helplessly as the sea washed over my shoes. "The waves hadn't been that high before," I thought. "Oh, yeah, the tide." Then I called Sara, and she and Joanna cheered for me.

Afterwards, I dragged the bike off the beach with the tires leaving six inch deep grooves in the sand. I checked into a cheap motel, but it was too cheap and a smoking room, so I checked out. Then I checked into the Sleep Inn. While checking in, the bike fell over and got a small dent in the top tube. I knew I would need a lot of beer tonight. I'm pretty bummed about it as I feel this has ended its life as a reliable bike. I knew it wasn't a very stable parking place.

I found the A1A Ale Works Brewery Restaurant in a tourist guide, and I decided to eat there. I had a seafood phyllo and a couple of beers - very nice. Sara is driving out here and will be meeting me in a couple of days, and we'll travel a little before going home.

Day 55 (Mar 7): Gainseville to Palatka 65.5

facilities on the bike trail!


Odo 5675.8

The route out of town quickly went on to a bicycle rail trail for about 16 miles, and my opinion of rail trails has definitely changed for the better. It was very pretty, and there were lots of cyclists. I talked to a woman for 5 to 6 miles until she and her boyfriend took another path. When we came to a stop sign, she stopped completely by putting her foot down. She told me that police actively ticket these intersections because of serious accidents in the past year. The fine for running a stop sign on a bicycle is $200. I can readily understand how these accidents would happen given that the visibility at these intersections is usually not very good compared to regular streets.

I stopped at a convenience store in Hawthorn. They have a one inch thick piece of steel painted like a bullseye. There are two 50 caliber machine gun cartridges on each side, and a hole through it with a bullet protruding from one side. The lady running the store told me that she bought her husband a 50 caliber single-shot machine gun, and it shot through the steel without noticeable damage to the bullet. This was evident when she pushed the bullet out with her finger and showed it to me. She said if you missed the target, the bullet would travel 2 miles before it would stop unless it hit something or someone else on its way. She also had the regular boiled peanuts and (ta-da!) Cajun boiled peanuts.

I stopped at Angel's in Palatka, which is Florida's oldest diner. Loads of charm. There were 3 boys (tweens, I guessed) seated at the counter, and three more came in. One of the waitresses said, "Oh, Lord, save me." The waitress's concern was on the mark. One of the boys said, "Hey, I'm ADHD," like he knew he was going to need an excuse for something. He needed the excuse; they were pretty rambunctious. I had a black bottom sandwich, which is scrambled egg, bacon and hamburger meat all formed together into a patty. It sounded better than it tasted. The chocolate shake was very good, though, so I ordered a second one. They use real whipped cream. Yum.

Continued on to St. John's Campground where the office was closed, so I picked a spot and set up. The sunset was beautiful. I would have paid up in the morning, but they were closed. This seems to be Motorcycle Week, as there are lots and lots of 'em on the road.

Day 54 (Mar 6) Ichetucknee Springs to Gainesville 56

Odo 5619.4

I don't think I have any ticks, so I made the right choice.

I left late from the Springs because I knew it would be a short ride to Gainesville. One thing I've been noticing is that boiled peanuts are a big thing here. Nearly every convenience store has a sign offering them. I should probably try this local delicacy.

I've been wondering at the numbered streets in the countryside. I've seen them up to 50 miles outside Gainesville. Many roads have three names: the country road number, a street name, and a city number, e.g. County Road 232, Wheeler St., and NW 153d Ave. This seems to be an extension of the Gainesville street system; still, it's strange to encounter 50 miles outside of town. It's similar to the area around Phoenix, which our cousin, Benny Corchine, said was to accommodate future growth. Gainesville seems really spread out for a city of 100,000. Certainly, it seems larger in area than Tallahassee.

Day 53 (Mar 5): Suwanee River to Ichetucknee Springs 60

Ichetucknee Springs
Odo 5559.2

There are a series of about six springs here which produce quite a lot of water forming a river. I stayed at the Ichetucknee Campground. I was looking at my map at a convenience store near the entrance to the Campground, and the guy who runs the store came out and said, "You're on the right road."

I said, "Yeah, I figured that. I just wanted to see if I should try to make the next campground."

He said, "Well, it'd be nice if you camp here. I've got plenty of spots, and there's no one else here. You can name your own price."

I said, "The going rate's about $10," and he said, "OK."

And then I said, "I've got about an hour and a half left, so I'm still trying to see if I can make it to the next campground."

He replied, "It's about 10 miles further down the road to the blinking red light. Then you take a right. And then, a mile or so further, the entrance to the park is on your left. But they have ticks in their campground, and I have a tick-free campground."

I was sold. I liked his sense of humor. I told him I'd go look at the springs, and then return to sign in. Apparently, Florida has more springs than any other state because it sits on limestone full of holes. Usually the water goes underground and stays there for about 40 years before coming back up.

I went to the little store to register, nuke an extra large cheeseburger, and dine like a king. The king of a very small, somewhat impoverished land. We talked about knives in China over his stock of literature extolling the wonders of our land. There was a big sign outside the store saying, "No fertilizers." Apparently, fertilizer gets in the springs and causes algae. The guy said he'd had the sign up for 30 years.

Day 52 (Mar 4): Tallahassee to Suwanee River 100

Odo 5454.8

Got up early & left before 8:00. Didn’t like the motel, which appears to be a good way for me to get going early. Stopped at MickyD’s for breakfast and then went to the laundry down the street. Nice laundromat with good machines and TVs, but poor channel choices. I was trapped in a confrontational hosted show. Just wanted to wash my stuff as soon as possible after being in another filthy room. Stopped at wonderful mom & pop restaurant at mile 90 for some great prime rib. My carver had received liver (successful) and kidney (unsuccessful) transplants.

It was dark for the last 9 miles of my ride today when I reached the Suwannee River State Park. The gates were closed, so I’m here illegally. This state park has the nicest restroom I’ve ever seen, with even a washer & dryer in the facility. (By the way, the lyrics for Foster's Swanee River, the Florida State song, can be found here: http://musicanet.org/robokopp/usa/waydownu.htm. Feel free to hum the tune.)

Day 51 (Mar 3): Marianna to Tallahassee 74.7

Odo 5380.1

Beautiful day with a nice tail wind. The hill, after crossing the river into Chattahoochee, is a pretty good hill, taking me about 5 minutes. I stopped at The Station for their Philly special at the top. There were about six other cyclists heading west there, including a guy with a BOB (beast of burden trailer) carrying 65 pounds. He does construction supervision on the microwave telescope in Antarctica. An unassuming guy, he has done a lot of interesting things like being a Colorado river raft guide. He decided to do the Southern tier, and within two weeks he ordered a bike and gear, and started out without any training. His home is in a very deserted part of northern Alaska, a 4 1/2 hour drive after leaving the paved road.

Made it to Tallahassee after dusk, had pizza and checked into the Cactus Motel, the worst I've stayed in. Roaches, stains on the sheets, and who knows what else.... I couldn't wait to leave.

Day 50 (Mar 2): DeFuniak Springs to Marianna 61.91

Odo 5318.2

Road in fear of rain, but the roads were dry all day. Cloudy & dreary, which is too bad because even pretty country can look pretty gloomy. Generally favorable winds.

Day 49 (Mar 1): Milton to DeFuniak Springs 68

Odo 5248.1

This was a warm, pretty day, and I found an open bike shop in Milton where I could get a tire. The bike shop had an exact replacement for my tire. Then I started down the Black Water Trail, a converted railroad track. I've been dismissive of railroad track conversions in the past, but I have to say that riding on this one was a good experience. The gradients are all very nice, almost imperceptible.

I had a pleasant day riding through Blackwater River State Forest on very small roads with almost no traffic. I finished riding on 90, which didn't have too much traffic.

Day 48 (Feb 28): Gulf Beach to Milton 47.5

Odo 5200.6

The Bagel Head Cafe is in Gulf Beach off of 14th St. after you make a turn, so don't eat at a service station like I did.

I saw some guys working in their garage, and I impulsively asked them if they could drill holes in my watch band, which was falling to pieces. They not only had drill bits; they drilled the holes in a drill press for utmost precision in watch holes.

My rear tire was chewed up alive today. A chunk of rubber the size of a quarter was removed from the tire as if it were bitten off by some rabid animal.

Day 47 (Feb 27): Dauphin Island to Gulf Beach 48

Odo 5143.9

Florida, Florida - my last state!

Was saddened to realize this morning that the iPod wouldn't charge; it's really gone.

Got up, repacked the tent, the tent fly (which I had tried to wash some more to reduce the souvenir of the cat visitor a couple of nights ago), and the clothes I'd washed. Left the motel about 10:30 and headed for the Lighthouse Bakery, where I enjoyed a bacon spiral, strawberry cream cheese danish, croissant, and chocolate chip cookie - the breakfast of champions. The day was brightening up quickly, and the roads were dry by the time I was leaving the bakery.

I discovered that my saddle had shifted all the way to the back, so I got my wrench out and readjusted it. This explained why I was having trouble with sitting further back and the discomfort of the resulting pressure on my crotch.

The cookies at the bakery were good, so I got a half dozen before heading on my way.

I took a ferry from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan. I spoke to some people who were standing around their car waiting for the ferry to come. On the ferry, I talked to a guy with a Sprinter RV conversion van. He had eight feet of headroom in his van.

I've dubbed this day's ride "the endless beach house / condo parade." Pretty land that varies between beach scrub and pine forest. I'm camping at Big Lagoon State Recreation Area. The clerk asked for my phone number, and bingo! they had my info. This is because they use the same on-line reservation service the Texas parks use. The campground is pretty, but the charge was $22, which is about what Texas parks charge, but seems steep after the RV places' $10-$16 charges. The RV places often have better showers, laundry, etc., but lack the beauty the parks usually have.

About 2:30 AM I thought I heard something, so I took a look. A raccoon was checking out my panniers. I tried to threaten him, but his response was more like, "Oh, hi. Thanks for leaving these things out for me. You're a nice guy. Do you want to watch me eat your panniers?" I got up and tried to figure out somewhere to hang my panniers. After about 20 minutes, I got them hung up, so the knots I've spent the last few years learning finally came in handy.

Day 46 (Feb 26): Vancleave to Dauphin Island 72.22

Odo 5071.5

And I made it to sweet home Alabama. Well, maybe not my home, but beautiful Dauphin Island.

Stopped in Hurley, MS, at a bakery where I got some great chocolate chip cookies. Decided a balanced diet was needed, so I had lunch there at Lotta Burger - a steak sandwich. Steak sandwiches in Mississippi aren't like those Philly cheese steaks; they come chicken fried in the south!

Busy roads, but few stores or other stops. Of course, there are the ever present realty store fronts. I think they're even more ubiquitous than nail salons, although both are equally useful to me.

Wearing cycling attire here is a bit more difficult for the local folk to digest. It's mostly men who react to the clothes. This makes sense as a violation of the "male code" is taken more seriously here. No hostility from people in restaurants or stores, though. I'm surprised that the drivers are so hostile here because it is a rural area, and there are few driving irritations, the usual cause of driver meanness.

I took a short cut, but two thirds of it turned out to be dirt, and 10% of that was unrideable dirt. Luckily, it was short, and I was done pretty quickly, so the short cut was a success. It was a bit of a grind to get to Dauphin Island because, although it is flat, there was about an 8 to 14 mph headwind. This was on the 5 mile causeway to the island.

The day has been sunny & pretty, warm enough to take off my jacket, skull cap and mittens. I found the motel & checked in. The room was nice, with a ramp making it easy to get the bike inside. I turned the heater on and put the iPod in the vent hoping it would dry better than it did outdoors the night before.

I ate at a place called the Oar House. Good gumbo.

Day 45 (Feb 25): Poplarville to Vancleave 78.26

Stayed at the White Sands RV Park. There really are white sands in Mississippi. It looks like the river floods occasionally leaving very pretty white sand deposits. The people there were very nice.

Day 44 (Feb 24): Franklinton to Poplarville

Made it to Mississippi!

A man & woman in a red Ram pickup passed me in Bugaloosa. They honked at me, and the woman called me a c**ks**ker. Bicyclists are obviously not universally loved. The frequency of mean drivers has been a little bit higher in Louisiana and Mississippi, but I'm not sure it's statistically significant.

I stayed at the lovely Hacienda RV Park where I had a truly terrible night. Besides sleep difficulties, I woke up to discover that my new iPod Touch (given to me on my birthday by my generous mother-in-law) had spent the night in a pool of Diet Coke at the bottom of my bag. My iPod has been both a source of entertainment and a method of writing these blog entries. In addition, my tent fly had been comprehensively sprayed by a cat, which was going to be an ever present reminder of my nocturnal visitor. I first devoted my efforts to my iPod, and then I tried to clean off the tent fly. I finally packed up and moved on to Vancleave.

Day 43: Easleyville to Franklinton 52.57

Odo 4878.1 morn

I got up determined not to use the restroom if possible due to the mud inside it which smells much like cow manure. In Kentwood, I had breakfast at the sonic and watched a guy doing something next door. It turned out that he was doing environmential monitoring. In particular, he was checking groundwater levels and peterolium contaminants. We had an interesting conversation which included mention of a bamboo farm near Franklinton. His wife wanted to plant some black bamboo. I had never heard of black bamboo!

After another 5 miles or so I arrived at the day's most important stop. It is a small cabin which sits on about 25 acres of pine forest. My father built it when I was very young, and it became the only constant "home" we had while I was growing up. Not that we ever lived there, but we always came back to visit my grandparents and relatives. My father died a few years ago, and the cabin remains the only part of his estate we have not dealt with. For these reasons, visiting it brings up some sadness for me, and after spending an hour or so there, I left to continue on to Franklinton.

Day 42: Morganza to Easleyville 72.26

Odo 4805.8 morn

The day started out cloudy, but improved to give a few sunny hours during the prettiest part of the day's riding. After about 14 more miles of levee, I got to the ferry that would take me to St. Francesville. There was no one waiting on my side of the river so I had the entire ferry to myself! I ended up just standing there holding my bike talking to one of the crew. We had a pretty interesting conversation (after the usual "Where are you going on that bike?") about technology, the Internet, Big Brother, etc. St. Francesville is a very pretty town with lots of historic stuff plus the 8 Sisters restaurant where I ate lunch. The Audobon preserve is east of the city, and one of the most beautiful stretches of road I've enjoyed. There is also a nature conservancy site with free access to trails. It seems to me a Mecca for bird watchers. The route became more agricultural, and I stopped at a small RV park with poor facilities right past Easleyville.

Day 41: Ville Platte to Morganza 108.0

Odo 4697.2 morn

Wolfram was ready at 7:30, but I was just getting up! He left, and I said, "I'll catch up, maybe." He is planning to take a short cut that will cut out a lot of miles because the route makes a strange detour northward by about 35 miles. I decided to stick to the route because it went along the river and appeared to offer scenic interest. By evening I was still 10 miles short of New Roads, where Wolfram planned to camp for the night. It was just about fully dark. There was a nice RV place here, so I decided not to ride after dark since the road is fairly busy even though it does have a shoulder. Perhaps more importantly, I was really tired! Two thirds of the ride today was against a moderate headwind. The longer route I took didn't seem to offer anything special except little traffic and plenty of time to look at the levee. Maybe I will catch up tomorrow...

Day 40: Mamou to Ville Platte 10

Odo 4663.2 morn

I got up around 7:30, and was ready in a flash. This is because I packed everything up the night before because I was worried about the place possibly burning down and I wanted to be able to quickly leave. I went outside and took a few pictures. Wolfram came out and was shocked to find I was ready to go. He said he'd be ready in about 50 minutes. I told him it would be the only time I'd be ready before him!

We left, and we were in Ville Platte by 9:30. We rode around for about an hour looking at hotels, but there are really only two: cheap or expensive. We chose cheap. I ended up spending a couple of hours trying to find a laundromat; but there isn't one in this city of 8,000 people! Finally I discovered one just outside the city limits! So, the day's riding breakdown: 10 miles to get to Ville Platte, and 20 miles looking for a laundry! I should have just hand washed my stuff. Still, it was a beautiful day!

Day 39: DeRidder to Mamou 70.37

Odo 4592.8

I got up at about 7:30, but Wolfram was already up, and he left at 8! I ended up leaving (effectively) at 11! I did my stuff, wrote an entry for the guestbook, and then rode back to DeRidder to eat breakfast. This added about 6-7 miles onto the day.

The day started with some light cloudiness, but got sunny in the early afternoon. There was a mild headwind, but progress was reasonable, riding through pine forests, ranchland, rice fields, and crawfish fields. At least, I thought they were crawfish fields, based on some strange boats that look like they were designed to harvest in the "fields"!

Arriving at Mamou, I searched out the RV park, and it was pretty minimal. There were also motel rooms, and the clerk said that he'd give me a room at the same price that "my buddy" got ($25). He also told me that the campground didn't have showers, so I went with the room. The room was only one step from condemnation and didn't even have a key, although the door did lock from the inside. The plumbing and heater worked, and there was a bed with sheets, so it was ok, but it is the most depressing room I've had yet. I decided even the laundry room I slept in was more cheery, although a little less functional as a room!

I rode back to the town and quickly encountered Wolfram, and we talked a bit. Then I continued on and ate at a Cajun restaurant that gave me about a 1.5 pound portion of fried catfish. I took about half back to the room, but I don't know what I'll do with it!