Thursday, April 24, 2008
Day #29... Post for the day: The last "Daily Journal"
Thursday April 24, 2008, 0 miles (0 km) - Total so far: 2,973 miles (4,785 km)
Today was the last day of riding, and it was a tough one. I started the morning off on a great bike path going 16 miles through beautiful forests and swamps and saw lots of wildlife. All sorts of birds, deer, lizards, fish, insects, etc. After I left the dense jungle, I was in the open and exposed to the harsh realities of a strong headwind, all day. Yeah, 85 miles of headwind. Stupid. If only to add insult to injury, in addition to the wind, after 29 days of pedaling and not actually getting rained on, and after I had mailed my rain gear home, I got dumped on twice, which left me damp all day. It was so hot and humid, there probably wasnt much of a difference anyway. It was much tougher physically today but mentally I was pretty comfortable. Knowing that St. Augustine was getting closer and closer gave me some motivation. I saved a turtle today, which was cool. I was cruising along and noticed a 8-10lb turtle about to cross the road, and he/she surely would have been hit, so I stopped and carried it to the other side and off it went! As I entered St. Augustine, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I saw the "Welcome to St. Augustine" sign so I figured I should get a picture. That led to a nice chain reaction of favorable events. A guy by the name of Sten was bicycling by and I solicited him to take a picture for me. After telling him what I was doing, he was impressed and wanted to offer me a celabratory beer. I accepted and ended up hanging out with him and his wife, Steph, for a few hours on their sailboat. One of their boat neighbors also works at a local hotel and she hooked me up with an employee-rate of $49 for the night, as opposed to their $179 standard rate. I'd say the hotel is worth $49, but $179 would be asking a bit much.. After I left the boat, I rode to the beach, took a few photos, and then dived into the water headfirst. Yep, that's right.. ran out into the ocean and went under! It was very refreshing and I even had a lady do a videoclip for me. I will put that up tonight if I can get windows movie maker working on this computer. Otherwise, it'll be in a day or two. After jumping in, I sat on the beach and ate half a Jimmy Johns sandwhich I had carried all day from Gainesville. I didn't want to eat any more though and ruin my appetite for dinner. I had heard a lot about a place called the A1A Ale House and wanted to go there, but they had no burgers, and that's what I was craving. I went to another pub and got a mediocre burger and some lemonade. I've had a few people wondering what I was going to do with my bike and how I was going to get home. I am renting a car here in St. Augustine through Avis and doing a 1-way rental to Orlando, where I'll be flying on to Seattle and then Anchorage on Saturday. As far as my bike goes, I'll pick up a bike box here or in Orlando and take it on the plane for me. Most airlines charge about $50-75 for this, but UPS or FedEx charge $200, so it's a better deal. I'll be putting up a few photos next, and then in a few days, a last "Final Thoughts, Advice, & Warnings" post... I'll need some time to digest everything and come up with some ideas that may be helpful to others. In the meantime, enjoy the pics in the next post...
Today was the last day of riding, and it was a tough one. I started the morning off on a great bike path going 16 miles through beautiful forests and swamps and saw lots of wildlife. All sorts of birds, deer, lizards, fish, insects, etc. After I left the dense jungle, I was in the open and exposed to the harsh realities of a strong headwind, all day. Yeah, 85 miles of headwind. Stupid. If only to add insult to injury, in addition to the wind, after 29 days of pedaling and not actually getting rained on, and after I had mailed my rain gear home, I got dumped on twice, which left me damp all day. It was so hot and humid, there probably wasnt much of a difference anyway. It was much tougher physically today but mentally I was pretty comfortable. Knowing that St. Augustine was getting closer and closer gave me some motivation. I saved a turtle today, which was cool. I was cruising along and noticed a 8-10lb turtle about to cross the road, and he/she surely would have been hit, so I stopped and carried it to the other side and off it went! As I entered St. Augustine, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I saw the "Welcome to St. Augustine" sign so I figured I should get a picture. That led to a nice chain reaction of favorable events. A guy by the name of Sten was bicycling by and I solicited him to take a picture for me. After telling him what I was doing, he was impressed and wanted to offer me a celabratory beer. I accepted and ended up hanging out with him and his wife, Steph, for a few hours on their sailboat. One of their boat neighbors also works at a local hotel and she hooked me up with an employee-rate of $49 for the night, as opposed to their $179 standard rate. I'd say the hotel is worth $49, but $179 would be asking a bit much.. After I left the boat, I rode to the beach, took a few photos, and then dived into the water headfirst. Yep, that's right.. ran out into the ocean and went under! It was very refreshing and I even had a lady do a videoclip for me. I will put that up tonight if I can get windows movie maker working on this computer. Otherwise, it'll be in a day or two. After jumping in, I sat on the beach and ate half a Jimmy Johns sandwhich I had carried all day from Gainesville. I didn't want to eat any more though and ruin my appetite for dinner. I had heard a lot about a place called the A1A Ale House and wanted to go there, but they had no burgers, and that's what I was craving. I went to another pub and got a mediocre burger and some lemonade. I've had a few people wondering what I was going to do with my bike and how I was going to get home. I am renting a car here in St. Augustine through Avis and doing a 1-way rental to Orlando, where I'll be flying on to Seattle and then Anchorage on Saturday. As far as my bike goes, I'll pick up a bike box here or in Orlando and take it on the plane for me. Most airlines charge about $50-75 for this, but UPS or FedEx charge $200, so it's a better deal. I'll be putting up a few photos next, and then in a few days, a last "Final Thoughts, Advice, & Warnings" post... I'll need some time to digest everything and come up with some ideas that may be helpful to others. In the meantime, enjoy the pics in the next post...
Day #29... ST. AUGUSTINE!!!: I pedaled and pedaled, and now I'm done. Yay!
Thursday April 24, 2008, 101 miles (163 km) - Total so far: 2,973 miles (4,785 km)
I'll put up a more detailed final post later, but right now I am sitting on a 40 foot sailboat hanging out with some nice folks from Boston who offered me a beer and we're swapping stories. I asked Sten to take my photo when I made it to the St. Augustine sign and I followed him over to meet his wife and boat. Here's a few pics from the end :D
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276824&v=1U&size=large
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276825&v=1O&size=large
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276826&v=1I&size=large
I'll put up a more detailed final post later, but right now I am sitting on a 40 foot sailboat hanging out with some nice folks from Boston who offered me a beer and we're swapping stories. I asked Sten to take my photo when I made it to the St. Augustine sign and I followed him over to meet his wife and boat. Here's a few pics from the end :D
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276824&v=1U&size=large
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276825&v=1O&size=large
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=3Tzut&pic_id=276826&v=1I&size=large
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Day # 28... 1 Day Left: Trying to figure out what to do next in Gainesville, FL
Wednesday April 23, 2008, 120 miles (193 km) - Total so far: 2,872 miles (4,622 km)
Today I rode 120 miles. When I got done I had this weird feeling that I didn't accomplish enough. The past few days I've said were really easy. Today, well, I don't feel like I even rode my bike.. I think when I get home I'm going to need to climb 8000ft peaks in a day or go on 120+ mile bike rides to feel a sense of achievement again. It's like someone who does a lot of drugs, eventually they become desensitized to the drug and need more to get their fix. I am starting to feel like 120 miles on flat ground is too easy and unnoticeable. Tomorrow I am lined up to do around 90 miles, which is nothing compared to what I've been doing. Maybe I'll try sprinting the whole day, or staying in only one gear... Some sort of challenge. I'll be in St. Augustine by afternoon assuming nothing happens and then that's it. Done. No more road to ride going east. Only water. Maybe I could get a sea kayak and paddle to Africa. Today I started off with a crosswind, which turned to a great tailwind, which turned to a terrible headwind. Mostly it was a tailwind which was nice. Coming into Gainesville was great. All on bike lanes and through beautiful forests draped in Spanish Moss. Saw quite a few local bicyclists too. The funniest part of the day went like this.. At about mile 113 for the day, when I was making my way to the motel, some dumb-butt college guy starts hollering and heckling me as they pass out the passenger window. A lack of planning on their part landed them at a red light with plenty of time for me to catch up and confront them. I stopped right next to their car and here's how the dialogue went:Me: what's that? I couldn't understand you. Were you shouting something at me?Dufus: hey man, we weren't trying to mess with you or anything.Me: really? Why are you yelling then?Dufus: uhh...As I slowly reach down for my water bottle, almost dramatically...Me: Do you know what I like to do to people who yell at me while I'm riding? Dufus: uhh.. You like to squirt them with your water bottle? Me: yeah! But you know what I'm going to do today? ...unscrewing the lid and reaching for him... "I'm going to pour it in your lap." He has this look on his face like, "WTF!?" And the light goes green and his buddy quickly accelerates away. Hahahahahahahaha. I should have at least squirted him. I wasn't in the boonies where people might shoot me. These were two college punks who would be angry but probably laugh about it later.The other highlight of the evening was more Jimmy Johns. Yes! And I had it delivered so I didn't even have to leave.
Well, tomorrow is it. No more journal to type up and no bicycling for all ya'll to read about. Don't forget to look at the "normal" blog though, where you'll always be able to see the latest weddings and climbing/skiing/rafting/hiking adventures from Alaska.
Self Promotional Plug Here:http://www.chugachpeaks.blogspot.com/
I plan on doing some video tomorrow to document the final day, and will put up another youtube link within a day or two.
Today I rode 120 miles. When I got done I had this weird feeling that I didn't accomplish enough. The past few days I've said were really easy. Today, well, I don't feel like I even rode my bike.. I think when I get home I'm going to need to climb 8000ft peaks in a day or go on 120+ mile bike rides to feel a sense of achievement again. It's like someone who does a lot of drugs, eventually they become desensitized to the drug and need more to get their fix. I am starting to feel like 120 miles on flat ground is too easy and unnoticeable. Tomorrow I am lined up to do around 90 miles, which is nothing compared to what I've been doing. Maybe I'll try sprinting the whole day, or staying in only one gear... Some sort of challenge. I'll be in St. Augustine by afternoon assuming nothing happens and then that's it. Done. No more road to ride going east. Only water. Maybe I could get a sea kayak and paddle to Africa. Today I started off with a crosswind, which turned to a great tailwind, which turned to a terrible headwind. Mostly it was a tailwind which was nice. Coming into Gainesville was great. All on bike lanes and through beautiful forests draped in Spanish Moss. Saw quite a few local bicyclists too. The funniest part of the day went like this.. At about mile 113 for the day, when I was making my way to the motel, some dumb-butt college guy starts hollering and heckling me as they pass out the passenger window. A lack of planning on their part landed them at a red light with plenty of time for me to catch up and confront them. I stopped right next to their car and here's how the dialogue went:Me: what's that? I couldn't understand you. Were you shouting something at me?Dufus: hey man, we weren't trying to mess with you or anything.Me: really? Why are you yelling then?Dufus: uhh...As I slowly reach down for my water bottle, almost dramatically...Me: Do you know what I like to do to people who yell at me while I'm riding? Dufus: uhh.. You like to squirt them with your water bottle? Me: yeah! But you know what I'm going to do today? ...unscrewing the lid and reaching for him... "I'm going to pour it in your lap." He has this look on his face like, "WTF!?" And the light goes green and his buddy quickly accelerates away. Hahahahahahahaha. I should have at least squirted him. I wasn't in the boonies where people might shoot me. These were two college punks who would be angry but probably laugh about it later.The other highlight of the evening was more Jimmy Johns. Yes! And I had it delivered so I didn't even have to leave.
Well, tomorrow is it. No more journal to type up and no bicycling for all ya'll to read about. Don't forget to look at the "normal" blog though, where you'll always be able to see the latest weddings and climbing/skiing/rafting/hiking adventures from Alaska.
Self Promotional Plug Here:http://www.chugachpeaks.blogspot.com/
I plan on doing some video tomorrow to document the final day, and will put up another youtube link within a day or two.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Day #27... 2 Days Left: Hanging Out in a Super Cool B&B in Madison, FL
Tuesday April 22, 2008, 111 miles (179 km) - Total so far: 2,752 miles (4,429 km)
Tonight I am staying at a great B&B in Madison, FL. It is called the Four Freedoms B&B and Chapel. Yes, chapel... they do weddings here! The owners, Rae and Stephen are very nice and Rae took me to the grocery store a little while ago so I wouldn't have to ride. They do a cyclists discount so anyone coming along through here, check the place out. It's a great old building that has the oldest stained glass in Florida in it's chapel, and will be featured on a program on the Home and Garden channel soon. The whole place is decorated with wonderful antiques and the grounds are pretty. I took some pics and will put them up on the next post. Another easy day! The biggest excitement for me was getting Jimmy Johns for lunch.. and dinner. I bought two and stuck one in my bag and rode the rest of the day with it so I could eat it tonight :) Some of you might know about Jimmy Johns and the addicting nature of their bread, for those of you who don't know.. well, that's too bad. I also got a smoothie right after that and now my belly is happy. The route today was on nice roads with good shoulders, except one portion that was not part of the route. I decided to skip a bike trail leading south of Talahassee because going that way was so far out of the way, just to ride 6.5 miles on a bike trail. It seemed pretty silly to me because there was a perfectly good road as an alternate. Turns out it didn't have shoulders and I can see why they avoided it, but a single bike with no trailer isn't too hard to navigate, compared to a group or people with trailers, so I felt safe enough. Only two more easy days to go! I'll be in Gainsville tomorrow night, and that puts me at about 100 miles from St. Augustine for thursday. If I feel really good I can go a little further than Gainsville, giving me a shorter victory-ride into St. Augustine. I've got a few pictures to share so see the next post...
Tonight I am staying at a great B&B in Madison, FL. It is called the Four Freedoms B&B and Chapel. Yes, chapel... they do weddings here! The owners, Rae and Stephen are very nice and Rae took me to the grocery store a little while ago so I wouldn't have to ride. They do a cyclists discount so anyone coming along through here, check the place out. It's a great old building that has the oldest stained glass in Florida in it's chapel, and will be featured on a program on the Home and Garden channel soon. The whole place is decorated with wonderful antiques and the grounds are pretty. I took some pics and will put them up on the next post. Another easy day! The biggest excitement for me was getting Jimmy Johns for lunch.. and dinner. I bought two and stuck one in my bag and rode the rest of the day with it so I could eat it tonight :) Some of you might know about Jimmy Johns and the addicting nature of their bread, for those of you who don't know.. well, that's too bad. I also got a smoothie right after that and now my belly is happy. The route today was on nice roads with good shoulders, except one portion that was not part of the route. I decided to skip a bike trail leading south of Talahassee because going that way was so far out of the way, just to ride 6.5 miles on a bike trail. It seemed pretty silly to me because there was a perfectly good road as an alternate. Turns out it didn't have shoulders and I can see why they avoided it, but a single bike with no trailer isn't too hard to navigate, compared to a group or people with trailers, so I felt safe enough. Only two more easy days to go! I'll be in Gainsville tomorrow night, and that puts me at about 100 miles from St. Augustine for thursday. If I feel really good I can go a little further than Gainsville, giving me a shorter victory-ride into St. Augustine. I've got a few pictures to share so see the next post...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Day #26... 3 Days Left: Riding easy into Chattahoochee, FL
Monday April 21, 2008, 119 miles (192 km) - Total so far: 2,641 miles (4,250 km)
Another easy day. 119 mostly unexciting miles on highway 90.I started the day by getting a ride to the post office from the hotel and then back onto the route without missing a foot. Turns out if I would have rode it, I would have done 9 miles extra out of the way. I didn't feel like dealing with that. Another guest at the hotel had a truck and offered to take me. In my care package were chocalate chip cookies that Brook baked for me using my dad's recipe. Yum! I rode all day on highway 90 and didn't have any exciting moments except a few sad attempts by dogs to chase me. I expected more out of them. They hardly tried!I met a couple from northern British Columbia doing part of the Southern Tier and then following the Mississppi river north. They just retired and will be hiking the Appalachian Trail next.. Right after the bike trip. I almost bonked coming up the last hill into town. I didn't feel like eating today so that probably had something to do with it. I actually almost fainted and had to stop and regroup so I didn't crash the bike. A bannana and some gels and a few minutes rest got me going again the last mile into town. Since nothing happened today I'm sure tomorrow will deliver all sorts of excitement. We'll see!
Another easy day. 119 mostly unexciting miles on highway 90.I started the day by getting a ride to the post office from the hotel and then back onto the route without missing a foot. Turns out if I would have rode it, I would have done 9 miles extra out of the way. I didn't feel like dealing with that. Another guest at the hotel had a truck and offered to take me. In my care package were chocalate chip cookies that Brook baked for me using my dad's recipe. Yum! I rode all day on highway 90 and didn't have any exciting moments except a few sad attempts by dogs to chase me. I expected more out of them. They hardly tried!I met a couple from northern British Columbia doing part of the Southern Tier and then following the Mississppi river north. They just retired and will be hiking the Appalachian Trail next.. Right after the bike trip. I almost bonked coming up the last hill into town. I didn't feel like eating today so that probably had something to do with it. I actually almost fainted and had to stop and regroup so I didn't crash the bike. A bannana and some gels and a few minutes rest got me going again the last mile into town. Since nothing happened today I'm sure tomorrow will deliver all sorts of excitement. We'll see!
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