EPI-BLOG

Start:  Saturday, September 15, 2012

Finish:  Saturday, November 17, 2012

Total days:  64

Rest days:  10

Cost of trip:  More than we thought

Total miles:  3,080.66

Total time:   239 hours

Overall average:  12.89 mph

Significant events that occurred during our tour: 

    2012 re-election of President Barrack Obama

    Hurricane Sandy devastates the northeast coast

A big THANK YOU to:

Dennis & Lyndsey Morris – for being there in the beginning and taking the Xterra back to Arizona, and for being there for us in the end, with encouragement and carrying our gear, and the transportation back to their home, and their hospitality.

Buzz & Pam Comer for keeping all our sh#t in your yard for these past two+ months.

Mamie Peck and Joan McBride for your loving hospitality in Alabama.  Mamie, a special thanks to you for getting Rick into the cardiology clinic to be checked out!!

Aunt Betty Jean Cassady for your hospitality and conversation in Saucier, Mississippi.

Ben & Katie Thompson for coming to Mobile on your way to Gulf Shores to see us.

Patti who has printed out our blog posts for Sidney Thompson.

Mark Seymour of Saucier, MS, for giving us a ride into Mobile on that scary day with Rick’s irregularly beating heart. (Normal now)

Our warmshowers hosts along the way:

 John and Debra at the McDonald Observatory, TX for the immediate pasta fix after a long day’s ride and a private tour of the Observatory

 Dan and Amy in Tallahassee, FL:  wonderful home-cooked meal and dessert, great conversation, and directions to get through the city and on our way east the next morning

Bob Larson (RL) for the beer and campsite on one our longest and hardest days plus all of the encouraging emails.

John from the Magic Circle for dinner at DeAnza Springs, good conversation and a welcoming familiar face.

The Adventure Cycling Group for their hospitality and camaraderie on several occasions – Joe, Ed, Arthur, Neil, Olaf, John, Berit, Rick, Kelly, Errol, Berenice, Kathy, Jace, Greg, and Buster.

Gloria & Ivan Prochaska for getting drunk with us last spring and promoting this crazy idea.

To all the rest of our family and friends who have supported us with their encouragement, well wishes, and positive thoughts along our journey.

AND…..Thank you, Rick, for safely captaining us all these 3,080 miles and for putting up with me during my “beserk” times.  You’ve been a fantastic partner in every sense.

Top Ten Days (not including The Start and Finish which were obvious great days)

Day 8:  Brenda to Wickenburg (a good ride and enough energy afterwards to enjoy the town)

Day 17:  Over Emory Pass and a great dinner and evening with RL at Caballo State Park

Day 19:  A short day of riding, my 57^th birthday, and a great time at “The Game” in Las Cruces

Day 26:  Marathon, Texas – a strange, happy little town with a White Buffalo Bar and a funky hostel

Day 31:  Texas Hill Country and the Big River Oak Park, camping under a gorgeous oak tree, visiting with the ACA group

Day 35:  A great rest day in Blanco, TX and a visit to the Real Ale Works

Day 40:  A great evening at the Sanctuary for people in Shepherd, TX

Day 42:  Texas in the rear view mirror!

Day 46:  Just a really beautiful & happy day riding through the back roads of Louisiana

Day 56:  A beautiful ride along the Gulf coast through Pensacola  and entering Florida

Worst Days  (tried to come up with 5, but could only come up with 4):

Day 11:  Apache Junction to Apache Gold:  Uphill all the way, bad rumble strips, truck traffic, noise and “The Tunnel””

Day 22:  Ft. Hancock to Van Horn; huge trucks, border inspection station, flat tires, “Spot” gets mean, and too tired to eat dinner

Days 28 & 29:  “On The Border” – nothing much good to look at, FEMA trailer in Langtry, headwinds into Comstock

Thank You Lee for sticking with it and taking care of all the logistics and me. Rick

DID WE MAKE IT????

YES WE DID!!!!  At approximately 11:00 a.m. EST on Day 64 (Saturday, November 17, 2012), we dipped the wheel into the Atlantic Ocean at Anatasia State Park, St. Augustine, FL.  

Yesterday (Friday), our friends Dennis & Lyndsey met up with us again about 20 miles east of Alachua on the outskirts of Gainesville and lightened our load by taking the trailer and gear.  (They were in their minivan this time, not on the Spyder).  That was such a shot in the arm and we were able to scoot along about 5 mph faster than with the trailer.   We rode county roads 241, 232, and 222 into Gainesville, then state route 26 out to Melrose and Putnam Hall, then 100/17 to East Palatka.

We stopped in Melrose for lunch where D&L had scouted out a fantastic restaurant – The Blue Water Bay Restaurant.  Melrose is a small town and it was amazing to find a restaurant of this quality.  Lots of fresh seafood, white tablecloths, and excellent service.  After lunch it was on to East Palatka and a very nice Best Western and another great meal at Musselwhite’s restaurant next door.  At that point we could almost smell the ocean, just 32 miles away.  

In Palatka, we crossed paths again with the ACA group.  We had heard at the Waffle House in Alachua that the group had been there the day before, so we thought they probably were already finished with the ride.  But they had stopped for the night in Gainesville on Thursday.

 

This morning we woke up jazzed to think this was our last day of this quest.  Rick checked weather as he usually does and informed me that the forecast was for a 70% chance of rain, winds from the NE at 20 mph with gusts to 30, and a coastal flood warning.   I thought he was joking as he tends to do from time to time to see if he can get me riled up.  He was NOT joking.  Just off the coast of St. Augustine the radar showed a nasty little storm cell.  Oh boy, we’ve had really pretty great weather this trip.  What a forecast for the last day!! 

The ACA route to St. Augustine was 40 miles and skirted north up along the St. John’s river for awhile before turning east on county road 214.  However, we missed our first left turn to get on that route and ended up on CR 207 which goes northeast.  It was a four-lane road with a good shoulder and traffic fairly light as it was Saturday morning.  We decided to just stay on 207 which was the most direct route into St. Augustine.  At Hastings, we crossed paths with Ed, Arthur, Rick, and Greg from the ACA group.  They had decided to go this same route also to try to beat the weather.  A few miles farther along, we came across  John and Berit from the ACA group who were making a left turn to rejoin the regular route.

We somehow managed to get to St. Augustine without getting rained on!!  We did have a 15 mph headwind with some gusts up to 25 or more, but without the trailer, we still managed to make decent time.  At one point there was a bike path that paralleled CR 207 and trees sheltered us from the wind – that was really nice for a brief time.

Arriving in St. Augustine – what a beautiful city!!  And a very watery city!!!  There were several places where high water from the inter-coastal waterway had washed up on the road and we had to ride through some spots of 6-8” of water (we went around some places where the water was a foot deep or more!).  We managed to get through this and the traffic and make it into Anastasia State Park, savoring the last mile out to the beach.    Tears of joy?  Nah, I did that last night realizing that unless somebody knocked us off the bike today, we would make it.  

AND WE DID!

Day 63

Total miles:  66.3

Time:  4:11

Avg:  15.85 mph

Day 64

Total miles:  32.95

Time:  2:15

Avg:  14.64 mph

The Last Mile

Ed in Palatka, FL

St. Augustine, Flagler College

The Last Mile

A glimpse of the Atlantic

THE FINISH!

Day 62: King of the Road!!!

Spanish Moss on Oak Tree near Suwannee River, Florida

Trailer for sale or rent 
Rooms to let fifty cents
No phone no pool no pets 
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah but, two hours of pushing broom 
Buys a eight by twelve four bit room
I'm a man of means by no means 
King of the road

-Roger Miller

It's funny how when you're riding along certain songs come into your head.  In this case we passed by a lot with a sign, "Trailers for Rent".  So we started singing this song.

Kings of the Road -- that was us today.  Great day.  We got a fairly early start out of Madison (8:15 am after another great Waffle House breakfast) and headed out south on highway 53.  We wove our way through various county roads through pine "plantations", through a little town of OBrien and eventually ended up paralleling US 129 on the Suwanee River Greenway bike trail through the town of Branford, , the onto US 27 just past the Ichetucknee State Park into Ft. White, then High Springs, FL.

Florida, as Texas, continues to surprise me with what it includes.  Not all beaches, palm trees and pink flamingos   Today we saw huge pine "plantations" -- great expanses of deliberately planted pine trees that are grown to feed the pulp mills of the south.  It was pretty strange seeing pine trees growing in perfectly spaced rows, then every so often, a big area that had been harvested and was totally barren with sandy soil exposed.  How do they even grow anything in that sand?

We also saw (and smelled) dairy farms, cattle and chicken ranches.  The chicken ranches were right out of "Food Inc"  -- big barns that smelled of chicken shit, sounds of chickens, but no chickens in sight.  They're just in those barns eating grain and waiting to be slaughtered.  We also saw a huge cotton field today, as big as any we saw back west.  We crossed several rivers including the Suwanee ("way down upon the Suwanee River") and the Ichetucknee.

As we were passing through High Springs today about 3:10 p.m., all of the sudden Rick veered sharply to the side of the road and stopped.  He had spied.....yes....a DIVE BAR.  No really, it was a bar called The Dive, flanked by plastic pink flamingos   A must stop.  We enjoyed some chips and queso and beer  before we finished our final 8 miles into Alachua FL, a suburb of Gainesville, on highway 441.

Total miles today:  83.11
Time:  5:40
Avg:  14.67

Tomorrow we will push on to East Palatka.  After that, it's St. Augustine and the culmination of this "quest".  It's hard to believe it's just a couple of days away!

At Dan & Amy's house, Tallahassee, FL

Day 61: Florida on My Mind....

Florida, Florida
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Florida on my mind....

-Ray Charles

OK, I know you're thinking something is wrong here....yes, the song IS actually GEORGIA.  However, today we passed through Greenville, Florida which claims R.C. Robinson, "Ray Charles" as a native son.  Ray was actually born in Albany, Georgia but his family moved when he was an infant, to Greenville, FL and that's where he grew up.

Memorial to Ray Charles in Greenville, FL

Park in Greenville where the memorial stands

We started out early this morning after a nice breakfast with Dan and Amy.  Dan has a friend who roasts fantastic coffee beans and Amy and I discovered we are both Pumpkin Spice fanatics.  Dan gave us great directions to get back on our way and onto Monticello then Madison.  THANKS AGAIN DAN & AMY!!!!

We stopped in Monticello for a "second breakfast" about 10:30 a.m. at the Tupelo Cafe.  It was very yummy (oooh, the spinach/tomato/feta quiche!!).    Monticello was a cute little place with a nice town square...

Monticello, Florida

From Monticello we rode highway 90 out to Madison, then highway 53 towards I-10 to get to a motel for the night.

The ride today was quite chilly -- maybe it got to 60 degrees today -- and it was overcast and damp all day.  It rained too -- but luckily we didn't get into it as we were sitting in the Tupelo Cafe having our second breakfast when it must've come down as the road was wet when we left there.

We are still riding through a thickly forested area of Florida.  With the gray skies today,  I particularly noticed the massive oak trees, with ghostly gray/green shrouds of Spanish moss hanging from the limbs almost to the ground in some cases.   Quite a beautiful and eerie site.

Tomorrow we are planning to go off the ACA route (because we had to get off route for a motel) and shake our tail feathers (another Ray Charles song!) to High Springs (probably a 72 mile day).  Hopefully the Google Bike Map is good for us again as it was in Mississippi!!

Today's mileage:  62.08
Time:  4:34
Avg:  13.59 mph

Day 60: "REST DAY"

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

We decided to go ahead and take a rest day in Tallahassee today.  Our "rest day" consisted of a leisurely ride from Midway to the west side of Tallahassee in the morning, a little shopping at Wally World, then into the bowels of the city for a visit to the local bike shop and lunch.

We had broken two spokes on one of the trailer wheels, Rick needed new gloves (his were stinky and shot), a new front tire, and tube.  The first bike shop we visited, University Cycles, was obscured by road construction so we had to ride around in circles a few times before we finally found it's side door entrance.  They were very helpful with almost everything but couldn't do anything about the spokes.  They gave us directions to another shop, Joe's Bikes, and also to MoMo's Pizza.  As it was after 1 pm, we opted to go to lunch first.  That was the BIGGEST medium size pizza I've ever had.  We couldn't possibly eat it all, so we wrapped up the leftover and took it to Joe's Bikes -- they really appreciated it and used it as partial payment for the spokes they had to hand-cut and fit for us.  But we got all fixed up.  We had left our trailer at University Cycles so we could navigate the downtown area unencumbered, so at 3:50 p.m. we headed back there, in a bit of city traffic.  At University Cycles, with trailer hitched up again, we met up with Dan (Warmshower's host) who treated us to a guided 15 mile tour back to his and wife Amy's home on the east side of Tallahassee.  So, on our "rest day", we actually had the following mileage:

Miles:  34.64
Time:  2:43
Avg:  12.75 mph

We had a great visit with Dan and Amy.  They have a lovely home and Amy is a fantastic cook!  She spoiled us with home-made spinach-cheese lasagna rolls, home-made garlic-parmesan break sticks, salad, and for dessert, pumpkin-spice cake roll with cream cheese filling (also home-made, of course!!).  They have done a bit of touring themselves and are looking forward to doing more, but alas, they still have (four-letter word) JOBS, so they are limited to vacation-type touring for now (7-10 days).  We all got along very well and hopefully we'll see them again sometime, perhaps taking a tour of Utah or the Pacific Coast someday.  Dan and Amy, if you are reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN!!!

Day 59: FINF

Today we rode from Marianna towards Tallahassee FL on highway 90, then took county roads 269, 269A, and 268 into Midway (just west of Tallahassee).  The morning started out really nice with Dennis & Lyndsey buying our breakfast at Waffle House.  (I just LOVE that place.  Now I've discovered their cheesy eggs and grits breakfast!!).  Then D&L took off on their new CanAm Spyder (see photo) and headed off on their 300+ mile journey back home to The Villages, FL.

Also, D&L took some really nice photos of us along our route yesterday....(thank you!!  These are rare because usually it's just Rick and I by ourselves so it's hard to get those photos together, especially in action on the bike)....

Along our route today as we were passing through Grand Ridge, we saw another cross-country cyclist going the opposite direction.  SHE was walking her bike.  We stopped to see if she needed assistance and were pleased to meet Elif, a woman from Istanbul, Turkey who has come over to the US to ride cross country.  She started in Orlando and is riding to Texas, then heading down into Mexico.  ALONE!!!!  She had full panniers and a really great attitude and seemed to just be enjoying and taking her time.  She was telling us that she had made some friends in Mexico and they told her where the safe border crossings were, but advised her that once she left their homes, she'd be better off taking buses through Mexico for awhile.  I just can't fathom doing something like that -- especially not alone.  Good on her -- I hope she stays safe!

So we didn't make it all the way to Tallahassee today.  After crossing the Apalachicola River we went into the Eastern time zone and therefore, lost an hour.   We were hoping to get all the way to the east side of Tallahassee where we had contacted Warmshowers hosts, Dan & Amy.  As it was, we rolled into Midway close to 4 p.m. and were both very tired.  So we checked into a motel and plan to take a leisurely ride into Tallahassee tomorrow, meet up with Dan after he gets off work, and stay with he and Amy tomorrow evening.  We were both feeling pretty tired today after six days of riding 58-68 miles a day so tomorrow's break will be really great and set us up for a good finish into St. Augustine, now anticipated for Sunday, the 18th.

Today I decided to start counting plastic pink flamingos that I see in people's yards.  Todays' count was only 2.  There were the usual lids and gloves along the roadside.

FINF????  Oh, that means "Florida Is Not Flat".  People keep telling us it's all flat in Florida but today we went up and down rollers pretty much all day.  We both thought there was something wrong with our trailer because it seemed heavier than usual.  I think we need a rest day....

Day 58: Veteran's Day

Today I had the privilege of riding through a Veteran's Day parade with a veteran (Rick) who was wearing an "Americana" bicycle jersey.  People would've thought we were part of the parade IF we had been going the same way as they.  As it was, we were going opposite.  The nice thing was that the police let us go through even though they stopped and detoured all the cars.  (This was about 3:00 p.m. as we were going through Marianna, FL on highway 90).

So....today I learned (1) that Florida is not all flat, and (2) Florida is not all palm trees and flamingos   We did see 1 flamingo -- it was plastic and stuck on somebody's front yard.  On today's roadside we saw a PAIR of gloves, a flip flop, several baby diapers, and a raghead mop!!  (That was a first.)

Dennis & Lyndsey tagged along off and on ,taking photos of us on the bike, and checking out the lunch stop in Chipley (Surf & Turf, good food, everybody was there after Sunday services) and the motel in Marianna.  Thankfully they steered us away from the ACA recommended places (didn't look so good) and we went a few miles off route to stay at a nice Super 8 with a Walmart across the street and several restaurants within walking distance.  The funny/interesting thing was....when WE (Rick & I) rode through Marianna, we stopped at Winn-Dixie to get snacks and beer and wine; we bought a bottle for Dennis & Lyndsey too.  After this, Rick informed me that Dennis had told him there was a WalMart across the street from the Super 8 where we would be staying.  I thought, "Well, we could've stopped there."  However,  I have gotten to a place in my mind where I think, "get it when you can get it!".  And this proved a good thing today.  Because it was Sunday.  AND because in this county, on Sunday, no stores or restaurants can serve alcohol EXCEPT Winn-Dixie!!!!  Figure that!  I was really glad I bought a bottle of wine just for Dennis & Lyndsey!!!

So...this part of Florida....it is beautiful, but it's not beaches and flamingos   It's piney woods and swamps.  I kept looking for alligators today but didn't see any.  It IS very pretty.  Someone at the Waffle House where we had breakfast this morning commented that the part of Florida we were going to be riding through was like the "old Florida".  I think I understand this-- the beautiful lush land that isn't overwhelmed with stores and condos and people.  If it wasn't overwhelmingly humid and hot in the summers it could be a great place to live.

Day 57: Fat Lighter

Good ride today (Milton to DeFuniak Springs, FL)-- good weather, some beautiful country roads with some rises in them (Florida hill country, ha, ha.)  Not all of Florida is palm trees and beaches; this part is through skinny pine forests that are used to feed the paper mill industry down in this part of the country.  Later we had a nice 30 mile stretch on highway 90 with a shoulder and pretty smooth surface.  We called this highway the "Craig's List Highway" due to the many yard sales along the side of the road (not at actual houses; people just come out and set up on the roadside.)  I learned something new today -- what a "fat lighter" is.  It is the heartwood of pine trees that is impregnated with resin and therefore, is an excellent source of getting a fire started.  (One of the yard sales had "fat lighters" for sale; at first I was trying to imagine a very fat cigarette lighter type of device....)

We arrived in DeFuniak Springs about 2:30 p.m. and navigated our way to Beef O'Grady's Family Sports Pub where we enjoyed a few beverages and appetizers with Dennis & Lyndsey Morris who had ridden their new CamAm Spyder over to tag along with us for a day or so.  Tonight we are starting at another Regency Inn & Suites, a basic, clean, economy motel.  Tomorrow we will head out to Marianna continuing on highway 90.

Total miles:  68.42
Time:  5:03
Avg:  13.55 mph

Day 56: THE LAST STATE

Today we entered the last state of our adventure - Florida.  The ride today was beautiful, most of it along the Gulf coast.  I learned what "sea oats" are and why they are important (the sand dunes build up on them).  This area is SO beautiful (and SO much better than west Texas!!!!).....

Gulf Shores State Park beach, Alabama

Sugar Sand!

For miles & miles....

Sea Oats

We rode highway 292 into Pensacola, FL, home of the Blue Angels, and had lunch at the famous McGuire's Irish Pub with dollar bills (and bras!) all over the ceiling and walls.  We rode along the Bayshore Parkway in Pensacola and hooked up with highway 90 and took that all the way to Milton, FL where we are staying tonight.  The ride was just great -- perfect 65-70 degree temperature, clear blue skies, and lots of beautiful scenery (there are some really well-to-do people who have homes along this route!!!!).

Roadside finds today included a flip-flop and a pair of men's underwear.  Don't see THOSE everyday!

Tomorrow we will head out to DeFuniak Springs where we will meet up with Dennis & Lyndsey Morris for a couple of days of riding companionship.   After that, only 424 miles to go to complete this ride!!!!

Day 55: Have You Ever Been on a Shrimp Boat?

"No, but I've been on a really Big boat..."

-Forest Gump

Today we rode through the seafood capital of Alabama, Bayou la Batre, also the home of "Bubba" Blue who inspired Forest Gump to start the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.  And they had a lot of shrimp boats there!!

From there we rode highway 188 east then south on highway 193 over the bridge to Dauphin Island.  It was a beautiful clear, crisp and cool autumn day.  At Dauphin Island we stopped for a quick snack and ended up missing the 11:00 a.m. ferry by 1 minute!!  The next ferry wasn't until 12:30 p.m. so we took our time, checking out Fort Gaines.  I learned that most people misunderstood what Admiral Farragut said as he steamed into Mobile Bay....

It was really "Damn the Torpedoes, I'm going to the head!!" (quote from Rick's late sailing friend, Tony Mance).

The ferry ride over to Fort Morgan was an enjoyable 45 minutes.  We were flanked by a band of dolphins and flocks of pelicans.  And we were surprised to learn that just a little over a year ago, on June 14, 2011, President Barrack Obama had been on this very same ferry!!

Rick spent time in his career talking to Air Force 1; he got a big kick out of seeing this "Ferry 1"!!

The last twenty plus miles was a cruise into Gulf Shores, Alabama's "Redneck Riviera".  It was a beautiful ride; the coastline was spotted with many vacation homes and closer into Gulf Shore, high-rise condominiums.  I have never seen sand as white as this.  It truly looks like granulated sugar!

We picked our motel out specifically to be in close proximity to the famous "Lulu's", restaurant of Lucy Anne Buffet, sister of "the" Jimmy Buffet.  There we feasted on a huge platter of deep fried crab claws and okra.  (Beer selection not the greatest but great atmosphere and even a live band -- the first we've heard on this trip!).

Tomorrow morning we will forge on to the LAST STATE of this trip - FLORIDA!!  We hope to make it to Pace or Milton.  Wow, the last state -- it's hard to believe!

Total miles today:  55.86
Time:  3:39
Avg:  15.3  (not too shabby considering our trailer was back with us today!)

Day 54: Bogalusa MS to Mobile AL - THE REST OF THE STORY

Well readers....if you've been reading very closely you might have noticed there were some holes in our normally well chronicled travels.  Here is the "rest of the story" since we were in Bogalusa MS (Day 48).

The day we rode from Amite City to Bogalusa Rick was experiencing pain in his chest.  It had started that morning after breakfast and he couldn't breathe very deep that entire day as we rode about 50 miles.  Later that day the pain in his chest spread up into his shoulders and neck and some into his lower back. Given that he has a family history of early heart disease, it was a great cause for concern.  The "rest day" we took off in Bogalusa we actually spent taking him to the LSU Medical Center emergency room where they did an EKG and blood tests to check for possible heart attack.  All the tests looked really good so we decided not to spend a night in the hospital and just go back to the motel for a good night's rest.

The next day we rode from Bogalusa to Aunt Betty Jean's house in Saucier (which we blogged about) and there were no problems other than Rick still was experiencing chest discomfort which we had decided was an upper respiratory infection.  Probably sleeping outside in the tent that night in the dampness didn't help matters.  The next day we headed out, hoping to make VanCleave.  About 1/2 hour into the ride, without really any strenuous exertion, Rick's heart rate shot up to 165 and there is stayed until we stopped for lunch. After lunch it dropped back down to normal, but then, once we started riding again it went back up again.  (We wear heart rate monitors when we ride.)  We thought perhaps his monitor was malfunctioning, so about 20 miles into the ride, we decided to put my monitor on him and see what it said.  It said the same thing.  I listened to his heart and it was beating very rapidly and somewhat irregularly.  At this point, we just STOPPED.  This was out in the middle of nowhere Mississippi.  We weren't even sure how close we were to any kind of town.  We remembered passing a fire department a mile or so back, so we rode back to it.  Nobody was there (it was a volunteer department) but there were some folks doing some work at the Baptist church next door.  We went over there and explained what was going on and asked if they knew of anyone who might be able to give us a ride to an emergency room somewhere.  One of the guys, Mark Seymore, a  firefighter himself, offered to take us to Biloxi or Ocean Springs or wherever we needed to go.  It turned out he drove us all the way to Mamie's house (Vicki's sister) in Theodore (a suburb of Mobile, AL).  Within 15 minutes of  stopping riding, Rick's heart rate went back down, so we decided we might be better to forego the emergency room and see about getting into see a cardiologist on Monday.  (Mamie works for a cardiology group.)

So Monday afternoon, Rick got into to see the head cardiologist at the Cardiology Associates next to Spring Hill Hospital.  After a calcium CT scan, and a cardiac stress test, they found...NOTHING WRONG.  No blockage whatsoever and of course, Rick's heart rate behaved just fine this day.  The doctor said the experience of the irregular rapid heartbeat might have been triggered by an electrolyte imbalance.

So we went back home to Mamie's house, quite relieved with the news, and spent Tuesday getting ready to hit the road again.  We had to figure out how to get back to where we had sagged in from (highway 15 and Bethel Road in Mississippi).  We ended up buying a bike rack at Walmart and Joan, Vicki's niece, drove us back to that point this morning, and then we rode the 56 miles from there back to Mamie's house.  It was a great ride today; it felt really good to be back on the bike and we both felt energetic and rested.  Also we had left the our 100+ pound trailer at the house, so we just flew on that 56 miles ride.

Total miles today:  56.08
Time:  3:18
Avg:  17 mph (at this rate we could've finished this ride two weeks ago!!)

Tomorrow we will head out for Gulf Shores, Alabama, then Pace on Friday, then DeFuniak Springs, FLORIDA on Saturday.

We want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Mamie and Joan -- for their hospitality, concern, use of the car, and the great fun time we've had with them during the past four days.  They truly have been the greatest.

Hear the music!!!

Rick & Joan messing around

Mamie & great-granddaughter Ansley Marie

Mississippi Swamp

STATELINE -- 2nd to LAST STATE!!!!!

Day 52: Immobilized in Mobile

Today we are at Vicki's sister Mamie's house and enjoying the visit with her, Joan, Ansley (great granddaughter), and Jerome.  Yesterday afternoon, Rick's nephew Ben and his wife, Katie, and kids Koa and Amelia came by on their way to Gulf Shores.  We all had a nice visit at the Buchaneer Yacht Club.

We have decided to take a couple of days off while we're here since Rick is still not over what appears to be an upper respiratory infection that he picked up just before Bogalusa.  This will put us a few days behind on our anticipated finish date, but what the heck, we have nothing but time.  And the weird thing is....the closer we get to being finished with this ride, I am realizing that I am going to miss this adventure when it's over.  It will seem strange to go back to "real life"!!!

Day 49: Bye-Bye Bogalusa, Hello Aunt Betty Jean

Friday, November 2, 2012

Today we headed out from Bogalusa and navigated our way through the backroads of Mississippi (yes, we are the third to last state of this trip!).  We went off the ACA route to get down to Saucier, MS, where Rick's Aunt Betty Jean lives, having gotten the route from Google maps (bicycle).  There were only about 40 turns in this route (!!!!) and it looked like it would take us out in the middle of nowhere (which it did, but out here, people live out in the middle of nowhere).   We saw some interesting cattle out on these back roads today -- true "skinny cows"....

 But good old Google maps got us there.  Rick hadn't written down Aunt Betty's address, just the road she lived on, but he had seen the house on Google earth, so when we got to what he thought was her house, I went up to the door and knocked.  When she came to the door, I asked if she was Rick's Aunt Betty Jean.  She looked at me like "who are you?" and then replied "Yes.  Tell Ricky to come in here!".

We had a really nice visit with Aunt Betty Jean.  She was very hospitable and the first blood relative of Rick's that I've met.  I really liked her;; at 81, she's still got a lot of spunk.  We stayed overnight,  and were sorry we had to push on the next morning (Saturday) so we can make Gulf Shores when Ben & Katie are there.  Saturday (Nov. 3), we will get back on the ACA route, head for VanCleave, camp overnight, then head on Sunday  to Mobile to visit Vicki's sister & niece, Mamie & Joan.

Total Miles:  63.28
Time:  4:35
Avg:  13.81  mph

Day 48: Rest Day in Bogalusa

Yep, we decided to rest up a day here in old Bogalusa.  It's not that bad as long as you stay indoors and don't go out to smell the papermill (!!!!).    Since we are so far out from any services in town, we called good ole Enterprise Rentals and got a car for the day.  Went out for breakfast and then went shopping for some decent food -- Veggie Delite sandwich (Subway), and fresh Salmon, potatoes, and salad for dinner (I'm getting pretty good at cooking in motel microwaves).  There's some decent wine in this town (from California, no less) and the Shiner Wild Hare IPA is halfway decent for Rick.

Reviewing our log, it's been 708 miles since our last day off.  This day was totally deserved I think, even though it's not in the best city.  But the bed is comfy and the cable TV came back on today (it was out yesterday) and there's internet and we have have good food ---  that's a whole lot more than a lot of people back east dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy!

Day 47: Boogiemanville (aka: Bogalusa, LA)

Written Wednesday, October 31, 2012

It's Halloween!!  Today we rode from Amite City to Bogalusa on highways 16 and 10.  Nothing fancy, just LA highways.  Rick woke up this morning with muscle pains in his shoulders and chest, probably due to jarring road conditions and the long mileage yesterday.  It was a LONG day, for sure.

Bogalusa is nothing to write home about.  It's a papermill town and smells of such.  The area of town that has all the services - Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, fast foods, etc. and the Budget Motel -- wasn't the greatest.  The Budget Motel (listed in the ACA map) is a pretty scary place.  There was a girl sitting on the curb there probably waiting for her drug fix. The room we looked at was small, dingy, and smelled of cigarette smoke.  I asked if there was a non-smoking room and the guy (with a dot in the middle of his forehead) looked at me like "what? you expect people not to smoke?".  So...we rode past all the services to a more distant part of town, past the country club, past the paper mill and the "other side of the tracks" to the Traveler's Rest Motel.  An okay place but the only food/grocery within walking distance (just across the street) is a gas station with a cajun deli (i.e., fried crawfish/catfish).  Some halfway decent fried shrimp/catfish and boiled shrimp & crab, but very limited (non-existent) on any other type of grocery.

We have been riding hard and long for about 12 days now....I think we need a rest day.  This isn't the greatest town to take a rest day in, but when you need one, you just need one and the motel's not bad.

Day 46: Amite City Horror....

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

....well, it IS almost Halloween.  Tonight we are in Amite City, and no, it's not really a horror.  In fact, we are  splurging on Comfort Inn tonight, but ate frugally at Waffle House (yum, yum, pecan waffle and hash browns).

After leaving New Roads this morning, we rode over the Mississippi River!!!!

Ol' Man River, The Big Muddy, the Mighty Mississip

We stopped in Clinton and had lunch at "Johnny B's", and thanks to Johnny B (the owner), we went off the ACA route, taking highway 63 then 16 to Amite City (pronounced "Ey-mitt").  He knew his roads well!  Beautiful ride today through crisp autumn woods.  LA is very beautiful this time of year and the temperature was a nice 70 degrees with low humidity.

We almost got shut-out on lids today; finally saw one late this afternoon. Smelled our first skunk after noon.  Saw two new items on the roadside we hadn't seen before -- an umbrella and an ice cube tray!  We met Perry of Perry's Bike Hostel just before Jackson (we were going to stay there last night but bonked out earlier).  She was headed into Baton Rouge and spotted us on hwy 68, turned around to see if there was anything we needed.  We also rode past the Dixon Correctional Institute today -- nice looking country prison!!

Total mileage:  78
Time:  5:13
Avg:  14.95 mph

Happy Birthday, Steve!  (Rick's brother)

Day 45: Lids

Yes, we know you're wondering about this title.  Let me explain....sometimes the miles just seem to go on and on and there's not a whole lot that one can entertain oneself with.  We amuse ourselves with counting lids that we see along the road (the tops that have blown off ice chests and plastic boxes).  Lids and buckets and roadkill.  Sometimes we rate the days -- "that was a 20 lid day".  We have daily events that occur also -- the first skunk of the day being my favorite.  Buckets are fun -- very exciting to see a 5 gallon orange Home Depot bucket or a gallon ice cream bucket.  Roadkill is always interesting -- we've been seeing quite a few squashed Amardillos here in Louisiana and more possums (Texas hill country had a lot of racoons).  This is how we entertain ourselves when the miles go on and on and/or we want to get our minds off a strong headwind or a steep hill.

So, that being said, today we rode from Bunkie to New Roads via highways 29, 114, and 1.   It was really good that we had bonked out in Bunkie last night, because in doing so, we avoided staying overnight tonight in the dreaded Sportsman Inn in Simmesport (terrible reviews from Karen and Norm, online, and locals in Moreauville).   It was a fairly pleasant ride alongside many sugar cane fields.


Some of the roads were pretty bumpy, especially Old Highway 1 between Hamburg and Simmesport.  At Simmesport, we crossed over the Atchafalaya River then decided to remain on new highway 1 all the way through Innis, Morganza, and on into New Roads.   We had a really great tailwind for some time, but there was a big blue tractor behind us on the shoulder, chasing us down.  But with the tailwind, we were able to stay ahead of him, not slowly having him catch up with us with his crushing bucket (like in those bad dreams).  And finally, in New Roads, I was able to buy a bottle of sparkling wine ("champagne") to celebrate getting through Texas!!

We are staying tonight at Neal's Cypress Inn.  We walked to dinner at "Hot Tails", a wonderful crawfish/seafood house.  It was heaven -- we sat at the bar, had real draft beer that wasn't Budweiser, and feasted on very fresh fried okra, jumbo fried crab claws (my first ever -- yum!!), and BBQ shrimp NOLA style (absolutely fantastic!!!!).  And  pecan cobbler for dessert.  Besides the great food, our wait person, Brooke, was most attentive  and engaged us in good conversation about her life in this region and travel that she would like to do.  She also introduced me to a new term, "coonass", referring to her boyfriend!

Total miles today: 61.4
Time:  4:07
Avg:  14.91 mph

Day 44: More on Mamou, Bikin' on the Bayou, and Bonked out in Bunkie

Sunday, October 28, 2012

When we last left you, readers, we had arrived at the dream-come-true hotel room over a bar.  After settling into our room and a nice cold shower (really, the water never got hot), we wandered downstairs to the bar to get a drink.  And guess what?  IT WAS CLOSED!!!!!  Apparently it was only open from noon to 4, and would re-open later for the Halloween party (later being 9 p.m.).  So, thirsty as we were, we wandered up the street to find another bar just two doors up.  Wow -- this cajun country is pretty weird.  At the "6th Street Tavern", we had a choice of 5 fine bottled beers -- Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller, and Miller Light.  Hmmmm....we were entertained by a "newlywed" couple.  Apparently the guy (a local Cajun) had come to town this day, and met his "bride" and they got married on a street corner (seriously, this is absolutely what I gleaned from their drunken conversion).   She was very excited to meet his family; he said his mama was dead to which she replied that he should take her to his mama's cross and that she wanted him to be proud of her.  And then there was the OTHER Cajun guy (playing pool) who came over and said something (we couldn't understand anything he said),but he touched Rick's jeans and then his own jeans, and smiled and gibbered something to me....not sure what that was all about.  So after only one beer at this FINE establishment, we headed down the street to the convenience store (the Cajun Grocery) where we purchased a 6 pack of Louisiana made beer - Abita Amber -- and headed back to our room.  By the time the party got underway downstairs, we were half asleep and tired enough that the noise from the party didn't interfere with slumber.

The next morning we woke up ASPHYXIATED from the cigarette smoke of the bar filtering up through the ventilation system.  Although we remained lethargic most of the day, we did have a beautiful ride along the bayou and past Chicot State Park.

   After about 44 miles (into a 20 mph headwind) we rolled into Bunkie and there was the All Star Inn, next to Ricky's Dugout Bar & Grill and a 24-hour convenience store - Score!! (The Dugout ended up being closed so we dined on Shrimp Entouffee and Turnip greens, from the convenience store, heated up in our room's microwave).

Hey, and how 'bout those Giants, sweeping the World Series!!!!  Even Rick's dad was pulling for the national league team!  What a great end to a windy day!

Total miles:  43.71
Time:  3:31
Avg:  12.43 mph

Day 43: Cajun Country!

Today we rode through Louisiana backwoods and rice fields  (highways 26 and 104) from DeRidder to the little town of Mamou, the home of the famous "Fred's Place".  Fred's is a honkeytonk that is only open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (yes, 8 am in the morning to just a couple of hours after noon).  If you check on TripAdvisor, you'll see rave reviews about the place.  However, we didn't arrive in Mamou until 4 p.m. so we missed it, darn!

BUT...when we arrived at our lodging for the night, the Hotel Cazan, it was Rick's dream come true -- a hotel over a bar!!  And tonight is their Halloween party night!  People are coming from all over to this place for the party -- should be fun, which is why I'm blogging early tonight!

Total miles today:  63.9
Time:  4:21
Avg:   14.69 mph

Day 42: GOOD-BYE TEXAS!!!!!

FINALLY, today at 1:30 p.m. we crossed over.....from Texas to Louisiana.  Oh what a feeling!  We'd been slogging our way through Texas for 3 weeks and today, it's in the rear view mirror.

Hello Louisiana, land of ettouffee' and jazz!  Never mind that our first meal in Louisiana tonight was at a Mexican restaurant next to our motel.  DeRidder apparently is not the culinary capital of LA.  Oh well, gumbo and ettouffee' will have to wait for another day.

It was a lot cooler today as a cold front is passing through.  It's amazing what a difference of 20 degrees can make in this moist environment.  Yesterday (in the 80s) we were sweating like pigs; today (in the 60s) we were wrapped up like pigs in blankets.  The next several days are supposed to be cool and clear.  The hills have definitely subsided and we're making better time now.

The landscape now has become dense with underbrush and shrubs and small trees (i.e., thickets).  Various sizes and shapes of houses are dotted throughout -- from large brick houses (I think they look like mortuaries) to tiny run-down shanties.  It's quite a mix.  I keep looking for the speakeasy down one of the dirt roads that run into the woods....

Total miles today:  73.48
Time:  5:12
Avg:  14.13 mph

Day 41: Flat & Fast

FINALLY, today we got to do what tandems do well -- mostly flat terrain.  It was great!  We jammed along, keeping mostly a 15 mph average (keep in mind we are still towing our 100+ pound non-pedaling passenger).  It's amazing how fast 60+ miles goes when you're not laboring up hill after hill after hill.

We got a late start out of Shepherd Sanctuary this morning, about 9:30 a.m..  I was thinking we'd have a long day ahead of us but it turned out seemingly short.   We went east on highway 223 to Dolen, then 787 through Romayor and Votaw to Thicket, then 1293 to Honey Island and Kountze, then 69/287 and 327 to Silsbee.  We had called the Red Cloud RV Park in Silsbee this morning to inquire about camping availability to find that our friends, the Adventure Cycling tour group, would be there tonight as well.  We passed Ed and Cathy on the road today, rolled into the camp about 3 p.m. and snagged one of two available cabins.  Rode about a half mile to the Walmart and got dinner for the night - seafood jambalaya, cheese bread, and southwestern salad, and of course, plenty of beer.  Rick played horseshoes with some of the ACA guys tonight and then we watched Game 2 of the SF/Detroit World Series with several of them in the park's community.  And YAY!!  SF won again!!!!  A "thumbs up" day today for sure.

This is our last night in Texas.  Tomorrow we will ride highway 96 to Kirbyville, TX, then 363 and 190 into DeRidder, Louisiana.  Tomorrow night I'm drinking champagne to celebrate crossing Texas.  It's a BIG tough state.  Rick commented just yesterday there's rides across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and a lot of states, but have you ever heard of a ride across Texas?????

Total miles:  64.3

Time:  4:19

Avg:  14.9 mph

Days 39 & 40: Bad & Good (UPDATED WITH PHOTOS)

Day  39 (October 23):  We rode from Navasota to Cagle Recreation Area campground in the Sam Houston National Forest, about 5 miles west of New Waverly, TX.  This was a bad day for me, and I can't even say exactly why except it started out with a crappy breakfast of bad fried donuts.  (Just to show you, kids, breakfast IS the most important meal of the day!!!!)  I was in a bad mood after breakfast; it subsided for a bit during the middle of the day reared again when we pulled into this campground in the afternoon, with NO ICE & NO BEER.  (I had bought a bottle of cheap wine at WalMart in Navasota, but without ice, it wasn't so good either.)  So....WHAAAHH!!!!

So, Day 40:  GOOD day.  Rode into New Waverly and had a great breafast at the New Wavelry Cafe (Pecan Waffles!!).  We met Al from Vancouver, WA there, who had cycled down the Pacific Coast and then taken up the Southern Tier route.  Interesting guy....

Later that morning we came across John of Brooklyn, who was traveling east to west.  He'd started in Brooklyn, cycled down to Georgia, and then crossed down to the Southern Tier route.  A young man, on his own  He said he'd had company from Brooklyn to Georgia, but was now on his own, and I think he was missing companionship!!!  We told him about La Loma del Chivo in Marathon; hopefully he'll stop there and be as surprised and pleased with that town/ & place as we were.

We had lunch in Coldspring, TX, at "The Hop" burger and shake joint.  Of course, not eating meat, we ordered the shrimp, fries & hushpuppy baskets, AND chocolate shake/malt.  Wow, they give you a LOT of shrimp!!!  It's amazing what a difference getting good, decent food is on this ride.  Just east of Coldspring, we bought a 24 oz Heinekein and had pulled over to a picnic area to drink it when this woman pulled up in a gold sedan.  She was very nice and explained to us that she and her partner run a camping place for cyclists up the road in Shepherd, TX.  We had seen it listed in the ACA map, but were leaning towards a motel.  (I was sick of camping after last night with NO ICE!!!).  She said they had cabins also, with electricity, and bathrooms and showers, and that it was much nicer than a motel.  She also told us where the grocery store was on the way to their place, and promised ICE.  So...

We went to the Shepherd Sanctuary just east of Shepherd, TX.  This is undoubtedly, for me, the BEST overnight we've had so far.  Take the eclectic environment of the commune in Marathon, and upgrade it about 5 notches in care and cleanliness and you have the Shepherd Sanctuary   As I write tonight, we are sitting out on the deck outside the "barn" (communal kitchen), with red Asian lanterns glowing, wind chimes softly blowing in the breeze, the temperature absolutely perfect, and crickets chirping.  A little earlier this afternoon/evening, the hummingbirds were out in full force.   I was able to cook a real dinner in the kitchen -- baked cod in cream sauce over red potatoes, and sauteed zucchini & yellow squash with jalapeno.  Beer for Rick and Lime-a-Ritas for me (ON ICE).  I am SO happy.

Peach and Connie here are very hospitable.  Connie was the one who stopped and told us about the place and showed us around when we first got here.  Later Peach got home and we had such a great conversation with her about important things like politics and religion.  It's really wonderful to have a beautiful night like this around intelligent, friendly people.

So....bad & good, from one day to the next.  That's how it can be.  I tend to stick in the moment and when I'm unhappy, I'm really unhappy.  But then again, when I'm happy, I'm really happy.  And so it goes..  And Rick doesn't understand this, since he has more control than the rest of us mortals....

Total mileage:  45. 85
Time:  3:25
Avg:  13.42 mph

PHOTOS OF THE SHEPHERD SANCTUARY....

Our Bungalow

Through the looking glass....

Shepherd City Limits

The "leakey teepee" at the Sanctuary

The Barn community kitchen and patio

The bottle bin -- Peach is going to make a glass house one day