Cycling Ellen

74.3 miles today
3,019.3 total

Never mention a shutout.  Last night at dinner, we were tabulating who had had the most flats.  The statistics will be shared at our banquet tomorrow but several people were up into the double digits.  I was the one with the least number – one – and that one was in a motel room when I woke up with a flat.  I consider myself quite lucky that my second one happened today.  I was riding with Mary and Carol, two ace tire changers, and we were just pulling into the 40 mile sag stop where the sag has a floor pump and the gas station there has a restroom to clean up afterwards.  If you’re going to have a flat, there are no better circumstances that I could arrange!  Since they wanted to get going, they made quick work of my tire.  Mary pulled out a piece of metal with her teeth since we didn’t have tweezers and it was in quite far (but told me not to tell her dentist).  I pumped up the tube, put on the tire and we were back on the road in short order.  Thanks, Mary and Carol!

Before that, we had been riding on some beautiful backcountry roads through farmland and fields.  Mary lives in Gainesville and was right at home, literally.  We passed a couple of produce stands and got to eat some fresh cukes and tomatoes that Debbie had picked up for the sag.  I probably won’t get as fresh a tomato until August in Vermont.

The last 30 miles were not as much fun as they were all on SR 100.  There was a little bit of a shoulder but lots of truck traffic and a fair number of climbs.  Along that stretch, I passed the 3000 mile mark of this trip.  These miles have really added up.  In Palatka, just before the bridge over the huge St. John’s River (one of the few rivers that flows north), we stopped at Angel’s, the oldest diner in Florida.  I used my one last excuse for a recovery milkshake, my first with a maraschino cherry on top, and a crab cake sandwich for lunch.  There we got talking with Shelby and Brandon and their mom about our trip.  Shelby wants to ride her bike across the country some day.  You can do it Shelby!

I had to take advantage of the pool for our last regular day on the tour.  There’s nothing like cool water on your legs after a ride in the sun.  Jane stopped by the pool with some bits of calamari and fried alligator.  The alligator did taste a bit like chicken only a little chewier.  A little music on the I Pod, the sun to dry me off and the day was complete.  Almost complete actually, as we have one more of Linda’s delicious dinners to anticipate.

Tonight, we’ll all try to get a good night’s rest for our final ride into St. Augustine.  If I don’t get a chance to post tomorrow, be patient and I’ll give you a final accounting in the next day or so.  Maybe we’ll even have tailwinds tomorrow (shhhh and no flats)!

83 miles today
2945 total

After last night’s free cocktail party at the Hampton Inn and the strawberries dipped in chocolate, I thought it might be a slow start for some this morning. We all laughed so hard last night. Maybe it was coming through a rainy day, maybe feeling the end is near and being appreciate of each other’s company or maybe it was the free drinks, but we all had such a good time together. But bright and early, we were out in the parking lot ready for another day on the road.

Today was the opposite of yesterday. It was a cool start but the sun came out and warmed us nicely. We wove through neighborhoods on our way out of Perry and were mostly on country roads and even a couple of bike paths. It was a fun ride for many of us because of the stops along the way. In Mayo, there was a café where I ordered cheese grits. Check out the photos to see why I was surprised when they arrived.

We crossed the Swanee River (spelled Suwannee here) and sang as many of the words of the song as we could remember. About 50 miles into the ride, we all stopped at the Ichetucknee Springs State Park. This area is full of springs and state parks to go with them. The spring had crystal clear water where you could see the fish from a good distance. When I put my feet in, they surrounded my legs. When Debbie went in for a swim (before I got there) what she didn’t see right away was a 4 foot water snake swimming in the water near her. When I arrived, I decided that wading was good enough for me!

We rode along with fields of dairy cattle, barns full of poultry and some sheep, donkeys and horses. The road was mostly flat and a bunch of us kept a pace line going for most of the day. There were beautiful pink and yellow wildflowers along most of the roadway reminding us of the Texas wildflowers that seem so long ago now.

In High Springs, where we were originally scheduled to spend the night, there was a great diner called Floyd’s where we sat outside under a hot pink canopy and enjoyed the recovery ride milkshakes and other diner fare. It was an easy seven miles into Alachua for our night’s lodging.

The mood today was so light and friendly. Everyone rode at a leisurely pace, not worrying about making it in in time. It was only 83 miles. What strong riders we have become and what good friends. We only have one more day of riding before we don the WomanTour jerseys for our final ride into St. Augustine. In the meantime, we’ll savor these last couple of days together.

54 miles today
2862 miles total

On today’s ride, I felt like I was living one of those math problems we all struggled with in school. If you leave Wakulla Springs, riding in a pace line with Judy and Hannah, going about 18-19 mph, will you ride up to the rain clouds ahead of you before the rain clouds behind catch up with you? I’m not sure which set of clouds was which but the result was that we all got soaked on today’s ride. When I left the Inn this morning, clad in my We Can Do It jersey (always go for the psychological advantage), my raincoat, my rose colored glasses and my stylish shower cap over my helmet, I thought that maybe I would avoid the heavy rain. At the sag stop, I put away the raincoat, took off the shower cap and just got wet from the road spray. At about mile 35 though, the heavens opened up. Back on went the raincoat and the shower cap as the logging trucks sprayed us with their road spray from the side. We also had to be careful to dodge all the bits of bark and sticks along the shoulder that come off of the trucks. Today’s ride was almost all on State road 98 which goes through privately held forest. I saw the paper products plant here in Perry as we rode in.

The rain didn’t last long so at the next stop, I put away the raingear again. Inevitably, not that far down the road, the next set of clouds had their turn and this time I just decided to get wet. It wasn’t that cold and we weren’t that far from our destination. I had thought that the last time I did my laundry was it for this trip but with all the dirty, wet clothes (and I mean dirty!), I got the laundry detergent out of the trailer and we started the final, I hope, laundry list. Now, my clothes are clean and dry and the next washing machine I use shouldn’t have any lines at all. As Sandra reminded us the other night, next time I hear a neighbor say she’s doing her wash, I shouldn’t ask if I could just throw in a few things!

One other math problem I was trying to work in my head during that pace line is how many more contributions it would take to double the amount of money that I have fundraised so far. I have raised about $8,000 (although I don’t have a recent accounting) and if 100 people gave $50 that wouldn’t quite do it. If you have been reading this blog all these weeks, consider how much you have valued the chance to participate in our journey vicariously and make a donation if you can. If you were waiting to see how many miles I will have cycled and want to donate an amount per mile, it will be just over 3,000, I think. I’ll keep you posted.

Many thanks for all of your comments, contributions and e mails. I know I have a few more entries to make but since this was a short day, I have time to thank you all. I do, really do, appreciate your support!

16.5 miles today
2808 total

The river was full of thrills today.  Four of us biked up to the kayak rental place on the Wakulla River this morning.  Mary and I each got our own boats.  Hannah and Debbie shared a tandem.  When we arrived at the rental place, there were people there pointing into the water at a manatee.  By the time, I unclipped my pedals, it was gone but we knew it was out there.  We loaded up our boats with our picnic lunch and headed up the river for the 3 ½ miles to the next bridge.  As I had my camera out to take a picture of Hannah and Debbie on the river, we all heard a snort nearby.  There was our first alligator within a paddle’s length from their boat.  Yikes.  I’ve never paddled with alligators before and I was out of there as soon as I clicked a quick picture.  As Mary said, “he knew we were out there long before we knew he was”.

Later down the river, we spotted another huge alligator.  We learned yesterday that the distance between the eyes and the tip of the snout in inches roughly correlates with the length of its body in feet.  Oh, it was a big one, about 12-14 feet long.  I laughed watching Debbie try to get closer for a picture while Hannah was paddling in the opposite direction to get away from it!  There’s a reason I got my own boat!

We saw lots of turtles of many sizes swimming in the reeds and hanging out on the fallen timbers in the water.  Fish, mainly gullet and some bass and gar, swam beneath of us and were quite visible in the clear water.  Above, we spotted a huge nest that may have been an eagle or an osprey.  There were two parents there, attending what were probably chicks.  We watched an anhinga catch a huge fish and struggle to get it in its mouth.  It eventually dropped it into the water, dove under to retrieve it and then popped it into its long, now bulging throat.  We saw another anhinga, flapping and drying its wings.  Unlike ducks and other water birds, they don’t have the oil glands to repel the water and have to dry out like we do.

At one point, I was looking down into the water and spotted a huge flat tail.  For a few seconds, I struggled trying to identify what creature would have such a big tail.  Then, it dawned on me – it was a manatee!  I followed its bubbles until I was alongside and then we paddled together for a while.  It was as long as my boat – 14 feet.  What a delight to see one so close in the wild!  My wish came true.

Now, it’s time to get my bike ready for the last four days of our adventure.  I’ve reset my bike computer to Eastern Time, ready to mark off the final minutes to St.Augustine.  Last night, watching the movie made about this trip, I think we all got a bit choked up watching the last scene as the cyclists walked into the Atlantic Ocean.  It was only then that I realized that we will be doing the same very shortly.  These great friends I’ve made here will be dispersed across the country in less than a week’s time.  What will we all be doing next Sunday?

60.1 miles today
2791.3 total

While on the riverboat tour at Wakulla Springs State Park this afternoon, I learned that the Creature of the Black Lagoon and the first two Tarzan movies were filmed here. National Geographic is here now, filming a documentary about the archeological digs and the underwater caverns. Last night, I learned that Demi Moore was staying at the motel next door as she is filming a new movie nearby. With all that professional filming going on, my pictures today are a little disappointing as so many of them were taken from the boat. Still, I hope you’ll be able to get a taste of all the wildlife that we saw from the river. There were alligators hanging out on the surface, three kinds of herons, white egrets, mother ducks with their ducklings and huge mullet swimming along the side of the boat and leaping out of the water. Scientists differ as to whether they are trying to rid their gills of parasites by their leaps or whether it’s just mullet fun but the sight of fish flying isn’t one I’m used to seeing.

This area is full of limestone, caves and springs. In one of the springs on the side of the river, there were two manatee babies born this year. The ranger said that they have gone down the river for a couple of weeks and tomorrow I hope to paddle that river and see if I can get a glimpse of them.

Our ride today was great. There were more Florida hills to climb (usually there is a creek or river at the bottom and then the road climbs back up again) and National Forest full of tall, straight pines. Many of us found that it was a great day to cycle full out at top speed with a short ride, straight smooth roads and not a lot of traffic. With a rest day coming up, there was no reason to conserve energy and we wanted to have enough time to spend at the state park on the way. I waded in the swimming area in my bike clothes and loved the feeling of the cold, alkaline water on my skin.

It was about 15 miles back to our hotel on busier roads with the ubiquitous strip malls and Walmart. Debbie, Mary, Hannah and I stopped to pick up items for a paddling picnic on the river tomorrow. On the way, Debbie had her second flat of the day and used my extra tube. Apparently, the patches don’t hold up well in the heat and it’s always good to have another person with you if you run out of tubes.

I was so excited to get to our rest stop here at the Wildwood Inn. As we walked in the lobby door, it was the first time the entire trip that I have seen recycling bins! This was started by a Vermonter as an eco hotel. It has been so hard to throw away bottles and cans and even paper for the last seven weeks. The South is not the Northeast or Northwest where recycling has become a way of life. The owner said it is a struggle to get people to use the bins here. I hope his efforts will make a difference.

After dinner, we are going to watch a documentary that was made of the Southern Tier trip three years ago. Michelle was a guide for half of that trip and we’ll be ready to hoot when we see her.
Before I close, I have to remember to tell you that Sue was the winner of our poker day yesterday. She’s a card shark from Vermont and her face lit us when she showed us her straight. Congratulations, Sue.

52 miles today
2731.2 total

This morning, Pat, a fellow Vermonter and my roommate for the night, and I both woke up about 4:30 a.m.  We must have been anticipating the time zone change today back to Eastern Time in Chattahoochee.  I think we were also anticipating a run across the street from the motel where there was a donut shop with a great reputation.  My easiest 90-mile day was the day in Texas where I had an apple fritter early in the day.  Even though today was only 50 miles, both Pat and I couldn’t pass up the chance for an exuberant day on the bike fueled by sugar.

Indeed, many of the variables that made yesterday challenging were still there – the heat, the humidity, an early start, the headwinds – but for some reason it was an easy ride.  So, maybe it wasn’t the apple fritter.  Maybe it was because it was mainly on beautiful country roads for the most part and only half the distance.  There were a few major hills, though, enough to use some of the lower gears that haven’t been used for weeks.  I was surprised by the number of climbs along with some fun rollers.  Funny how quickly we forget about climbs and how quickly our bodies remember what to do with them.

Today’s fun was also because of Mary Kay’s plan to make this a poker day.  Debbie, our sag driver today, was in charge of the card dealing.  First thing this morning, we all put in a dollar and got three cards.  At the first sag stop, we had the option of continuing for another dollar and getting 1,2,3 or 4 cards (you had to trade some in for more than one).  At the last sag stop at mile 40, you could get another card for another dollar.  At dinner tonight, we’ll find out who won the whole pot.  I was hoping to win and put the money toward my fundraising but given my cards, I think I stand the same chance as a snowball in the parking lot today.

There was another challenge thrown out last night by Michelle, our leader.  If we could prove that we took a detour to Georgia on today’s ride, we could have another state line party tonight.  Mary, Pat and I headed north, found the line, took the required pictures and then went a little further up the road to check out the lake formed by a dam there.  It was a beautiful spot and represented Georgia well for those women for whom that’s all they’ve seen.

When we arrived here in Quincy, I was thrilled to receive a package with my prescription biking glasses.  The lens cracked a long time ago so I sent them back (under warranty) in early April.  I’ve been wearing some industrial sized ones from Walmart that fit over my regular distance prescription lens.  I’ve taken my share of ribbing from the group about them (but they worked!) and you may have noticed them in my pictures (even though I tried to remember to take them off most of the time when I saw a camera).  Sorry, everyone.  The fun’s over on that count!

94 miles today
2763.8 total

There are a lot of elements that make for a challenging ride. Today had many of them. It was an early start (the alarm went off at 5 a.m.), it was basically 90 miles on US 90, the road was usually straight with just a few long gentle ups and downs and there was a constant headwind. The heat was in the 80’s with high humidity levels. We went through several towns: Mossy Head, DeFuniak Springs, Argyle, Ponce De Leon, Bonifay, Chipley, Cottondale, and our destination, Marianna. Most of them consisted of a gas station, at least one church and not much else. The lunch stop was a peanut butter sandwich I made this morning with a bottle of chocolate milk from a gas station.

There was one scenic detour in De Funiak Springs, which was a delightful ride around the lake there. This was a site for Chappaqua, which was an intellectual colony started in New York state and a second site was established here. There were Victorian homes and little cottages around the lake – a nice respite from US 90.

So, at the end of this long ride, I took a refreshing dip in the pool and a shower. In a few minutes, we’ll finally have our state line margarita party that the hotel last night wouldn’t allow in their parking lot. Last night at dinner, Sandra made us all laugh with her tips for re-entry into the “real” world next week. These included such things as not to take our bicycles into our bedrooms (like we do in every motel) and to remember not to pull up a white plastic chair, sit in our driveway and expect dinner to be ready. We have started making plans for our final picnic in St. Augustine and arrangements to ship our bikes home. Hard to believe that a week from today, we’ll be at the Atlantic Ocean!

57 miles today
2,669.8 total

As we travel across the country by bicycle, our perception of the country is different than it is when traveling by other modes of transportation.  Our focus is often looking down at the road.  You’ve heard enough about road surfaces to realize that.  Today, I’ll start with a multiple-choice question:

When riding on Florida roads today, which of the following did I see?

a.    Money
b.    A huge snapping turtle (live)
c.    A 3-4 foot long rattlesnake (live)
d.    All of the above

The answer is d.  At almost every intersection with a shopping center on US 90 in Pensacola, there were not only pennies but also quarters, dimes and nickels.  It was bizarre to see so much money on the road, rather than an occasional penny.  A man in the bike shop in Milton, confirmed that that’s a local phenomenon.  Do people throw their money out the window while they wait for a red light?  I only picked up money when I had to stop anyway for a red light and the total was 37 cents (not all in pennies!).

After the busy traffic of US 90, we were all grateful to have a 6-mile stretch on a bike path.  I cheated a little bit with that question.  Actually, Micki, who was our sag driver today, saw the turtle right on the bike path.

After the bike path, we were on back roads through forest and fields.  I spotted a huge snake in the road including the rattles on its tail.  It was headed my way and I moved on.  Debbie was riding with me and she decided to go back for a picture.  As she got closer, it moved off into the grass (you can see that picture in my photo album).  That’s the biggest rattler I’ve ever seen and you can be sure, I took extra care each time I saw a “stick” in the road the rest of the day.

Over the course of our travels, we’ve seen all kinds of things on the road.  We even had a show and tell one night back in Texas sharing our finds.  Road kill has changed from the deer, javelina and wild boar of the West (with the infamous numbers of buzzards circling) to more possums and armadillos as we moved east.  There have been increasing numbers of snakes, turtles and frogs when we got to Louisiana.  It’s an interesting way to see how the landscape changes, eh?

OK, now that that question is over, here’s another one:

When riding today, what did we see fly overhead?

a.    A hot air balloon
b.    Blackhawk helicopters
c.    Domino pizza helicopters
d.    US Navy helicopters

Sorry, this question was a bit of a trick.  We saw over a dozen red, white and blue helicopters that I assume were from the Pensacola Navy base we visited yesterday.  In the fighter jet movie, we saw them practicing dropping care packages.  With the coloring, we were joking that they were Domino pizza delivery helicopters.  Too bad we seemed to be mistaken, especially since the waitress at the café in Holt never took our orders so I missed lunch.

We did see some helicopters that looked to my unpracticed eye like Blackhawks.  They were black and had two sets of chopper blades.  They were flying really low.  Does that make them Blackhawks?  We are also near Elgin Air Force Base here so they could be from the Air Force and not the Navy.

We finished the ride here in Crestview past several miles of more fast food places and motels.  For the second day in a row, the temperatures are hot and the pool is closed for health reasons.  The good news is that our Florida margarita party will be held tonight – our last state line crossing. That should get us ready for our last 90-mile day tomorrow!

11.6 miles rest day
76.6 miles today
2,612.8 miles total

At lunch today, a seafood place on Perdidio Key, you could hear people say with an air of disbelief, “We road our bikes from California to Florida”.  Here we are, not yet to the Atlantic but in the state we have been saying was our destination since March 7.  We tend to take each day’s ride as a separate entity.  Today we are going to ________.  We’ve crossed state lines, much more frequently recently, and can feel the progress but putting it all together and realizing what we have accomplished so far is taking some getting used to.  It’s feeling really big all of a sudden and still a bit unreal.

Yesterday I explored the island a bit taking in the exhibits at the Estuariam and the Audubon bird sanctuary.  The rest of the day was spent walking the beach, swimming in the pool, reading, swimming in the pool, having some lunch and swimming in the pool.  You get the idea.  It was a really relaxing day.

This morning we headed for the Eastern end of the island where I took a spin around Fort Gaines (Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead).  We boarded the ferry at 8 and enjoyed a leisurely ride across Mobile Bay.  At the landing, Mary was waiting for us after a rest day with her husband.  We headed out across a thin strip of land with water on both sides.  There were all kinds of houses that had recently been built and for sale signs everywhere.  It reminded me of the Caribbean with houses painted in pastel shades.  I think this is all post-Katrina construction.  We could get glimpses of the ocean beyond the homes.  Later down the road, we could see the beautiful white sand beaches and the blue of the Gulf.  In Gulf Shores, I saw my first mini-golf course of the trip along with the requisite t-shirt shops, tattoo places and souvenir stores.  There are also huge condos all along the beach.  Thank goodness for the state parks where the beaches and dunes are preserved.

The Florida line was not obvious but we still got a sign to photograph.  Mary’s brother-in-law, Alan, made a big welcome sign and parked himself along the side of the road not far from the border.  Thanks, Alan.  He also told me that he would be staying the weekend for the mullet-throwing contest.  Apparently, thousands of people come to toss a mullet (a kind of fish) across the state line.  Sorry we’ll be missing that one!

A few of us veered off the route to visit the Naval Aviation museum at Pensacola Naval Air base.  This is the home base for the Flying Angels.  There were hundreds of planes so we only had time to see some of them but the exhibits were interesting.  My favorite part, though, was watching a movie on being a fighter pilot at the IMAX theatre.  I love flying without leaving the ground.

The last few miles to our hotel were dreadful and dangerous cycling.  The road’s shoulder is under construction and there was not enough room for a bike and a car next to each other.  The thrill of being in Florida was tempered by the terrible road conditions.  But, here we are, ready for a good night’s rest and to start out fresh in the morning.

Wow, we rode our bikes from California to Florida.

42.4 miles today
2524.6 total

Sweet Home Alabama.  Home for these two days is a condo on the beach at Dauphin Island.  There’s a pool outside the door, the white sand beach that goes for miles just beyond that and oil platforms way beyond that out in the Gulf.  The schedule for today, our rest day will be a challenge.  Yoga before walking on the beach?  Swim in the pool or the ocean first?  Read a book or write in my journal?  Ah, decisions, decisions.  As soon as the condo office opens, though, my first order of business is to get a new battery for our smoke detector.  At 1:30 a.m., it started beeping every 30 seconds.  First, I climbed up on a chair and got the battery out but the detector is hardwired and now beeps because it doesn’t have a functioning battery.  I did finally sleep for a while with earplugs, a blanket and a pillow over my head, but Genie, my roommate, said I was calling out in my sleep and not happy sounds!  I was dreaming I was in an insane asylum and no one would believe what I was saying.  Now, where did that come from?

Yesterday’s ride was an easy one.   Alabama is flat!  Before we got to the state line, a few of us stopped at an alligator farm in Mississippi.  Most of the other cyclists went right past, even knowing it was on their cue sheet, because it looked like another building on the side of the road.  Behind there, though, was a bayou sort of area with some huge ‘gators hanging about in the water and on the little islands.  One went right under us on a boardwalk and it was easy to imagine being back in time when reptiles ruled.

This is hurricane country.  At the alligator farm, there was a sign where the water line was marked from Katrina.  After we crossed into Alabama a few miles down the road, I started talking to different people about their experiences living in this part of the country.  Every one of them said that being part of the storms is part of life here and they would miss it if they were away.  One fisherman near the bridge to the island said that he has stayed in his home for every hurricane.  “It’s crazy to go north because there is too much traffic, no gas and no motel rooms anyway”.  He has survived several hurricanes from his home “in the woods”.  I could see several new buildings, many of which are built high on stilts.  There are lots of businesses still closed here and along the way.  Apparently, the tourists are still slow to come back.  It didn’t seem like that yesterday, a Sunday, when we arrived, but now on this Monday morning, it’s very quiet.  Maybe that’s because I’m writing at 6:30 a.m.

The bridge to the island is 3 ½ miles long with quite a climb up over the middle of it.  Candice, who has had a serious bridge phobia, was the star of the day as she successfully rode over it.  We all shared in her accomplishment last night at yet another margarita state line party.  There’s only one more!  Linda cooked jambalaya and Southern style banana pudding for the occasion.  We also celebrated Linda who is featured in an article about traveling cycling cooks in this month’s Bicycling magazine.  As she pointed out, both she and Patrick Dempsey are in the same issue.  Congratulations Linda and Candice!

Before I took a long walk on the beach yesterday, I cleaned my bike so I can spend the rest of today exploring and making all those tough decisions.  But first, that 9 volt battery…