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!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Day #25...The Sunshine State Welcomes Me!: Tapping a Keg of Orange Juice in Crestview, FL
google maps versionSunday April 20, 2008, 125 miles (201 km) - Total so far: 2,522 miles (4,059 km)
Today the sunshine state welcomed me with beautiful weather, a slight tailwind, and mostly good roads all day. Before Florida though, I had a great morning in Alabama.Here's how it started; I woke up and got the bike loaded to find out my tire was low on air, I went to fill it with my brand new CO2 pump and couldn't figure out why that wouldn't work. I got the job mostly done with the hand pump and then took off to catch the ferry. While ferrying, I went back to solving the non-functioning CO2 pump problem. Turns out, the guy at the bike shop who sold it to me a few days ago gave me a pump that requires 16g non-threaded CO2 catridges, and then gave me 4 threaded 16g cartridges. Basically I didn't have anything that worked. I decided I'd stop at a bike shop today and get things squared away.
After getting off the ferry I saw a group of cyclists taking a break and waved. A few minutes later, they caught up to me and told me to hop on their paceline. I am always accepting of a free ride like that so I got on the wheel of the last guy. They wanted to know where I was going so I filled them in on all the details. One of the guys asked if I had everything I needed and if I had any problems and I told him about the pump. He offered to trade me his, and also gave me a few more CO2 cartridges! The best part is his pump will accept any CO2 cartidge so now I am totally set and feel much better about getting a flat. In case you're not familiar, handpumps are really tough to pump a tire up to it's required pressure (100-120psi), and I always top it off with a CO2 to make sure it's good to ride on.
I found out that this was a triathalon training ride and the 4 cyclists all had really nice, lightweight triathalon-configured bikes that made my Cannondale look like a truck. Suprisingly, I was able to keep up to their pace and even pull my fair share of leads in the front. We were cruising pretty fast for about 25 miles, around 22-24mph most of the time.
The guy who gave me the pump told me they had done a triathalon yesterday, and when I said "And you're out riding again today?!?"... without missing a beat he chirped back, "You've ridden 100 miles a day for the past 25 days and you're doing it again today??!" I see his point. I am probably the crazier one.
I split from them just after Gulf Shores, and made my way into Florida. I was again dissapointed to find no "Welcome to Florida" sign. There was none in Louisiana, Alabama, or Florida! The only reason I did this ride was to take pictures in front of welcome signs, so now I feel like the whole trip was a waste. I'm writing letters to some congressmen when I get back.
The ride through Pensacola was actually nice, until I got to the construction zone Annee and Chris warned me about. I decided to just go for it because I didn't feel like detouring, and it ended up not being a big deal. I just rode the white line since the shoulder was gone and didn't have any problems. I can see for them that this wasn't an option, as they are pulling trailers and that would have been difficult.
The nicest part of the ride came shortly after, when I got on a nice bike path for a few miles and then onto a very lightly traveled road that ran through some pretty country. 125 miles later and here I am in Crestview, FL. Tomorrow I'll be in Chattahoochee (another 125 mile day), with only 3 days left to go after that. What will I do after the trip? No journal to write, no photos to upload, no grease to scrub off! I'll have to find something else.
I'm at a real computer now so check the next post for pics!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Day # 24... About to Enter Florida and Finish the Last Few Hundred Miles: Waiting for the ferry on Dauphin Island, AL
Saturday April 19, 2008, 125 miles (201 km) - Total so far: 2,397 miles (3,857 km)
Today I rode my bicycle. It was fun. Riding my bicycle makes me happy, because it's neat. Sometimes while I'm on my bicycle I wish I was on my skis, but then I remember that when I get back on my skis I may wish I was on my bicycle.
Bicycles are fast, but sometimes rough roads make them slow. Sometimes the freeway is full of sharp pointy things and make your tires go pop. Today my tire went pop and it made me angry. Dumb sharp things. Riding my bicycle far doesn't hurt anymore. I think I could ride forever if I knew the roads were safe and had a good shoulder.
Ok. So today I did 125 miles through 3 states! Sweet. I was hoping to do 3 in a day. I started in Louisiana and went into Mississippi shortly after. I cruised across the whole state in no time and only stopped once for subway and once for fluids. I rode the freeway until the noise and garbage on the shoulders started driving me nuts. I rode a few miles out of the way to get onto a nicer road. Not much nicer but better than the interstate. I had 1 flat on the new armidillo, with 3 needle-like pieces of metal stuck in it like porcupine quills. The freeways are full of those things. I think they come from truck tires.
There was no entry sign to Alabama, which was dissapointing, but I did have one entering Mississippi. I rode over a few really tall bridges that were like short, steep mountains compared to the flatlands around it. Now I'm on Dauphin Island, where I'll take the ferry across mobile bay in the moring, ride through Gulf Shores, onto Pensacola, and finally Crestview, FL. Then it's only 4 days till the end! Wow, crazy! I got a ticket last night with frequent flier miles so I'll be taking off for Anchorage sunday morning. I'm giving myself a little extra time before flying out in case an unexpected problem arises and I need an extra riding day.
Also, the last 30 miles of today were back on the Southern Tier route and I'll stick to that the rest of the trip, with exception of a short detour tomorrow to avoid road construction that Annee and Chris warned me about through Pensacola.
I had dinner at a bar with really good food that was just around the corner from the motel. I think it was called the Oar House. Very good stuff.
Another easy and mostly uneventful day today!
Bicycles are fast, but sometimes rough roads make them slow. Sometimes the freeway is full of sharp pointy things and make your tires go pop. Today my tire went pop and it made me angry. Dumb sharp things. Riding my bicycle far doesn't hurt anymore. I think I could ride forever if I knew the roads were safe and had a good shoulder.
Ok. So today I did 125 miles through 3 states! Sweet. I was hoping to do 3 in a day. I started in Louisiana and went into Mississippi shortly after. I cruised across the whole state in no time and only stopped once for subway and once for fluids. I rode the freeway until the noise and garbage on the shoulders started driving me nuts. I rode a few miles out of the way to get onto a nicer road. Not much nicer but better than the interstate. I had 1 flat on the new armidillo, with 3 needle-like pieces of metal stuck in it like porcupine quills. The freeways are full of those things. I think they come from truck tires.
There was no entry sign to Alabama, which was dissapointing, but I did have one entering Mississippi. I rode over a few really tall bridges that were like short, steep mountains compared to the flatlands around it. Now I'm on Dauphin Island, where I'll take the ferry across mobile bay in the moring, ride through Gulf Shores, onto Pensacola, and finally Crestview, FL. Then it's only 4 days till the end! Wow, crazy! I got a ticket last night with frequent flier miles so I'll be taking off for Anchorage sunday morning. I'm giving myself a little extra time before flying out in case an unexpected problem arises and I need an extra riding day.
Also, the last 30 miles of today were back on the Southern Tier route and I'll stick to that the rest of the trip, with exception of a short detour tomorrow to avoid road construction that Annee and Chris warned me about through Pensacola.
I had dinner at a bar with really good food that was just around the corner from the motel. I think it was called the Oar House. Very good stuff.
Another easy and mostly uneventful day today!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Day # 23...Bike Repairs and Rain: Nursing a baby armidillo in Slidell, LA
Friday April 18, 2008, 78 miles (126 km) - Total so far: 2,272 miles (3,656 km)
Today I picked up 2 new Armidillos, but only because of a chain reaction of annoying events.
Here's how the day went...
Wake up, look outside to see a downpour. By the time I'm ready to roll, the rain has stopped, but I kept the rain gear on since everything was wet and cars would be splashing me all morning.
I started off on a busy and ugly road with a decent shoulder. After 10 or 15 miles the shoulder dissapeared and I got stuck riding a few miles of scary road. The scarriest moment was when an oversize-load pilot car started blaring it's horn at me. I didn't know it was a pilot car till I looked back though, and following that was a mobile home sticking about 6 feet out from the road. As I mentioned, no shoulder! I scrambled off into the grass and waved them on.
I was sick of that road, so I turned to the safety of the interstate. Yes, the interstates are actually really safe, in my opinion. 15 foot shoulders, smooth surfaces, rumble strips keep people those 15 feet away. All the time. It's loud, but I just put in my ear plugs. At about mile 45 I realized my bike pump was missing. At some point during the bumpy ride of the morning it bounced off. That wouldn't normally be a big deal because I also carry a CO2 pump, but I found out that was broken last night when I finally retired my old armidillo tire. I used the blackberry to find a bike shop so I could get a new one, and luckily it was only about 10 miles up the road. Litterly as I was getting off the freeway to go to the bike shop, I ran something over that split open my brand new tire's sidewall. Unrepairable, I was stuck. The first truck that came by picked me up and dropped me off at the bike shop door. Sweet. At the shop, I had the mechanic put on a new 700X25 armidillo on the back and fix a bunch of little annoyances. The slightly wider rear tire should hold up better. I got new pumps and another armidillo as a spare and was back on the road a couple hours later.
Only a few miles down the road, and only 15 from my hotel, the rain finally caught me. Normally I don't mind riding in the rain, but visibility was low it was raining so hard, and more importantly there was a ton of lightning and wind. I hung out under a freeway overpass for 45 minutes and finally got moving again after things cleared up. I never actually got rained on though as it started just as I made it to the overpass. Nice timing!
I also calculated out the next few days and I should be done by Thursday, which will put the whole trip at 29 days! Under my goal by 1 day.
That's it!
Here's how the day went...
Wake up, look outside to see a downpour. By the time I'm ready to roll, the rain has stopped, but I kept the rain gear on since everything was wet and cars would be splashing me all morning.
I started off on a busy and ugly road with a decent shoulder. After 10 or 15 miles the shoulder dissapeared and I got stuck riding a few miles of scary road. The scarriest moment was when an oversize-load pilot car started blaring it's horn at me. I didn't know it was a pilot car till I looked back though, and following that was a mobile home sticking about 6 feet out from the road. As I mentioned, no shoulder! I scrambled off into the grass and waved them on.
I was sick of that road, so I turned to the safety of the interstate. Yes, the interstates are actually really safe, in my opinion. 15 foot shoulders, smooth surfaces, rumble strips keep people those 15 feet away. All the time. It's loud, but I just put in my ear plugs. At about mile 45 I realized my bike pump was missing. At some point during the bumpy ride of the morning it bounced off. That wouldn't normally be a big deal because I also carry a CO2 pump, but I found out that was broken last night when I finally retired my old armidillo tire. I used the blackberry to find a bike shop so I could get a new one, and luckily it was only about 10 miles up the road. Litterly as I was getting off the freeway to go to the bike shop, I ran something over that split open my brand new tire's sidewall. Unrepairable, I was stuck. The first truck that came by picked me up and dropped me off at the bike shop door. Sweet. At the shop, I had the mechanic put on a new 700X25 armidillo on the back and fix a bunch of little annoyances. The slightly wider rear tire should hold up better. I got new pumps and another armidillo as a spare and was back on the road a couple hours later.
Only a few miles down the road, and only 15 from my hotel, the rain finally caught me. Normally I don't mind riding in the rain, but visibility was low it was raining so hard, and more importantly there was a ton of lightning and wind. I hung out under a freeway overpass for 45 minutes and finally got moving again after things cleared up. I never actually got rained on though as it started just as I made it to the overpass. Nice timing!
I also calculated out the next few days and I should be done by Thursday, which will put the whole trip at 29 days! Under my goal by 1 day.
That's it!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Day #22... Forced Off-Route Due to Flooding: Buying Maps and Highlighters in Denham Springs, LA
Thursday April 17, 2008, 111 miles (179 km) - Total so far: 2,194 miles (3,531 km)
Yesterday I was hoping for something interesting to happen, and boy did today deliver! I had all kinds of crazy things happening, I'll skip the highlights and lowpoints again and get on with the stories.This morning I got up early and hit the road hoping to knock out 110-120 miles early so I could enjoy St. Francisville a little. A mile from the hotel, I was checking the maps when an old WWII vet walked down his driveway to strike up a conversation with me. He was pretty funny and had some good advice and things to say. The best was when he said, "You're missing something you know." and when I asked what that was, he says, "A female companion!" ...I told him my female companion was at home working and keeping me motivated to get home.
After that encounter, I quickly racked up the miles, only stopping once at a gas station for orange juice. At about mile 75 for the day, I stopped again for fluids and was approached by one of the local sherrifs. He wanted to know where I was going and I have a hunch he knew it was St. Francisville so I appreciate him intercepting me. When I told him I was going there, he says, "boyyyyy. no you aint! you best be making some changes to your route!" I was a little shocked and asked him to explain. Turns out the Mississippi is so high right now, the ferry is going to be closed for a few weeks. Tom,Gerry, Martin, Ed, Zig, etc... CALL the ferry first to make sure it's running!!!! There is an easy alternate route that goes through Baton Rouge. I went all the way up north completely out of the way though and there was no way I was going to go bike all the way back south where I came from, so I hitched back down and got dropped off at a point that was equal distant to what I would have actually biked from the hotel this morning. I didn't feel like I was cheating as I'd spent the whole day going north for nothing. If you do go this route, it is COMPLETELY insane to try to bike across the two bridges crossing the river. There is NO shoulder whatsoever and there is constant 70mph traffic on both bridges. Don't even attempt it. I stuck my thumb out and motioned to a truck that I needed to get over the bridge, and the first truck picked me up. On the other side, I continued on through some pretty rough neighborhoods. The funniest part of that was while talking to Nick on my hands free, I see this dude trotting down a neighborhood on a horse. A horse! This was totally bizarre, so I yelled up at him, "Why are you riding a horse?!?!" and he yells back, "Because I like to ride!" Perfect. Why am I riding a bike?
I also talked to a geology professor for an hour at a gas station west of Baton Rouge about all kinds of things, mainly Alaska politics (oil, mineral development stuff) and then deeper things like not waiting till your an old guy to do the things you've always wanted to do with your life. I've got another story that may not be appropriate for school, that occurred at the gas station, so I'll save that for the end. It's really not that bad but I'll let teachers make that decision.
The next day or two will take me almost due east the whole course on some non-scenic but more direct roads with good shoulders and smooth surfaces. Bill from Cincinatti actually reccomended this route when I met him, and now I will be forced to get on it rather than doing a bunch of backtracking out of the way.
Tomorrow there's almost a 100% chance I'll get rained on so I am planning on getting up early so I can hit close to 100 miles before it starts in the afternoon. That will keep me on track, and I think in 2 days I'll be back on the Southern Tier Route in Mississippi and Alabama and then Florida, possibly all in one day! I think it's going to be possible to go through all 3 states at once but I'm not completely sure of that so we'll see. I know there's not much time left for this trip, only a little over a week. Part of me is excited to have completed it and get home, part of me would be ok with another thousand miles or so.. but I'd probably prefer them to go somewhere other than Florida.
On to the last story, the funniest of the day for sure:
I'm at the gas station, deciding where to go, when this big 'ol black lady starts hollerin at me to come over to her car. I asked what she needed and she wanted to know if I was really from Alaska. I said I was from Michigan originally, but yes, I do live in Alaska. She says, "Come over here and let me see you" I'm thinking, "uhhhhhh. ok" ... so I go over and she says "ummm-hmmm... look at those legs!! Can I touch 'em??" and I said, "well, sure, but it's going to cost you $5." Sure enough, out of her bra she pulls out a wad of cash, as if I'm some chip'n'dale dancer, and in the process, executes a perfect wardrobe malfunction revealing the bra's contents. I don't know if this was intentional or accidental, but the result was the same. I said, "no no.. you don't have to give me your money.." and she says "ohhh.. ok!" and says, "let me see them legs!" and so I oblige and let her feel my left leg. She starts fanning herself and says to her car companion, "Boy them are nice!" I told her I had to go and that I hope she had a nice evening. hahahahaha. Yes. That's the kind of story I'll remember a long time.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Day #21... The Border Falls, Alaska is Triumphant Over Louisiana: Loading Our Muskets and Patching Our Wounds in Ville Platte, LA
check it out in google maps
Wednesday April 16, 2008, 123 miles (198 km) - Total so far: 2,083 miles (3,352 km)
Today at dawn the men rushed the Texas/Louisiana border and found no flag to take, so our calvary went inland another 100 miles, 123 total for the day, and setup camp at the Best Western - Ville Platte. -General Joseph Connolly, April 16, 1866.Ok, enough of the civil-war journal style.
First off, you've gotta see this hillarious video clip from yesterday. There are two incidents here as one video, the first black dog was scared off by my growling and barking, but the next 2 dogs were unphased and held on for a few seconds before being choked by my cloud of dust.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeKSiXN4jzg
Today was a relatively easy day, despite a nagging head and crosswind all day. I had given myself plenty of time to get to Ville Platte and I made it without incident. Most of the day was on well shouldered roads, with exception of the first road of the morning, which was a death-trap in disguise of a bike route. Not sure what the adventure cycling folks were thinking when they picked this road, but it was constant, two way semi traffic going 70mph with no shoulder. I had plenty of angry honks and lots of pick-up trucks flooring it as they passed me to choke me with diesel exhaust. By the way, that's one of their techniques to attack a bicyclist without physically hitting you with something. Smoke you out.
The clouds were building all day and I was expecting a storm but nothing really materialized and as the day progressed and I moved east, things began clearing. I made it to Mamou, LA and called ahead to Ville Platte to confirm a motel room. As I was coming into Ville Platte, some guy completely sticks his upper body out the window (while driving!) and is yelling, "mmmaaannn! I just saw you in Mamou! in MAMOU!" I waved and said "I know! I'm goin fast today!!" and he waved back. Mamou was about 15 miles away and I was cruising at 23-25 so it didn't take long.
Before Mamou I saw a sign that said "road construction next 9.1 miles" and was freaked out because it went from dirt, to gravel, to sand, to mud. I was going about 5mph, when just ahead, after only a mile of drudgery, I saw the worker bees laying brand new asphault. Sweet! It doesn't get any smoother than 2 hour old roadway to ride on. They had laid quite a bit in the past few days and I road new tarmac all the way into town going 25mph the whole way.
Also, I regret to inform you that my armidillo is close to death. The 700X23 rear wheel that took me here from Phoenix is on it's last legs. It's hard shell is worn and thin, with cracks and innards exposed. Brook has it hooked up with some services from Armidillo Hospice of America, but I think I may have to resort to the unconventional and likely illegal assisted armidillocide, and end it's life. I may just let it live out it's life and let it collapse on it's own tomorrow, but I feel a responsibility to let it go with dignity while it's still in one piece. If I let it go any further, it's going to explode into a disgraceful mess on some backroad tomorow and end up another piece of roadkill, amongst the dozens of turtles I saw today.
I wish there was more to say, but honestly, this area is pretty boring and very flat. I think the level of interesting things increases with the amount of topography and people, neither of which were very present during todays ride, with exception of a few short sections of busy road and a couple towns I rolled through. I need some drama.. rain, just missing a tornado, a Cat4 hurricane, something. Oh yeah, I hit the 2/3 mark of the trip today. Over 2000 miles done with about 1000 to go!
I'm on a real computer here so check the next post for pics!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Day # 19... Hello Bayou Country!: Eating all you can eat Catfish Buffett in Coldspring, TX
check it out in google maps here
Monday April 14, 2008, 131 miles (211 km) - Total so far: 1,855 miles (2,985 km)
How many of you really thought I'd eat at an all you can eat catfish buffett?? Gross, sorry. I just thought it would be a funny opener. I did see one though.
Today was a huge day, compared to previous days anyway; 131 miles and tons of rolling hills. Here's a great math problem for all the 6th graders reading this... And everyone who answeres it correctly gets 5 bonus points. 15 if your teacher normally weights things heavily: here goes... So in the past 2 days I've done 7000 feet of climbing over 204 miles. I was never above 500ft and never below 300ft. Assuming the average hill was the difference between the high and lowpoint, how many hills did I have to climb?
Speaking of highs and lows, today was full of them so I.will put together a nice little list here:
Highlights;
-Tons of beautiful wildflowers everywhere. Took lots of pictures.
-one of the nicest rolling countryside roads I'd ever rode on. There were cows, bright green grass, wildflowers everywhere. A great place to film a milk commercial or something like that.
-Stopping to snack and having a gackle of horses come to the fence to investigate me; I pet them and got some close up pics.
-getting a majority of the climbing done for the trip today.. It's mostly flat from here out, except a few unworthy bumps here and there.
-getting a history lesson from an attorney while standing in line at subway in Navasota, TX.
-getting lots of work stuff accomplished from my two-wheeled office. If only the people I talk to on the phone about business knew what it looked like where I was talking to them.. Pretty funny.
-meeting rick, who I heard about through tom, gerry and martin. He was on the southern tier until today; now he's cutting north to ride home to Vermont.
-saving myself from a bonk episode with my subway, bananna, and energy gels.
-having a really good burger in Richards, TX.only place in town! Try it!
-Riding through the start of Bayou country and through tons of pine forests on smooth as silk road.
-meeting annee and chris, a travelling duo taking a leisurely 3 month pace to go east to west. We swapped notes and stories and had a good time on the side of the road. To see their trip, go here: http://www.anneeacrossamerica.com
-feeling humidity and seeing it linger around the treetops. It's nice to have some moisture after being In the desert so long.
-after riding in the dark for 35 minutes, I arrived at the hotel here in Coldspring, the San Jacinto Inn and having the owners wife offer to have her husband drive me into town to get dinner. Wow! I did NOT want to bike anymore so that was an unrefuseable offer. After I was done eating I called and he came and picked me up.He also hooked me up with some laundry detergent so I could wash my clothes in the bathtub. He told me all about the different cyclists who come through and how he likes to drive them into town so they don't have to ride back and forth. Nice! Anyone coming through here.. Highly recocmend the place, very bike friendly and only $40.
Lowpoints:
-almost bonking twice,
-riding in the dark for 35 minutes. 7 miles of which were gravelly with no shoulders.
-getting chased by 4 dogs in the last hour or so.
that's it for the lowpoints..
Yesterday Paul and I were comparing notes on vertical gain for the whole trip and agreed it's about 65,000ft of climbing. To put that in perspective, it means we did the same vertical as 3 Denali climbs or 2 everest climbs from sea level.crazy.
Also wanted to thank all the folks posting in my journal guestbook. I WILL respond soon... It's tough taking care of stuff everynight and still have time to respond to messages!
Today was a huge day, compared to previous days anyway; 131 miles and tons of rolling hills. Here's a great math problem for all the 6th graders reading this... And everyone who answeres it correctly gets 5 bonus points. 15 if your teacher normally weights things heavily: here goes... So in the past 2 days I've done 7000 feet of climbing over 204 miles. I was never above 500ft and never below 300ft. Assuming the average hill was the difference between the high and lowpoint, how many hills did I have to climb?
Speaking of highs and lows, today was full of them so I.will put together a nice little list here:
Highlights;
-Tons of beautiful wildflowers everywhere. Took lots of pictures.
-one of the nicest rolling countryside roads I'd ever rode on. There were cows, bright green grass, wildflowers everywhere. A great place to film a milk commercial or something like that.
-Stopping to snack and having a gackle of horses come to the fence to investigate me; I pet them and got some close up pics.
-getting a majority of the climbing done for the trip today.. It's mostly flat from here out, except a few unworthy bumps here and there.
-getting a history lesson from an attorney while standing in line at subway in Navasota, TX.
-getting lots of work stuff accomplished from my two-wheeled office. If only the people I talk to on the phone about business knew what it looked like where I was talking to them.. Pretty funny.
-meeting rick, who I heard about through tom, gerry and martin. He was on the southern tier until today; now he's cutting north to ride home to Vermont.
-saving myself from a bonk episode with my subway, bananna, and energy gels.
-having a really good burger in Richards, TX.only place in town! Try it!
-Riding through the start of Bayou country and through tons of pine forests on smooth as silk road.
-meeting annee and chris, a travelling duo taking a leisurely 3 month pace to go east to west. We swapped notes and stories and had a good time on the side of the road. To see their trip, go here: http://www.anneeacrossamerica.com
-feeling humidity and seeing it linger around the treetops. It's nice to have some moisture after being In the desert so long.
-after riding in the dark for 35 minutes, I arrived at the hotel here in Coldspring, the San Jacinto Inn and having the owners wife offer to have her husband drive me into town to get dinner. Wow! I did NOT want to bike anymore so that was an unrefuseable offer. After I was done eating I called and he came and picked me up.He also hooked me up with some laundry detergent so I could wash my clothes in the bathtub. He told me all about the different cyclists who come through and how he likes to drive them into town so they don't have to ride back and forth. Nice! Anyone coming through here.. Highly recocmend the place, very bike friendly and only $40.
Lowpoints:
-almost bonking twice,
-riding in the dark for 35 minutes. 7 miles of which were gravelly with no shoulders.
-getting chased by 4 dogs in the last hour or so.
that's it for the lowpoints..
Yesterday Paul and I were comparing notes on vertical gain for the whole trip and agreed it's about 65,000ft of climbing. To put that in perspective, it means we did the same vertical as 3 Denali climbs or 2 everest climbs from sea level.crazy.
Also wanted to thank all the folks posting in my journal guestbook. I WILL respond soon... It's tough taking care of stuff everynight and still have time to respond to messages!
Day # 18... Slow, Steady, and Distracted: Losing Ground in La Grange, TX
View Larger Map
Sunday April 13, 2008, 73 miles (117 km) - Total so far: 1,724 miles (2,774 km)
Today I lost some ground on my 100 miles a day average, only riding 73 miles. The least I've done since I left San Diego except the first day, which was only a half day anyway.The hills and wind were pretty relentless this morning, both in my face. I made it to Bastrop by noon with only about 35 miles done. I got some lunch, went to the store, went to the bike shop, made some phone calls, and then met Paul Callaway and his wife, who is driving a motorhome as a support vehicle. (Anyone want to follow me??) You can follow their trip at... http://venturavelo.org/_wsn/page8.html
They're stopping all over the place visiting landmarks and family and doing it all in style. I hung out in their motorhome for awhile and that ate up some time too. By 5:00ish I was in La Grange, and could have made it another 30 miles to the next town, but when I called to reserve a motel, everything was booked so I had to stay here. Oh well. Tomorrow I am going to try to get up really early and make it a long ways to get my schedule back on track. The goal is about 135 miles, we'll see. Hopefully the wind is cooperative. If not I'll have to do another early stop.
The highlight of today's ride was riding through Bastrop and Buescher State Parks, along a narrow ribbon of pavement running through tunnels of woods. It was a nice change from riding on a road with heavy traffic.
Another interesting thing I saw today was thousands and thousands of other cyclists. Today was the big BP MS 150 ride, and over 13,000 people rode! wow! I had never seen so many bikes in my life. I came around a corner and it was just a constant stream of bikes. Like locusts swarming.. or bees. Everyone I've met today has assumed I did the ride, which is ok. "Make it to Austin!?" "Like riding with all those other people??"
On a funnier note, I was sitting on the side of the road today talking to Brook, when I notice a pig hanging out with a flock of cows. The pig must have decided it was more cool to hang out elsewhere, and escaped the pen and was grazing on the side of the road on fresh clover. I was a little concerned it might get hit, so I went over to the house and let the guy know his pig was out of it's pen. "Hey, uhhh.. I don't know if you know this or not, but your pig is hanging out by the road." .... how often do you get to say that? I even got a few pics.
I'm at a real computer again so I'll put some photos up now!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Day # 17... Rackin up the miles and vert!: Riding away from the sunset, into Lockhart, TX
Saturday April 12, 2008, 120 miles (193 km) - Total so far: 1,651 miles (2,656 km)
It always sounds so romantic when you're riding into the sunset, but since this is a west to east ride, the sunsets are always at my back.
Today was a big day! A chilly morning and strong northeasterly headwind gave me a sluggish pace most of the day. I also had to climb 6700ft today through more of the famous Texas Hill Country. Lots of ups and downs! I stopped for lunch around 3:30 and mile 63 for the day, looking at the map and with the wind still howling in my face, I planned to throw in the towel at mile 81 and call it good. As I was getting close to town, the wind died down and shifted direction, and so did the road's direction. It was actually a very small tailwind. I got a second wind, sort of, and decided I didn't want to stop. I destroyed the next 40 miles in no time, cruising the last 5-10 miles between 25-30mph on flat, smooth road. Very nice! I went past one of the attack dogs Bill warned me about and he didn't even have a chance to run; just stood up and sat back down when it was obvious I had the speed advantage today. The sun was setting, it was about 65 degrees and clear, and I was rolling through wide open lush farmland. I really felt like I was back in Michigan, Monroe county to be specific. I spent a LOT of time riding through flat farmland when I was 14-23 so this really took me back to my cycling roots. Very nostalgic.
A few noteable lowpoints included seeing tons of other cyclists today but not many of them seeming too talkative; most were just out for a morning 30-50 mile ride. I also got mean-honked at a lot today. As if it's my fault there's no shoulder to ride on.
I also met a couple today on a tandem with a BOB trailer. They started in Philedelphia with temps below freezing and snow on the ground about 45 days ago. Yuck.They were a little concerned about the big upcoming mountains. I tried suggesting that they might consider sending some of their excess gear home but I think they thought I was nuts and wrote me off. Oh well.
Well, my eyes are rolling back into my head so I think that means it's sleepy time! Another long one tomorrow probably!
Today was a big day! A chilly morning and strong northeasterly headwind gave me a sluggish pace most of the day. I also had to climb 6700ft today through more of the famous Texas Hill Country. Lots of ups and downs! I stopped for lunch around 3:30 and mile 63 for the day, looking at the map and with the wind still howling in my face, I planned to throw in the towel at mile 81 and call it good. As I was getting close to town, the wind died down and shifted direction, and so did the road's direction. It was actually a very small tailwind. I got a second wind, sort of, and decided I didn't want to stop. I destroyed the next 40 miles in no time, cruising the last 5-10 miles between 25-30mph on flat, smooth road. Very nice! I went past one of the attack dogs Bill warned me about and he didn't even have a chance to run; just stood up and sat back down when it was obvious I had the speed advantage today. The sun was setting, it was about 65 degrees and clear, and I was rolling through wide open lush farmland. I really felt like I was back in Michigan, Monroe county to be specific. I spent a LOT of time riding through flat farmland when I was 14-23 so this really took me back to my cycling roots. Very nostalgic.
A few noteable lowpoints included seeing tons of other cyclists today but not many of them seeming too talkative; most were just out for a morning 30-50 mile ride. I also got mean-honked at a lot today. As if it's my fault there's no shoulder to ride on.
I also met a couple today on a tandem with a BOB trailer. They started in Philedelphia with temps below freezing and snow on the ground about 45 days ago. Yuck.They were a little concerned about the big upcoming mountains. I tried suggesting that they might consider sending some of their excess gear home but I think they thought I was nuts and wrote me off. Oh well.
Well, my eyes are rolling back into my head so I think that means it's sleepy time! Another long one tomorrow probably!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Day # 15... Goodbye Desert!: Listening to Crickets and Frogs in Camp Wood, TX
check it out on google mapsThursday April 10, 2008, 113 miles (182 km) - Total so far: 1,441 miles (2,318 km)
I finally left the godforsaken desert after being surrounded by it for 3 weeks. (1 week in Mexico and then 2 on the bike). I quickly made it to Del Rio this morning, covering 32 miles in an hour and a half and then cut east towards Bracketville and a final long push of 49 miles into Camp Wood. There was nothing for that long stretch except a very few ranches out of sight from the road. It was pretty and I only saw a few cars all afternoon. It was around 95 degrees and I was loaded down with water but got close to running out with about 20 miles to go. I was getting severely dehydrated but managed to push on, finally stopping at a farmhouse with people outside to ask for some water from their hose. They insisted on cold bottled water and came back with 4 bottles! I gulped down 3 in a few minutes and talked to them about hummingbirds; they had just put up a feedeer and there were 4 of them flying around getting their nectar on. When I got to town I found out there was a motorcycle rally going on and only 2 rooms left, 1 at each of the motels in town. One was smoking, the other was not. I got the non smoking room and then had a really good burger at BJ's cafe.Additionally, there were some cool highlights today and no real lowpoints except the dehydration.
Highlights:
-tailwinds all day.
-smooth tarmac out of comstock.
-making it through del rio without having to stop.
-seeing some cool planes flying around an air force base.. F-16's and some high-performance single-engine trainers.
-some random creek under the road called Sycamore Creek.. Amazing! The water was crystal clear and looked like something in the carribean. If I knew it was safe/clean I would have jumped in.
-getting one of my care packages in Bracketville, and mailing 2 maps home and my leg warmers and long fingered gloves.
-strawberry milkshake at Bracket Burger and Shake. Yum!
-seeing another rediculous police stakeout on the road with no traffic. Got another picture too!
-meeting Bill Easley (no journal) of Cincinatti in the middle of nowhere. He's a westbounder, doing the same route as me in reverse. We traded stories and road conditions and noteable places ahead.. Including his dog-attack locations. He's been chased 3 or 4 times already and has pepper sprayed a dog or 2 already. He got me freaked out and when I found out he had 3 cans of "Halt!" I offered to buy a can off him and he just gave it to me! Sweet! Super appreciated that one. No less than an hour later I had a mean looking mutt come after me.. I grabbed at the spray but didn't have to use it because the dog stopped at it's property line. Whew. At least I have some protection now. I'd feel better spraying an attack dog than kicking it or something mean like that.
Sometime tomorrow I think I will hit the halfway point for the trip. I'm wondering what I'll feel like when I hit the Atlantic. Probably surreal.
Tomorrow there is some climbing to be done but I am ready for it. Bring it on!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Day # 14... A Terrible Day: Filing a Lawsuit against the God of Wind in Comstock, TX
check it out in google mapsWednesday April 9, 2008, 90 miles (145 km) - Total so far: 1,328 miles (2,136 km)
Tonight I filed a lawsuit against the God of Wind for violating the Don't Ruin Joe's Day on a Bike ordinance of 2003. (See section 1256.7A-L, it clearly states no rediculous forces of nature shall impede Joe's progress without being held accountable).I am not going to write much tonight because I still need to mop up my tears and wash out my mouth from all the screaming and cussing I did, but here's a summary of what happened today.
Headwind. All day. Not a single second did it stop. Sustained winds were 20-30 and gusts were as high as 40mph. In my face. All day. I hated it and wanted to cry. Imagine this.. It was blowing so strong, that it was MORE work to pedal downhill into the wind than uphill. I had to pedal hard on the downhill just so I could go 10-12mph, if I didn't, the bike would slowly stop. I was actually being blown uphill!
I was planning on doing 120 miles today into Del Rio, but after 11 hours on the bike, averaging less than 8mph, I was only at the 90 mile mark and it was getting dark, windier, and there were some big storms looming nearby. I was pulling into a town and hoped someone could help me find somewhere to stay... Anywhere was fine. I went to the only store in town, and Willa saved me. She must have known I was coming. She asked how I was dealing with the wind, I told her I couldn't go any further.. She asked if I had camping gear, and when I said no she picks up the phone and starts dialing Allen up the road... Who owns an RV campground and sometimes has a trailer to rent. And by golly (dude, this is Texas, I can say these things) he did! Not only was it cheap, but Willa helped me pick out groceries to cook dinner and then drove me and my bike the couple miles back to the trailer! Yes!
I got settled in and then met Zig, another southern tier rider who's camping a lot of the way. We hung out for a bit, swapped stories about roads, towns, and people, talked about bikes and then he went back to his tent to sleep. I'm going to eat and sleep now myself. Sorry there isn't more.
Here's a link to Zig's journal...
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/Zig
Also, just pulled this off the NWS website.. Apparently we're under a tornado watch now (I'm in a trailer! Help!).. More importanly, there was a wind advisory today. (Duh) here's what it said:
"A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 26 TO 39 MPH ARE
EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE BICYCLING CROSS COUNTRY DIFFICULT...
ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE BICYCLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION."
It's great that the National Weather Service looks after us.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Day #13... Another uneventful, but long day on the bike: Swatting at Vultures in Sanderson, TX
check it out in google maps
Tuesday April 8, 2008, 112 miles (180 km) - Total so far: 1,238 miles (1,992 km)
Today was a pretty long day, with very few things happening and not a lot of variety in the scenery department. I left about 9:15am and rode 112 miles to Sanderson, TX, arriving around 6:00pm. I stopped a few times today at little roadside picnic shelters which was nice. There were only two small towns through the 112 miles, and nothing else inbetween. The maps warn to carry extra food and water because it is so remote. I did, and it was no big deal. The headwind was pretty bad today, but again, I just put on some tunes and went into it. In the morning I passed a couple wild turkeys and got their photo, which was cool.
At dinner tonight, the waitress was obviously having some kind of altercation with the owner all night, and she was stomping around, cussing and generally being difficult. She did give me my food half-off though because she said it wasn't enough for me. I didn't say anything other than, "ok, sure thing!" and had a full meal for $6. Not bad!
I'm staying at the Desert Air Motel and I'm very happy with the place. for $32, it's clean and standard, and, the owner lady did a load of laundry for me, let me use her computer, gave me a tube of avon face lotion since it ws so dry, and told me all about the area. What a deal!
Not much else really, it was totally just a riding day with nothing else! Hopefully tomorrow something crazy happens. Today I was trying to think of what could happen in west texas to make it interesting while I was riding through, and came up with a few things.. meteor crashing near the road, UFO beaming up a herd of cows, someone not waving to me (everyone waves at me out here now, which is cool, but it would be interesting if they didn't, because now it's standard procedure).. or maybe a flock of vultures carrying me away. Those things were everywhere today, feasting on all sorts of roadkill and dead cattle on ranch land.
Since I have a real computer here, I'll add some photos.. There's a few cool ones! (see next post)
Also, Added another Youtube Video!! Cool 30mph downhill. I know, it looks slow, but remember this is a bike, not a car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np_mV_VxC-c
At dinner tonight, the waitress was obviously having some kind of altercation with the owner all night, and she was stomping around, cussing and generally being difficult. She did give me my food half-off though because she said it wasn't enough for me. I didn't say anything other than, "ok, sure thing!" and had a full meal for $6. Not bad!
I'm staying at the Desert Air Motel and I'm very happy with the place. for $32, it's clean and standard, and, the owner lady did a load of laundry for me, let me use her computer, gave me a tube of avon face lotion since it ws so dry, and told me all about the area. What a deal!
Not much else really, it was totally just a riding day with nothing else! Hopefully tomorrow something crazy happens. Today I was trying to think of what could happen in west texas to make it interesting while I was riding through, and came up with a few things.. meteor crashing near the road, UFO beaming up a herd of cows, someone not waving to me (everyone waves at me out here now, which is cool, but it would be interesting if they didn't, because now it's standard procedure).. or maybe a flock of vultures carrying me away. Those things were everywhere today, feasting on all sorts of roadkill and dead cattle on ranch land.
Since I have a real computer here, I'll add some photos.. There's a few cool ones! (see next post)
Also, Added another Youtube Video!! Cool 30mph downhill. I know, it looks slow, but remember this is a bike, not a car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np_mV_VxC-c
Monday, April 7, 2008
Day # 12... Wind Games in West Texas: Pushed, pulled, and knocked over into Fort Davis, TX
check it out in google maps
Monday April 7, 2008, 90 miles (145 km) - Total so far: 1,125 miles (1,811 km)
Today was a varied day, especially as the wind was concerned. I felt lazy this morning and didn't want to get up, so I didn't get out the door and on the road till 10:15am. An hour or so later while stopped on the side of the road talking on the phone for awhile, Gerry caught up to me. I mentioned in yesterdays post the 3 guys travelling together; Gerry was the third whom I had yet to meet. I knew who he was and he assumed who I was so we talked and hung out for a bit before going up the road and meeting Tom and Martin at a gas station in Kent, TX. We all talked and took pictures and then I went on my way; they planned on camping a couple hours down the road, while I still had 50 miles to go.Today was a very physically demanding day, and very mentally challenging, but I put on some music and got into a comfortable mental place where I could block out the pain and suffering of 4700ft of alternating gentle climbing, to steep in your face climbing over 50 miles. The worst part was the great tailwind of the morning turned into a terrible crosswind, and then headwind when I changed roads and direction. It was blowing a good 20-30 much of the time, but I managed to get through it and feel pretty good tonight; ready to tackle 110 miles tomorrow into Sanderson, TX.
Here's the highs and lows;
Highlights:
-sleeping in
-nice tailwind to start
-good company until I parted ways with the 3 other guys.
-extremely desolate but beautiful country to roll through. I didn't see a car in either direction for almost 3 full hours. Nuts! Never been on a state highway anywhere with so little traffic. Which is a good segway into the next highlight;
-as I am getting close to the McDonald Observatory, about 15 miles anyway, hiding behind the bushes is a county sherrif in his patrol car, radar gun facing the area I was coming from. Okay, let's recap: I hadn't seen a single car in THREE hours, and this guy is looking for speeders. It was so absurd I had to talk to him. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: So uhh.. Does this road ever have cars on it?
Him: yep.
Me: really? I haven't seen a single car in 3 hours!
Him: that's not uncommon.
Me: so you just hang out here and wait for that one speeder?
Him: yep. They'll come along.
Me: well, it certainly is a nice place to hang out for the day waiting.
Him: yep. It's quiet. That's how I like it.
Wow! How weird. The guy gets paid to sit in his car for hours in a nice place to catch maybe 1 or 2 speeders a day!
I took his picture too so I'll put that up at the next computer.
Continuing on...
-getting to the top of the climbs for the day.
-nice downhill for a few miles.
-getting to the motel and having the owner excitedly tell me I have the room with the biggest flat screen tv. (Maybe I should turn it on? I feel bad, it seemed like he went out of his way to put me here with this massive..well, 40in flat screen)
-talking to a bunch of friends on the phone tonight and catching up.
Lowpoints:
-Headwinds, climbing. Tough stuff.
-leaving the company of fellow cyclists; it might be fun to travel with someone who had such crazy ambitions as I do; 100 miles a day on average over the course of a month.not many people do it this way though.
-moving a beautiful (dead) falcon out of the road and into the grass. It looked like it had been hit very recently and was really pretty. I guess I didn't want it to turn into another smashed pile of feathers, seen quite a bit of roadkill on this trip. :(
-getting to the road leading to the mcdonald observatory and not a single car came by that could have taken me up.- waited for almost an hour. I could have rode up, but it was a really steep 1000ft+ climb in under 2 miles and my legs were not going to be able to do that and be happy after already doing 4700ft.oh well.
-the motel guy reccomended the best place in town to eat dinner.. So I go there, to find it open 6 days a week, closed mondays (today). What's the ONLY place open? The place he shook his head at, scoffed, and said "that place is terrible. No" ... Where did I have to eat? Yep. The bad place. It wasn't the worst ever, but I wouldn't go back or reccomend it.
That's all he wrote folks.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Day #11... Viva La Tailwinds!: Blown into Van Horn, TX
Sunday April 6, 2008, 109 miles (175 km) - Total so far: 1,035 miles (1,666 km)
The wind gods must have had pitty on me yesterday and blessed me with the best tailwind of the trip today. I only rode 5 1/2 hours today but covered 109 miles. The average speed varied between 20-23 all day, and only decreased due to a few hills along the way and some slow time allowed to digest lunch.
The biggest news of the day was two milestones: The first was hitting the 1000 mile mark, or 1/3 of the way to Florida, and second, making it to the Central Time Zone. Now I'm 3 hours ahead of Alaska (home) but only 1 behind Michigan (where I'm originally from).
There wasn't a long enough list of highlights and lowpoints today to make that worthy, so I'll just share a few stories.
I'll start with a crazy story from last night. At 11:30pm, long after I'd fallen asleep, I wake up to the sound of my doorbell ringing over and over for my room, and giggling outside.. what! Some little kids waking me from my coma! But it gets better.. then I hear their dad telling them to be quiet, and then swiiipeee.. he slides his keycard in MY door, and hello! Welcome to my room. The door opens, and is only caught by the hoop-lock thing (what they use now instead of a chain, I don't know what they're called). They don't seem to realize it's latched, so they start shaking on the door violently trying to open it. So I jump out of bed and slam the door shut, peek through the peep hole to see what's going on, and they're standing there whispering to each other about what to do. They must have realized the front desk gave them a room that was already occupied so they left. Pretty funny. I went back to sleep and all was well after that.
On to today..
As soon as I left the motel in El Paso, I was able to stop and watch a crop duster dusting some crops. As some of you may know, I love airplanes, and watching this guy fly was like watching a bush pilot in a super cub perform slowspeed, highly acrobatic maneuvers in tight spaces. Wow! I even did a little video clip and uploaded it to Youtube since I thought it was so cool. Go here to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW6RjryEUOo
The next thing I saw was the aftermath of a crazy rollover accident. The second accident where speed and showing off played a roll in two days. This guy had some kind of race-car wannabee setup on his old cruiser, somehow lost control and probably flipped 7 or 8 times into a farmers field. It was pretty trashed. He was ok though, but obviously shaken up. This was also at about 9:30am. Why drive so crazy so early??
The rest of the day went super super easy. Couldn't believe it. Just flew along and only stopped for a bit for lunch and to get some gatorade in Sierra Blanca. After that I met Tom Duncan, taking the same route on his recumbant bicycle and travelling with two other guys, Martin and Gerry. They all started solo but traveled at a similar pace and got along so now are travelling together, at least to their final destinations.. Tom goes a lot slower than the other two because his recumbant is tougher to handle on the hills.
To see what they're up to, go see their journals at:
Tom Duncan
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/usmc
and...
Martin Thomas
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/MartinsRide
Tomorrow will be either 91 or 114, depending on how I feel. Chances are it'll be 91 because I want to stop at an Observatory along the way and see if I can take a tour. That should be fun :D
Lastly, as I type this at a Knights Inn, some guy just came in.. his story seems odd and I think he's trying to get a free room from these people. Claiming to have just got off the Greyhound (probably true) has no money (probably true) and is looking for a Western Union to have money wired to him. Maybe I'm being overly-skeptical, but he's totally putting on a sad "poor me" tone and trying to hit up conversation with me and be super friendly, all the while his so-called Irish accent keeps faltering and he sounds like he's from somewhere in New England instead. I think he's hoping to befriend me so I'll let him stay with me. He tried getting the hotel lady to cut him a break, no deal. Oh well.
Check the next post for photos! Yay!
Day # 10...Hello Texas!: Wiping the dust from my eyes, east of El Paso, TX
Saturday April 5, 2008, 113 miles (182 km) - Total so far: 926 miles (1,491 km)
Another long and hard battle between good and evil. Evil being the wind, good being me on my bike, of course. It was a 113 mile day today, mostly flat but some gradual climbing here and there for fun. I opted to take a long-cut, that is... A short cut in terms of time but 7 miles more biking to avoid the mess known as El Paso. It was a good choice as I hardly had to stop at all to get around El Paso. I stopped for the night on the far east side of the city limits, and it would be safer to say I am closer to Socorro, TX.
Highlights:
-more pecan groves
-a few times the road turned enough to give me a brief tease of a tailwind.
-getting a new tire in Las Cruces, NM to replace my worn front tire.
-big long downhill after getting to the top of anthony gap. I passed a cop with his radar gun pointing at me and oncoming traffic going 47mph. I hope I was speeding.
-chicken alfredo dinner before arriving at the hotel.
Lowpoints:
-Getting chased by another pitbull. This one was way more determined and agressive though. It actually ran next to me at 20mph for about 10 seconds.It actually crossed the road and ran about 800ft past it's house trying to get me! I am getting pepper spray when I can; I've heard too many stories from bicyclists who were attacked and had trips ruined or expensive surgeries to repair torn this or that.. Or lots of stitches. I'm riding more and more in areas where people let there dogs run anywhere they want.
-headwinds. I wish I could take a picture of this to convey how bad they can be. I used the example before for a tailwind about being given all the answers for a test ahead of time... Well, a headwind is the suprise test worth 25% of your grade on a subject you've never even heard of. It's that bad.
-seeing a bad motorcycle accident just after it happened. Dude was pretty messed up.. Weird part was him and his boys (a bunch of young guys on crotch-rockets) passed me about 10 minutes before. I think he was showing off and lost control and ruined his bike and maybe his life.
-Even bypassing el paso, there is a ton of traffic here. Can't wait to get back out into the rural areas.
-riding into a dust-storm. They are awful.. Gets in your eyes, mouth, nose. Yuck. The map actually warned that they are common in the area and lucky me, I got to experience one. I also took some pics just before going through, I think they nicely show what it's like.
That's it for the journal for today!! Not too much excitement.
Highlights:
-more pecan groves
-a few times the road turned enough to give me a brief tease of a tailwind.
-getting a new tire in Las Cruces, NM to replace my worn front tire.
-big long downhill after getting to the top of anthony gap. I passed a cop with his radar gun pointing at me and oncoming traffic going 47mph. I hope I was speeding.
-chicken alfredo dinner before arriving at the hotel.
Lowpoints:
-Getting chased by another pitbull. This one was way more determined and agressive though. It actually ran next to me at 20mph for about 10 seconds.It actually crossed the road and ran about 800ft past it's house trying to get me! I am getting pepper spray when I can; I've heard too many stories from bicyclists who were attacked and had trips ruined or expensive surgeries to repair torn this or that.. Or lots of stitches. I'm riding more and more in areas where people let there dogs run anywhere they want.
-headwinds. I wish I could take a picture of this to convey how bad they can be. I used the example before for a tailwind about being given all the answers for a test ahead of time... Well, a headwind is the suprise test worth 25% of your grade on a subject you've never even heard of. It's that bad.
-seeing a bad motorcycle accident just after it happened. Dude was pretty messed up.. Weird part was him and his boys (a bunch of young guys on crotch-rockets) passed me about 10 minutes before. I think he was showing off and lost control and ruined his bike and maybe his life.
-Even bypassing el paso, there is a ton of traffic here. Can't wait to get back out into the rural areas.
-riding into a dust-storm. They are awful.. Gets in your eyes, mouth, nose. Yuck. The map actually warned that they are common in the area and lucky me, I got to experience one. I also took some pics just before going through, I think they nicely show what it's like.
That's it for the journal for today!! Not too much excitement.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Day # 20... Preparing a full assault on Louisiana: Staging the troops 20 miles from the Texas/Louisiana border in Kirbyville, TX
Tuesday April 15, 2008, 105 miles (169 km) - Total so far: 1,960 miles (3,154 km)
Tomorrow morning I began my assault on Louisiana, a tireless campaign I estimate will last 3 days. The troop's moral is high and our provisions are well stocked. The horses have plenty of feed and the women and children have fled. Let the battle begin.
Today was a very mellow day, with no major events except 8, yes 8 dog chases. I actually got two of them on video and it's pretty hillarious to actually see it from my perspective. I will upload them at the next computer. None were very threatening but a pitbull did get my heart going, and I also had 2 dogs cross a 4 lane highway to come after me. Don't these dog's owners worry they'll get hit??
I was in an area with lots of logging trucks, which was kind of annoying; As they drive along, pieces of bark and branches are constantly flying off and bouncing around. The side of one road was a complete minefield of timber shrapnel. I stopped in Sillsbee to pick up one of my care packages, and was very excited to find it artistically decorated with texas stickers and drawings and various icons. Brook did a nice job! I will put up pics of that later too.
When I was getting lunch at subway, some lady with two kids in tow was yelling at the manager that the floor was slippery and unsafe (meanwhile, worker bee girl was still in the middle of mopping and had a bright yellow piso mojado sign out)... One patron said "uhh.. The sign is there." And she was still pissed, so I couldn't resist. I spoke up for everyone in the store and said, "why don't you just slip and fall, and sue this place?" in a sarcastic tone. She shut up and walked out. I'm an ass. Oh well; she was being loud and rude.
I made it to Kirbyville, a highway town with a great restaurant, Elijah's cafe.
Tomorrow will be a long one as I attempt to make it to Mamou (106 miles) or Villa Platte (121 miles). I'm preffering Villa Platte as it will put me within a days ride (129 miles) of St. Francisville for thursday night.
So far the weather is holding up, and that's probably the only thing that might slow me down enroute to St. Augustine.
Today was a very mellow day, with no major events except 8, yes 8 dog chases. I actually got two of them on video and it's pretty hillarious to actually see it from my perspective. I will upload them at the next computer. None were very threatening but a pitbull did get my heart going, and I also had 2 dogs cross a 4 lane highway to come after me. Don't these dog's owners worry they'll get hit??
I was in an area with lots of logging trucks, which was kind of annoying; As they drive along, pieces of bark and branches are constantly flying off and bouncing around. The side of one road was a complete minefield of timber shrapnel. I stopped in Sillsbee to pick up one of my care packages, and was very excited to find it artistically decorated with texas stickers and drawings and various icons. Brook did a nice job! I will put up pics of that later too.
When I was getting lunch at subway, some lady with two kids in tow was yelling at the manager that the floor was slippery and unsafe (meanwhile, worker bee girl was still in the middle of mopping and had a bright yellow piso mojado sign out)... One patron said "uhh.. The sign is there." And she was still pissed, so I couldn't resist. I spoke up for everyone in the store and said, "why don't you just slip and fall, and sue this place?" in a sarcastic tone. She shut up and walked out. I'm an ass. Oh well; she was being loud and rude.
I made it to Kirbyville, a highway town with a great restaurant, Elijah's cafe.
Tomorrow will be a long one as I attempt to make it to Mamou (106 miles) or Villa Platte (121 miles). I'm preffering Villa Platte as it will put me within a days ride (129 miles) of St. Francisville for thursday night.
So far the weather is holding up, and that's probably the only thing that might slow me down enroute to St. Augustine.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Day #9... Hitting the high point.: ... And Leaving the Big Mountains in my dust, in Hatch, NM
Friday April 4, 2008, 102 miles (164 km) - Total so far: 813 miles (1,309 km)
Check it out on Google Maps
Today was a lucky day! At least the end was. The first part of the day was pretty brutal. Today's stats? 4700ft of climbing, 5200ft of downhill, and 102 total miles. I'll be in Texas by tomorrow evening which I am excited about; it means I've knocked out 3 of the 8 states! Yay!
I'll jump to the usual highlights and lowpoints and tell the end of the day story last.
Highlights:
-getting my first care-package
-not getting rained on when it was raining ahead a little.
-slowly grinding up to the pass, huffing and puffing... This car pulls up alongside while I'm riding, I thought they were going to cheer me on, instead they start having a full on conversation with me telling me where they're coming from and the lake they're looking for; they wanted directions! I actually knew where this lake was, about 60 miles in the opposite direction! Boy were they lost. It was pretty funny so I'll call it a highlight.
-while stopped and hunched over the handlebars, trying to get some oxygen to my head at 7900ft, having a couple stop and make sure I was ok. They offered to take me and my bike to the top in their car, and I explained that I was planning on pedaling every mile across the country but that their offer was very nice and appreciated.
-getting to the top and having no water...and then another couple gave me some when I asked if they had any.
-the ultimate "highpoint" of the trip! Emory pass at 8228ft. The views from the top were wonderful!
-having a swarm of bees trying to pollenate me. (After I put on my bright neon yellow windbreaker at the top)
-huge downhill, super fast.. I was going 40mph for about 10 minutes. I felt like I was in one of those car commercials, you know the type, some cool music playing and a driver whipping around tight turns in the mountains with the warning in small print "Professional Driver. Closed Course. Do not attempt." I was cruisin and needed a disclaimer message following me!
-getting to Hillsboro and finding 3 restaurants to choose from... ALL closed! What the heck!? To my luck (and this goes along with the last story) one of the owners was locking up and leaving, and after some begging, she got me an almond croissant and a sprite :). There was no other stores open in town, it was 3:30pm, and I hadn't eatin all day, and I was at mile 59 of 102.
-smooth sailin the next 43 miles into Hatch.
-scaring away a dog by barking and growling at it (see lowpoints)
-Riding past super symetrical pecan groves. I like symetry.
-arriving in Hatch before dark. (I didn't actually start riding till 10:30am and made it to Hatch at 7:00pm)
Lowpoints:
-more climbing. Blah.
-cold at the top ( I put on all my warm stuff for the descent)
-the end of the downhill.
-being chased by an angry pitbull who seemed hellbent on biting into my flesh. (See highlight above)
That's it for lowpoints! Another lovely day on the bicycle.
Onto my last story of good luck.
First off, I have a routine now for the things that need to be accomplished each evening... And tonight couldn't have worked out better!
I pull into town at 7:00pm... Decide to find the grocery store. At 7:03 they were locking up but after more begging they let me in and I got what I needed. Yes! Next.. I wanted subway, but google maps said the nearest one was 35 miles away. Darn. Gotta find a restaurant.. All closed! Decide to go to motel to check in: what's across the street? Brand new subway. Next door? Dairy queen for strawbeery milkshake. Built into the motel? Laundromat for my stinky clothes. The luck!! Wouldn't it be nice if such simple things always made you so happy? On a trip like this it's much appreciated when something like that happens, especially after such a long hard day.
I'll jump to the usual highlights and lowpoints and tell the end of the day story last.
Highlights:
-getting my first care-package
-not getting rained on when it was raining ahead a little.
-slowly grinding up to the pass, huffing and puffing... This car pulls up alongside while I'm riding, I thought they were going to cheer me on, instead they start having a full on conversation with me telling me where they're coming from and the lake they're looking for; they wanted directions! I actually knew where this lake was, about 60 miles in the opposite direction! Boy were they lost. It was pretty funny so I'll call it a highlight.
-while stopped and hunched over the handlebars, trying to get some oxygen to my head at 7900ft, having a couple stop and make sure I was ok. They offered to take me and my bike to the top in their car, and I explained that I was planning on pedaling every mile across the country but that their offer was very nice and appreciated.
-getting to the top and having no water...and then another couple gave me some when I asked if they had any.
-the ultimate "highpoint" of the trip! Emory pass at 8228ft. The views from the top were wonderful!
-having a swarm of bees trying to pollenate me. (After I put on my bright neon yellow windbreaker at the top)
-huge downhill, super fast.. I was going 40mph for about 10 minutes. I felt like I was in one of those car commercials, you know the type, some cool music playing and a driver whipping around tight turns in the mountains with the warning in small print "Professional Driver. Closed Course. Do not attempt." I was cruisin and needed a disclaimer message following me!
-getting to Hillsboro and finding 3 restaurants to choose from... ALL closed! What the heck!? To my luck (and this goes along with the last story) one of the owners was locking up and leaving, and after some begging, she got me an almond croissant and a sprite :). There was no other stores open in town, it was 3:30pm, and I hadn't eatin all day, and I was at mile 59 of 102.
-smooth sailin the next 43 miles into Hatch.
-scaring away a dog by barking and growling at it (see lowpoints)
-Riding past super symetrical pecan groves. I like symetry.
-arriving in Hatch before dark. (I didn't actually start riding till 10:30am and made it to Hatch at 7:00pm)
Lowpoints:
-more climbing. Blah.
-cold at the top ( I put on all my warm stuff for the descent)
-the end of the downhill.
-being chased by an angry pitbull who seemed hellbent on biting into my flesh. (See highlight above)
That's it for lowpoints! Another lovely day on the bicycle.
Onto my last story of good luck.
First off, I have a routine now for the things that need to be accomplished each evening... And tonight couldn't have worked out better!
I pull into town at 7:00pm... Decide to find the grocery store. At 7:03 they were locking up but after more begging they let me in and I got what I needed. Yes! Next.. I wanted subway, but google maps said the nearest one was 35 miles away. Darn. Gotta find a restaurant.. All closed! Decide to go to motel to check in: what's across the street? Brand new subway. Next door? Dairy queen for strawbeery milkshake. Built into the motel? Laundromat for my stinky clothes. The luck!! Wouldn't it be nice if such simple things always made you so happy? On a trip like this it's much appreciated when something like that happens, especially after such a long hard day.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Day #8... 120 miles + 7500ft: Passes Out in Silver City, NM
View in Google Maps
Thursday April 3, 2008, 120 miles (193 km) - Total so far: 711 miles (1,145 km)
So I got a message from my aunt Patti tonight and I thought it was pretty funny so I had to share:
"Hi Joe! I have shared your blog site with one of our 6th grade teachers. I go into her classroom and assist a few of my students who are in that class. In math, we are covering variables and patterns, and the kids are watching your progress (miles) for each day. Perhaps we will take the data (miles traveled each day) and plot your progress. Your journey comes at the same time that the textbook covers a bike rider and his journey!! Such a coincidence! The kids would like to read your entries (it's projected on the movie screen so they can see the map)but,ahem, their teacher has to scroll quickly and skip certain parts, like your motel adventure with the working blonde. LOL.. They are enjoying the photos and think it is so cool what you are doing! Bet you never thought that you would be the subject of a math investigation...Aunt Patti"
How cool is that! Here's a good math problem for today's ride: what was the average incline, or grade, in percent for the insanity known as today's route. The numbers you'll need? 120 miles of rolling terrain with a total elevation gain of 7500ft.
Today was certainly one of the hardest days I've spent on a bike. 7500ft of climbing in itself is tough, then add to the equation actually pedaling 120 miles on top of that. I was trying to come up with a good analogy while riding today, but I don't think there is one. Just try imagining... Well, 120 miles + 7500ft uphill. There were two full-on mountain passes, lots of little ups and downs, and the killer was the last hour and a half coming into Silver City. I was sooooo ready to be done for the day, but a pesky little uphill forced me to continue another 2100ft up! That is not what the map suggested! On the other hand, maybe it did, and I was just ignoring it all day.
Despite the long day and hardwork, the scenery was the prettiest of the trip so far and the roads mostly traffic free after mile 30ish. I took tons of photos.
I mentioned yesterday the Alaska jersey, and today didn't fail.. A guy actually stopped his car ahead of me and got out, as I was climbing the first pass of the day and wanted to know if I was from Alaska. Turns out he is too and has a place in the same neighborhood we're in and another in the town south of Anchorage called Girdwood. Crazy! Jerry Bell was his name.
Highlights:
-jerry bell
-big downhills on the passes
-seeing two motorcyclists with snowboards strapped to their backs heading toward colorado.
-spectacular views everywhere!
-getting to the top of the second pass and finding a pine forest that smelled great. It was just like the air freshener you'd hang in your rear-view mirror, only smells real.
-lots of rolling hills with wavy grasses.
-getting cold well water at the post office in Mule Creek, NM.
-everyone who passed in their cars/trucks on the rural roads waved, cheered or did something nice.
-Being chased by ominous clouds that were dropping rain but never getting caught.
-Making it to the continental divide
-making it to Silver City and not collapsing first.
Lowpoints:
-climbing is tough no matter how you look at it.
-fierce crosswind blowing me everywhere.
-mediocre sandwich in Buckhorn.
The last thought is what I overheard at subway while eating dinner. There were two motorcycle guys talking about their trips.. One guy was whining about how tired he was after such a long day. The other guy asked where he rode, and he named some towns and said, "yeah, you wouldn't believe how tough 300 miles is in the mountains!"
I wanted to shout "try it under your own power and then see how tough it is!" But I realized that may be very provocative, so I kept my mouth closed. :)
Tomorrow I have the option of 99 or 137 miles. We'll see how it goes. I can't start till 9:00am because I have a care package at the post office and that's when they open. Looks like it'll be 99.
Joe
"Hi Joe! I have shared your blog site with one of our 6th grade teachers. I go into her classroom and assist a few of my students who are in that class. In math, we are covering variables and patterns, and the kids are watching your progress (miles) for each day. Perhaps we will take the data (miles traveled each day) and plot your progress. Your journey comes at the same time that the textbook covers a bike rider and his journey!! Such a coincidence! The kids would like to read your entries (it's projected on the movie screen so they can see the map)but,ahem, their teacher has to scroll quickly and skip certain parts, like your motel adventure with the working blonde. LOL.. They are enjoying the photos and think it is so cool what you are doing! Bet you never thought that you would be the subject of a math investigation...Aunt Patti"
How cool is that! Here's a good math problem for today's ride: what was the average incline, or grade, in percent for the insanity known as today's route. The numbers you'll need? 120 miles of rolling terrain with a total elevation gain of 7500ft.
Today was certainly one of the hardest days I've spent on a bike. 7500ft of climbing in itself is tough, then add to the equation actually pedaling 120 miles on top of that. I was trying to come up with a good analogy while riding today, but I don't think there is one. Just try imagining... Well, 120 miles + 7500ft uphill. There were two full-on mountain passes, lots of little ups and downs, and the killer was the last hour and a half coming into Silver City. I was sooooo ready to be done for the day, but a pesky little uphill forced me to continue another 2100ft up! That is not what the map suggested! On the other hand, maybe it did, and I was just ignoring it all day.
Despite the long day and hardwork, the scenery was the prettiest of the trip so far and the roads mostly traffic free after mile 30ish. I took tons of photos.
I mentioned yesterday the Alaska jersey, and today didn't fail.. A guy actually stopped his car ahead of me and got out, as I was climbing the first pass of the day and wanted to know if I was from Alaska. Turns out he is too and has a place in the same neighborhood we're in and another in the town south of Anchorage called Girdwood. Crazy! Jerry Bell was his name.
Highlights:
-jerry bell
-big downhills on the passes
-seeing two motorcyclists with snowboards strapped to their backs heading toward colorado.
-spectacular views everywhere!
-getting to the top of the second pass and finding a pine forest that smelled great. It was just like the air freshener you'd hang in your rear-view mirror, only smells real.
-lots of rolling hills with wavy grasses.
-getting cold well water at the post office in Mule Creek, NM.
-everyone who passed in their cars/trucks on the rural roads waved, cheered or did something nice.
-Being chased by ominous clouds that were dropping rain but never getting caught.
-Making it to the continental divide
-making it to Silver City and not collapsing first.
Lowpoints:
-climbing is tough no matter how you look at it.
-fierce crosswind blowing me everywhere.
-mediocre sandwich in Buckhorn.
The last thought is what I overheard at subway while eating dinner. There were two motorcycle guys talking about their trips.. One guy was whining about how tired he was after such a long day. The other guy asked where he rode, and he named some towns and said, "yeah, you wouldn't believe how tough 300 miles is in the mountains!"
I wanted to shout "try it under your own power and then see how tough it is!" But I realized that may be very provocative, so I kept my mouth closed. :)
Tomorrow I have the option of 99 or 137 miles. We'll see how it goes. I can't start till 9:00am because I have a care package at the post office and that's when they open. Looks like it'll be 99.
Joe
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Day #7... Nothing Happenin Here...: Counting Ceiling Tiles in Safford, AZ
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Wednesday April 2, 2008, 77 miles (124 km) - Total so far: 591 miles (952 km)
Today was just an uneventful day in almost all regards. No major highs, no major lows. So I'll just tell a few brief stories and leave it at that. Nick says it's probably a good thing that there were no major events, but I pointed out that it would be nice to have had a bunch of cool stuff happen too. I did see two things I had not seen in weeks.. thick clouds and snow. One of the mountains I passed had some snow at the top, and I was riding into a pretty thick area of clouds but it either fell apart or moved further east.I left Globe, AZ today and got into a grove, only stopped once to take a few self-pics and pics of flowers along the way. I then made it to Peridot, AZ around mile 18, which is part of an indian reservation, and got a sandwich at the grocery store. I went another 25 miles before I stopped again and that was just to get a gatorade. Another 25 miles or so later I made it to Pima, AZ home to the enticing "Taylor Freeze" ice cream store. Along the road starting about 5 miles out of town they must have had 8 or 9 signs teasing you with all the goodness that lay ahead. Bannanna Splits, Root Beer Floats, Milkshakes, etc. The "Little Joey" within me couldn't resist another strawberry milkshake, so I stopped and got one. And it was good. I then rolled another easy 10 miles into Safford, where I'll be staying tonight, only to discover that out of the dozen hotels, all but two were booked solid, with exception to a B&B with shared everything, and a dive-motel. I chose the later and got the last room. I asked some of the hotel clerks why every hotel was booked solid and they informed me that there is a brand new copper mine opening near town here, and there's hundreds of contractors working here to get things going, so their companies just block out a group of rooms all the time and there's nothing ever available! Luckily I am ok and don't need to get creative (sleeping on a display bed at the 24-hr walmart was one idea).
I saw two other eastbounders and briefly said hello, but they were going about 12mph on flat smooth pavement I was cruising 22-23mph on and didn't really want to slow down to hang out. I think they may have been suprised when I told them I was going to FL too. I guess I must look like a nut carrying no gear with me. But that's ok.
Today would be a good day to talk about my cool Alaska Jersey, since nothing notable happened.
Everywhere I stop, at least half the time, someone will comment about the jersey if I've got it on (the other is a plain, bright yellow jersey with no markings)
The most common question is a variation of this, "Sooo... are you going TO Alaska or coming FROM Alaska?" When I say "neither" they look confused, and then ask where I'm going. When I say Florida, they seem shocked. As if that was further than Alaska or something. I've also had dissapointed responses when I answer that question, as if they were really hoping I was going to or from Alaska, and that going to Florida is lame. A lot of times they also think that I'm lying or are just in shock. One guy at a gas station asked me 5 times if I was BS'ing him. "Really?".. "yeah" ... "For real??" .."yeah, for real" "come on, you're kidding!" .. "nope, not kidding, really going to florida!" pause. pause. pause. "ok, so you're serious." "Yep, serious."
That was my favorite.
I also had another guy tell me what I was doing was dangerous. When I pointed out that there's many other people doing more dangerous things, he confirmed for himself my point by saying, "well, I guess that's true. I was a firefighter for 20 years." I suggested that he probably was in danger more often than I have been on the bike. He agreed.
I also seem to run into a lot of folks that used to live in or live in Alaska part-time. There are a lot of old guys here that spent some time there in the 70's doing pipeline work. Another guy at the hotel I was at last night lives their in the summer and does drilling work for mine and oil companies.
A lot of people also seem to think it's impossible to do a trip like this. I guess it is pretty hard work, but I think the hardest part is finding the time, and then having the mental strength to get through the trying times. I think there's more people out there who can handle it, physically, than many realize.
Anyway, that's it for today!
I'm at the Safford Library so I'll add some pics next from Days 5-7.
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