Finished!

Ken’s Sat. Feb. 2, 2013 The last day, so we took our time getting out and going. For Florida, the morning was pretty cold down in the low 30’s. So, we dressed for the weather and set out. Great roads, little traffic and great surface with very interesting scenery. We passed through Penney Farms, which was started by JC Penney. It was a beautifully tree lined community. I would have liked to have had more time to check out the small town. But, we had an appointment with the Atlantic Ocean, so we rode on. The highway made a lot of turns and road changes, so John, Teddie and I had to stay in constant contact by phone, so as not to make any mistakes. Once we hit St. Augustine the traffic multiplied ten fold, as there is a huge Outlet Mall there. Plus, the road surface turned rough with a lot of debris on the road. With just a couple miles remaining John’s back tire started to lose air. But, with the final bridge coming in sight we decided to just keep riding. Up over the top you could see for miles and the blue Atlantic was spectacular. We coasted in, met Teddie and Lisa Kemp a teaching colleague from our old school in Alconbury, England. We stood on the beach, took pictures, and celebrated with a bottle of champagne. It was a wonderful and sad feeling all in one, great to be done, but sad our adventure was ended. I have achieved many great things in my teaching, coaching and running careers, but this has to rank as one of the best. Miles traveled today 54 miles. As we walked back from the beach to the RV John said, “What do we do next? There’s always Mt. Everest, I said!! “ We both laughed!

We Made It

Teddie Feb. 2, 2013 Starke, Fl. To St. Augustine, Fl. WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY!

John & Ken headed down the road around 8:45 am after a restful night at Days Inn. I cleaned & swept the RV & packed John’s clothes & cleared his cupboards so he could spend more time with his kids after we arrived. (He really missed them after almost a month) It was smooth road & easy driving today.  I forgot to mention that yesterday morning in Monticello, a policeman stopped & asked us to move the RV as I was dropping the guys off to start their ride where they had left off the day before. He said we were blocking the entrance to a road & needed to move on. Ken & John were putting on their gear & loading their drink bottles, so we said we would go in a few minutes. I thought he would move on but he kept his car parked behind us & must have run our license plates because he came back to the window & said our registration tags had expired. Ken walked back to look at them & noticed there was a big 07 in the middle & on the side in smaller numbers was written 2013. I guess he thought the 07 was the year. I think he was embarrassed & said, “Ok, then move on” & he got in his car & left. (There must be other criminals out there more important than us to catch!)

The guys only had about 60 miles to ride, so they took it easy. It was a beautiful scenic ride on Highway 16 East. Some of the roads were tree lined & had trees hanging all the way over the road. I tried to take pictures as I was driving (not a good idea) but hopefully some of them turned out. Lisa Kemp, one of our colleagues from Alconbury days who was also Landon Kemp’s mother (one of Ken’s top cross country runners) called this morning & wanted to come cheer us on at the end of the ride. She lives & teaches in Atlantic Beach now, which is about 30 minutes from where the ride was ending in Vilano Beach near St. Augustine. I called her later when we were getting close & her timing was perfect. We literally drive into the Publix parking lot (near the beach) at the same time. Ken & John walked their bikes across the street to a spot where we could photograph them with the Atlantic ocean in the background. It was a beautiful moment & wonderful to have Lisa there to photograph all three of us. (thank you Lisa) It was an amazing journey of nearly 3000 miles in 29 days. I’m proud to have been a part of it. As my old triathlon coach Scott Roy (rest in peace) always said, “Enjoy the Journey” and we did!

Winn Dixie

Teddie Day 27 Jan. 31, 2013 Cottondale, Fl. To Monticello, Fl.

We drove back to Cottondale so the guys could start from where they finished yesterday. My job was to find a place to refill the RV’s propane tank, which was empty. I thought it would be easy because I saw a gas company at the edge of town. I found out they don’t fill tanks so they sent me to another address. That didn’t pan out so I asked a shop keeper & she directed me back to the RV park where we spent the night & that was where I was able to get it filled. Who would have thought? After lunch we had to go two different roads for a few hours so I wouldn’t have to drive through Tallahassee. I stopped near Monticello & ran 20 minutes with Josie on some grassy fields. I shopped at Winn-Dixie for groceries in Monticello & the guys showed up while I was checking out. I asked directions to the nearest RV park & a nice old man told me to drive 5 miles straight down the road. We found an abandoned RV park but decided to park there as we didn’t need any electricity. We did refill our water in the morning but didn’t sleep very well since it was right by the interstate & very noisy all night.

Teddie Day 28 Feb. 1, 2013 Monticello, Fl. To Starke, Fl.

We got up at 7 am & had our usual coffee & donuts, breakfast of champions. Ken likes a mocha with a bagel & cream cheese but without electricity it’s hard to toast one. People have asked me what are they eating on this trip to give them the energy they need to ride 100 miles every day. Some nutritionists might cringe but it has worked for these 50 & 62 year old riders. They don’t want a big breakfast when they have to cycle hard. They usually have a good lunch around 1 pm after they have cycled around 60 miles. Their favorite is Progresso Clam Chowder & a turkey & cheese bagel sandwich or ham & cheese. The main thing they have been drinking on the bike is called Arnold Palmer’s Arizona Iced Tea, which is half ice tea & half lemonade. John started out mixing & drinking Gatorade but he got tired of mixing it so I would buy 2 gallons of Arney’s tea & they loved it. We were thinking it would have been nice to be sponsored by Progresso & the Arizona Tea company. By mid afternoon they crave an ice cold coke which gives them the extra caffeine they need. They supplement mid morning & afternoon snacks with power bars. For dinner they eat pretty healthy with chicken & veggies or steak, veggies & salad. Neither one of them think they have lost weight & refuse to weigh themselves until they get home.

It was easy driving today & they had the wind behind them & were able to ride 70 miles before lunch, then another 30 after. Traffic picked up in late afternoon being the Friday before Super Bowl weekend. We decided to treat ourselves to a motel room at Days Inn so we booked 2 rooms & Josie slept in the RV by herself. We had a nice seafood meal at one of the local restaurants & went to bed. It was a very nice day today. Only 80 miles to go tomorrow to reach St. Augustine. Yay!

The End is in Sight

Ken’s Thurs. Jan. 31, 2013
Spent the night at the Arrowhead RV park in Marianna, Florida. And drove back to Cottondale, where we left off the night before. The roads and winds were in our favor and we made good time. Our major challenge today was to get through Tallahasse. Teddie took the RV and drove around the city via the I-10, and we will all meet up in the small town of Monticello. Teddie did a great job and made it to the meeting point with no problems. John and I had to battle for road space going through Tallahasse, it was very busy and very hilly. John and I spend most of the ride on the sidewalk, but we stuck with it and got through. The road out of town turned uphill and continued to go uphill for several miles. I told John, I didn’t think they had any mountains in Florida. But eventually we reached Monticello and met up with Teddie. She had found a RV park just out of town. When we arrived we found that it had closed. But we just found a empty space and parked it for the night anyway. Miles traveled today 102 miles. Tough day, with a lot of stress.

Ken’s Fri. Feb. 1, 2013
Started the day at abandon RV park near Monticello, Florida. Our goal was to go for broke and bike to Starke, Florida a distance of 120 miles, our furthest ride of the trip.
As we set off the road was undulating, but the surface was smooth. So we just kept rolling, at a good speed, we managed 70 miles by 1:00pm our lunch break. A record day was now on, all we had to do is keep it going to make our 120 mile goal. The winds favored us and we ended our last full day of biking with a best distance covered in a day. Tomorrow will be a easy ride of about 70 miles total, all the way to Vilano Beach in St. Augustine, the end of the line. It’s been a amazing trip, mountains, plains, swamps, forests, rivers. Many familiar river names like the Suwannee, Mississippi, Chattahoochee, Atchafalaya, Apalachicola, and Colorado. A real geography lesson, if not a spelling test. Miles traveled today 120 miles. Wow! That was good. Easy day tomorrow! The end is coming!

Sanford Downtown Gas

Strick’s Day 28. 1 February 2013. 119.7 miles. Monticello, FL to Starke, FL. In theory, tomorrow is our last day, 50 miles to go. Riding is the easy part. Sheraton Hotels, one of our main sponsors, called and said that their St. Augustine hotel’s occupancy rate is 0.25 %. They have only one guest, my mother, and she is staying there on points. The General Manager Todd Bullock demanded we stop our pedalling until early next week until the hotel fills for our arrival. His argument is that they do it for the NASA Shuttle launches in Titusville. Idiot. I told them we are sportsmen not Italian soccer players or professional wrestlers. So another sponsor alienated and lost. Only one sponsor left, Sanford Downtown Gas. They say don’t mix business with friends, I am not so sure.

Haunted and Free

Strick’s Day 27. 31 January 2013. 104 miles. Cottondale, FL to Monticello, FL. Sleeping tonight in an abandoned RV park. The hunchbacked seven foot Winn Dixie cashier said it is haunted. Haunted and free is way better than normal and expensive. For example, any Hilton anywhere. This RV park “A Campers World” (they left the apostrophe out) is by Interstate 10 and not near a labor market so falls in the category of recreational RV park busted in the recession (part of their promotion was “only 4 hours drive to Disney”). Mapping out the social and economic aspects of RV parks is a book to be written. On this trip, riding through cities has been memorable. Mobile sticks in my mind. We rode straight through the city during morning rush hour on roads with no shoulders and when we hit trafficless downtown there was a sudden contrasting dark calm hungover feeling. Today we chose Highway 90 East through Downtown Tallahassee again no shoulders so we rode on the deserted sidewalks. I have lived outside of Orlando for two years and have not ridden down I4 and exited into Downtown Orlando at rush hour. Why does one do things on trips that one wouldn’t do in daily life? On bikes. The most popular bikes in America are kids’ bikes that are parked outside homes, largely unride. This is not a biking nation.

The Brilliant Moments

Strick’s Day 26. 30 January 2013. 107 miles. Milton, FL to Cottondale, FL. This trip is a mini-life. 10% is for the birds, 30% is nothing special…the day to day, 35% is above average existence. 20% is loving life. 5% is brilliant beyond words. Yesterday for about two hours in the afternoon we were in that brilliant category. We were riding with a strong wind at our backs in a big storm, with warm pelting rain and barely any cars on the road. This trip will be remembered for moments like that.

Never a Dull Moment!

Teddie’s  Day 23  Jan. 27, 2013  Poplarville, Miss.

Mostly smooth roads today so the guys clocked in another 100 miles.  It’s becoming routine now but they have to push themselves hard at the end of the day to get the miles in. I stopped to take a picture of the Poplarville sign as I entered town in quest of an RV park.  I saw a lady sitting nearby & asked her if she knew of an RV park & she gave me great directions to find it.  I booked us in & by the time the guys arrived, it was all set. The guy even gave us a $5 off discount because they were cycling. He gets a lot of cyclists coming through, but mostly in the summer.  He had a big barbecue going & said we could bring our meat to cook there if we wanted to, so we did. John said it was his favorite dinner so far.  We had pork chops, new potatoes, peas & mushroom gravy. It was a good day.

Teddie’s   Day 24   Jan. 28, 2013   Mobile, Al. (on the outskirts)

It was very humid & I used the air conditioning in the RV most of the day. It was a scenic drive.  At the end of the day we couldn’t find an RV park or motel so we spent the night in a mini mall after eating at a Chinese restaurant nearby.  Ken helped me do the grocery shopping at a Winn Dixie & then we went to bed & slept with all the vents open to keep cool.  It was fairly quiet there.  At least we didn’t have any early morning street sweepers come by.

Teddie’s   Day 25   Jan. 29, 2013  Milton, Florida

Today we had to go on  two different roads because of bridges that were long over the water & tunnels where the bikes couldn’t go.  The guys left at 8:15 & I didn’t see them again until 12:30 for lunch.  I was very nervous about driving today & rightly so.  I had to go on the freeway but it was mostly OK.  I found a McDonalds with wifi in Summerdale, Al. so I bought an iced coffee & charged up the Ipad to read the email & write my blog.  The guys wanted their usual clam chowder & sandwiches for lunch. They think we should get Progresso to sponsor this ride as it is their favorite soup.  We

Planned to meet near Pensacola later so I found an RV repair place & had the broken air vent cover replaced.  It took an hour & then they told me a quicker way to catch up with the guys on highway 90 East.

They were way ahead of me & it was getting late.  Eventually, I came to a sign that said I 10 East go right or I 10 West go left, so I went right but it put me on the interstate & the guys were on the old road.  I pulled off the road & pulled into a parking lot & found a girl who had a smart phone & she gave me directions back to 90 east. By this time it was 5 pm with rush hour traffic & I was near Pensacola Naval Station.  The guys had stopped riding since they had reached their 100 miles for the day. It was getting dark & I was getting nervous & tired. I found my way back to 90E & followed along the road with tons of traffic behind.  The guys kept calling me & wanted to know where I was. Ken had made arrangements to meet Mark Hirst & his family for pizza but it was 6 pm & pitch dark before I finally met the guys. They had decided to rent a motel room nearby & we went to dinner at Pizza Hut next door with the Hirsts around 7 pm after showering.  It was a very long day & one I never want to repeat.

Teddie   Day 26  Jan. 30, 2013  Marianna, Fl. Cloudy & Humid

We got a good night’s sleep in the motel with the AC on all night. It rained last night but was over cast this morning.  Good thing I got the vent cover replaced as it rained most of the afternoon, too.  Thank goodness we are on the same road for the rest of this trip.  Gas is much higher here in Florida $3.44 per gallon.

We had very bad cross winds all morning which helped the guys but it took all of my strength to hold the steering wheel straight & keep the RV on the road.  I had to slow down to 45-50 mph but no one in the line of cars behind me wanted to pass because it was blowing them sideways, too.  The guys stopped for lunch at 1pm & were soaked.  They dried off & ate their usual soup & sandwich.  We went about 15 miles down the road & I was going to pull over for the guys to take a break because it was raining cats & dogs & I saw some flashing lights ahead on the road.  I saw the guys stopped & then they started riding away & a guy came by the RV saying there was an electric line down across the road & a large tree was split in half that had fallen on it from the heavy wind. Then I saw a flash & there was a loud explosion where the line was touching the tree. Traffic was stopped both ways for 45 minutes & then I finally caught up with the guys in Cottondale.  We drove to Marianna to find an RV park & it was dark by then. John’s smart phone helped us out & we found one nearby. It had everything we needed, so I cooked a steak dinner & John did the laundry while Ken worked on his blog. It was another good day & the end is in sight.

A Wet & Windy Day!

Wed. Jan. 30, 2013

We left Milton, Fl. at 8:17am and headed East.  With a huge storm brewing on our tail we wanted to get going toward St. Augustine and hoped to out run it.  But no luck, at about lunch time it let loose a huge rain fall.  I told Teddie is was like cycling underwater, it just came in wave after wave.  It looked like some movie where they would dump water on the main stars to make it look like really raining.  But this was the real deal, and it came

down in buckets.  The only good thing was the wind was at our backs all day and really pushed us along.  It was raining so hard we didn’t see Teddie stopped along the road, and she was honking the RV horn to get our attention.  Now, that is raining hard when that happens.  We reached 98 miles by 4.00pm, but decided to push the next ten miles to Cottondale, Fl to make it 107 miles for the day.  It gets dark here at 5.00pm, so we needed to hurry.  While we were riding Teddie said, that they had several tornado warning in effect.  At one point John and I came across a fallen tree that had hit a power line over the road, they had traffic stopped and wanted everyone to wait for the power company to come.  But we just rode on and ignored the guy.  Teddie came along and had to wait 45 minutes.  Miles traveled today was 107.  A good day for the bad weather.

A night at the INN

Teddie’s    Day 22 Jan. 26, 2013 Clinton, Louisiana

I’ve missed a few days of writing.  By the time we find a place to stay, eat dinner, & take showers, I’m ready for bed.  I don’t know how the guys keep doing it.  They keep pushing it hard to get their 100 miles in each day.  Most of the time the wind is against them so it makes it hard.  Ken mentioned today that he will never forget the smell of the road kill they pass by constantly.  I’ve seen it from the RV but never smelled it, thank goodness. We arrived in Clinton & I immediately took some pictures of the wonderful southern architecture with the pillars on the front porches & wide seeping lawns. John took a walk & found an old Inn & booked us a room, which was a real treat after sleeping in the RV for the past 21 days.  They let us park the RV in the back on a cement basketball court where John & Josie slept. We had a nice breakfast in the morning, which the owners left out for us but they must have gone to church as we didn’t see them again.  The man was a retired football coach & Ken enjoyed talking to him. I fotgot to mention that we had a great dinner the night before of seafood gumbo, grilled catfish (the best I ever tasted), & hush puppies (first time I had them).