The end of the bike tour - the beginning of Plan B

Okay - this sucks, but sometimes things suck - so you make adjustments and go on.

The Stoker is still in a fair amount of pain from his 'blown tire', which turned out to be several muscles that were pinching the sciatic nerve and causing him a lot pain. We were lucky that in Alabama there was a walk-in clinic that could provide some relief. We looked at the next leg of the journey and realized that because we were not camping, available lodging was about 80 and 90 miles apart through very small towns. This clearly gave us concern because we felt that we really wanted to keep the daily mileage down to 40 to 50. Ninety miles is a lot if you are being sagged but are really long if you are carrying your own gear.  Hence - Plan B.

Plan B was the back-up -  come back for the car and car-camp. We put Leonardo in a U-Haul and headed back to West Palm Beach. Leonardo is now on the back of our car and we will drive back to Alabama to pick up our route. We are not giving up the biking, but we recognize that we needed to modify how we take this trip. We will set up in an area we want to explore and take day trips out from there. There will be times we want to bike out  for  a week or a few days - but we will carry less gear, which will make it easier.

This was a very had decision for us. But we are very proud that we completed 800 miles self-supported - and made it out of Florida! So we will continue to travel but with less consecutive days of biking - but the point was and is the adventure.  So we...


 Ride On!

Staying on Course

Greetings from Alabama!

We left Florida behind today and tomorrow we turn our wheels north and set off for the Underground Railroad path which we will follow until Missouri.

We have also made adjustments to our own inner compasses to make sure we stayed on the path we originally chose. At the start, the stoker and I were in agreement that the main emphasis was on the trip - the journey, and not the destination.

In traveling through FL we forgot this objective and allowed our Type A personalities to drive us forward; often at a pace that allowed little time for exploring - or rest. The goal became speed or miles, which resulted in strained muscles (see the Stoker's blog). Of course we can explain - we have reasons. We wanted to get out of Florida... we wanted to make Shiloh by April 8... we didn't want to stop for the day at 2 pm. All valid reasons - but not in alignment with our objective for this trip.

So now we are out of FL and feel well on our way. Today we changed our pace, stopped more often, ate lunch at a state park, took more pictures, biked without looking at the speedometer. We still pulled into the motel with enough time to enjoy the white sugar sand beach for which this Gulf shoreline is known.

Tomorrow, with re-adjusted attitudes, we say good-bye to the seashore and turn our wheels to the north as we...

Ride On!
Jana

Nice Folks Along the Way: Florida

JR and SR, Hinson House B&B, Marianna FL - Thanks for a lovely evening - and Keaton is our favorite poodle!

RH, Marianna FL - Loved your used bookstore, thanks for the tea - keep dreaming!

Pittsburgh transplants at Madison Warehouse, Marianna FL - great restaurant, thanks for the wind and stories! 


RP, Madison, FL - Thanks for stopping in the rain - you are our favorite Kiwi!

LB, High Springs, FL - thank you for such a lovely evening! Good luck in Port Townsend.

C @ Seaview Motel, Melbourne Beach, FL - thank you for understanding - and keep on running!

MW @ Craving Break Bar, Vero Beach, FL - your homemade granola and breakfast granola bars kept us peddling through the cold winds.

Jake and Sherry, Jupiter, FL - keep on riding!

Just the stats Ma'm!

Greetings from Central time!
St. Augustine to DeFuniak Springs, FL: 430 miles

Before I get into the stats for this leg of the trip some things need to be said. As you know, a good part of this trip is to meet people and share stories. Some days we find ourselves in places where we don't quit fit, yellow rain slickers in a sea of hunting camouflage. But generally one or two folks will reach out and try to make us feel welcome - or at least tolerated!  But other times it just all comes together. Yesterday we had the extreme pleasure to stay in Marianna, FL which was like hitting the travel jackpot! First we lucked upon the Hinson House B&B. The hosts, Sid and Judy, were friendly, took time to visit with us, and of course had their own interesting stories. Additionally, George and I were delighted to find a used book store where we spent a delightful hour having tea with Rose. Then, to top off a great day, we were directed to a wonderful restaurant, the Madison Warehouse, owned by Pittsburgh natives. Great food and great Pittsburgh stories - what else could you ask for?!

...and now the stats:

St. Augustine to Palatka FL: March 13, 2010
36.6 miles; max = 15 mph; mean = 9.2 mph; sunny but very windy, NW steady at 25 to 30 mph with higher gusts especially crossing the St. Johns River.

Palatka to Gainesville, FL: March 14, 2010 - Let's Go Gators!
54.63 miles; max = 21.34 mph; mean = 10.3 mph; beautiful day, not so cold, but windy in the afternoon, winds WNW. Here is where we shipped camping the equipment! Behold the lightened bike and the smiling Captain!


Gainesville to High Springs, March 15, 2010
Sadly - no stats the bike computer batteries gave out and we didn't change them until we reached High Springs - but we were flying! Honest! It was sunny, but on the cold side.

High Springs to White Springs, FL, March 16, 2010
51.76 miles; max 23.2 mph; mean 11.2 mph; cold start but warmed up nicely, very nice back roads, light traffic.

White Springs to Madison, FL, March 17, 2010
45.63 miles; max 22.9 mph; mean 12 mph; rain - all day! It poured toward the end of the day; see stoker's blog about our experience in Madison!

Madison to Monticello FL, March 18, 2010
31.6 miles; max 24.5 mph; mean 10.5; very cold and dreary - winds NW 15 mph - it is always the winds!

Monticello to Tallahassee FL, March 19, 2010
50.95 miles; max 29.25 mph; mean 11.44; Great weather, cool in morning and warming up; back roads most of day. March 20 was rest day in Tallahassee.

Tallahassee to Quincy FL, March 21, 2010
24.6 miles; max 26.4 mph; mean 11.4 mph; cold and very rainy - soaked to the bone and took shelter in Quincy.

Quincy to Marianna FL, March 22, 2010
49.99 miles; max 28.6 mph; mean 10.46 mph; sunny but cold day and gusty NW winds about 20 mph.

Marianna to DeFuniak FL, March 23, 2010
58.34 miles; max 30.12 mph; mean 11.5 mph; beautiful day, cool in morning, warming up to low 70s! Calmer winds, WSW about 10 to 15 mph.

Ride On!

Accepting limitations

Take a good look - because the next time he will be much lighter... oh - Leonardo (our bike, see the stoker's blog for an explanation) not George! We have been lightening load along the way - but it just wasn't enough. The yellow bag in back contains our camping gear... tent, sleeping pads and bags. We bought pretty light ones but still the weight added up. Additionally, the way the bags stack in the bag, they really caught wind, and that was a big problem. The wind has been with us from the start, and heading west - the wind will likely be with us the rest of the trip.

As the Captain - I have to be confident in my ability to control the bike in all situations - winds, traffic, stopping and starting. The yellow bag made the bike so top heavy that I was no longer biking with confidence. I thought that it would get better after the very high gusts abated (30 to 35 mph).  But the high winds abated as we left Palatka, but still the ride was extremely difficult and my upper body ached from controlling the bike. I was not having fun, was nervous, and finally had to admit that I was not able to safely carry and control that amount of weight.

Part of life is pushing yourself to find your limits. Up until now I had been able to meet the challenges I set for myself - tenacity had always been my ace in the hole. I knew if I kept at it I could do anything. I trained for and completed triathalons and half marathons; I worked at and got my doctorate. This was the first time I came up on something that defeated me. Tenacity was not going to get me through this - and, could end up getting us hurt.

We watched a documentary- Asiemut -  (you can link to this site from our blog) about a french canadian couple that rides across Asia. Melanie comes up against her own limitations and realizes that she needs to take a bus for part of the journey. She was also upset, but said that recognizing and accepting your limitations is a big part of pushing yourself and any adventure. I tucked that bit advice away for our trip. I would have liked my limitation to not have been met so soon in the journey- but actually in accepting this limitation and making appropriate changes, we are able to continue with the journey.

So we jettisoned the camping equipment. We did keep the sleeping pads and some thin sleeping inserts so we could bivouac if necessary - such as if we needed to make a pallet on the floor of a fire house. This has lightened the load so that the bike is easier to handle, I am more confident and it is like night and day in my enjoyment of the ride. We can also go faster and handle hills better. This makes both of us feel more confident about the 'hills' out west! So - I have learned that accepting limitations doesn't mean giving it up - it means making adjustments so we can keep...

Riding on!
Jana

Public transportation

Public transportation in St. Augustine comes in two forms: for the tourists and for the locals. The tourist bus is part of the downtown tour and costs $17.00 a day. The locals ride the Sunshine Bus - or as we called it, the 'yellow' bus and you could ride all day for only $3.00.  We rode the yellow bus! I love buses!

One of my earliest and best memory includes a bus. My Dad and I would sometimes take the city bus from our house in Greenbelt, MD to downtown DC for some business he had to complete. To this day, if I smell bus diesel exhaust, I am transported to a street lined with old Brownstone buildings - the bus pulling away, and me holding my Dad's hand - feeling safe, loved and full of anticipation of the day. But not all experiences with buses are positive.

For instance - school buses. Those experiences were awful. Where to sit? The potheads sat in the back - the uncool sat in the front; spit balls flying across the aisles. My daughter would go to great lengths to avoid the school bus. I once took a bus from Baton Rouge to Maryland because I couldn't afford airfare. That was an experience! At one point, someone even got on with a chicken in a cat crate. The St. Augustine Sunshine bus came close - but no chickens. It was a look into a slice of America I don't usually see.

At first we sat very still and kept to ourselves. We noticed the same riders everyday - most knew the driver's by name - and each other. They talked about the noisy neighbors upstairs, asked about allergies, talked about their jobs. Soon they were talking to us - telling us about good places to eat, where to find good deals. It was a community on wheels- a club - the Sunshine Bus club. It was a community we would have missed if we had been traveling by car.

Today we pointed our bike west for the first time on this trip, leaving the eastern coast behind - and are off to find more slices of America we usually don't see.

Ride on!

Just the stats Ma'm!

Here are the stats and pictures from the first leg - Lantana to St Augustine. Weather finally got a little warmer and we are enjoying some time off in St Augustine. We will give it a week to see if seasonable temperatures will return before taking off. The next leg to Mobile has a fair amount of camping and my Florida acclimated self is rebelling at camping with evening temperatures dipping down into the mid 30s!

WPB to Hobe Sound  (2/28/10)
37.6 miles; mean = 9.7 mph; max = 20.9 mph (love those bridges!); ride time = 3 hr 53 min
very cold but sunny - winds NW - strong gusts and steady at 25 to 30 mph

Hobe Sound to Fort Pierce (3/1/10)
43.7 miles; mean = 10.3 mph; max = 19.9 mph; ride time = 4 hrs 14 min
 little warmer - winds WSW with very strong westerly gusts

Fort Pierce to Melbourne (3/2/10)
53.8 miles; mean = 10.6 mph; max = 19.1 mph; ride time = 5 hr
cold, winds about 15 to 17 mph - NW


Melbourne to Titusville (3/3/10)
38.8 miles; mean = 9.3 mph; max = 17.3 mph; ride time 4 hrs 9 min
very cold! Lots of traffic in Melbourne - drivers with a bad attitude!

3/4/10 - rested in Titusville - saw the launch of a satellite!

Titusville to Port Orange (3/5/10)... bike week!

45.2 miles; mean = 9.8 mph; max = 21.2 mph; ride time 4 hrs, 36 min
coldest day yet - but winds calmed down, NW about 7 mph - lots of traffic - shared the road with many Harleys! No hotel rooms - Motel 8 was $250.00/night - we stayed in the no-tell motel...$125.00/night!

Port Orange to St. Augustine (3/6/10)
54.7 miles; mean = 9.3 mph; max = 15.2 mph; ride time 5 hrs 53 min
bit warmer, but very sunny - very low winds - best day yet. Nice ride and so we stopped more and took more pictures.




This one is for Brent - didn't pass an Ormand Beach welcome sign because we stayed on the back roads - but they have a nice library!

The way the world should be!

Feeling the warmth!

Ride on!

Baby it's cold outside!

The coldest winter on record?! Not sure - but must be close.
As the winds blew down from the north at about 25 mph; morning temp of 50 deg F with high of 61 deg F, we took off on our tandem, Leonardo. We had some lessons to learn - and that night we lightened the load... but I still have my blue jeans! Good thing too - it would have been cold that evening in the tent without them - slept in my clothes! Second lesson - insist that George zip up the tent window!

Although we had a very generous offer from a friend to stay at her place - it was our first day out and we were determined to begin our trip. Third lesson -  we took a room the next few nights. The next day was warmer, winds from the SSW - but still gusting up past 30 mph, but the cold returned for the next few days. Warm showers never felt so good and hot soup never tasted so delicious!

Lesson 4 - THIS IS GREAT!  Friends and family have been so supportive and we miss you all; but every day we find ourselves wearing big goofy grins - okay - usually at the end of the day - after the hot shower. The people we have met along the way have been fantastic. It seems that just when things get the hardest - soaking rains, cold winds, horrible traffic - we meet someone that helps us - cheers us - or shares a little of themselves and their adventures... and we begin smiling... and we... Ride on!