Friday 28 March 2014

After camping for two nights, treating myself to motel (hah!) with attendant PC for new post....

A gentle headwind on Day 2 let me press on a little across Florida, with subtle shift from forest in east to perfectly manicured stockades for horse breeding, and then gently back to forest and swamp as I rounded NW and onto the Florida panhandle.  First puncture - a large staple in the rear wheel.  Not a good night's first camp - the first RV park said 'no' to tents, despite being almost empty (something to do with insurance - the traditional excuse, although I was too bored to enquire exactly how man and tent could pose any risk at all...) so another 10 miles to another RV park, who rather reluctantly accepted me ('tenters often cause problems') and then everyone except me got completely pissed and shouted all - all - night.  If you can't beat them etc, but I was too pooped.  But my tiny tent was good!  70 miles.

 

Day 3 was a bit of a stormer, as the wind swung behind me and I cracked 47 miles before lunch, and then decided to keep going the next 40 - there was no in-between as the forest closed in with nothing in the middle.  So 87 miles, and I had stocked up on beans 'n rice and pineapple chunks and evap - mmmm!  Nice little camp site in the middle of the myriad of river systems in NW Florida.  It won't be the last time I will wonder how the first explorers hacked their way through the endless woods and swamp.  Easy for me on super smooth highways.

 

The view of the great road through the forest

 

Day 4 (today) dawned overcast with risk of rain.... Made first friend when I stopped for water refill at gas station, and was invited home for coffee.  Jim McCormick was a self-styled philosopher so we talked about theories of Dream Games and exploration of other consciousness(es), while I had coffee and he had a body-sustaining smoothie of flax, sunflower seeds and orange juice.  Here we are.

Then it began to drizzle, and then Tropical Storm Get-Roop struck, with 5 inches of rain in 4 hours, a wind off the sea (for I was on the coast by now, with zilch protection) of 30 knots gusting 40.  Two kind pick-up drivers screeched to halts and offered lifts, so torrential was the rain, but I answered 'no' when quite clearly the correct response of any sane person was 'yes'.  Something obsessive going on.  So it was 50 miles this afternoon in this wonderful Florida weather..... for a total of 65.  On track...

 

Welcome to the Gulf of Mexico!  NB angle of palm branches

 

You get the idea

 

Slowed to about 6 mph here - but not to admire the view

 

Jolly japes selfie

First Real Day

Tuesday 25 March: Daytona Beach to Silver Springs, Ocala FL. 71 miles total, including getting a bit lost in DB.

Phew......

I was amazed that the trip to Dayton Beach had been so smooth - the cardboard packaged bike was gi-normous and needed special special handling at Gatwick, but it arrived at Orlando in perfect nick, 20 minutes after the doors opened.  Then it just fitted into the minibus to Daytona for the 90 minute journey, dropping me off at the motel.

First day started with the usual faff: phot, buying phone card, going to beach, stopping for adjustments, getting stove fuel at Walmart (!!) and then swinging west through central Florida.  Hadn't reckoned on stiff headwind (stiff for me means over 15 knots on the nose, and there it stayed for the ...... whole 70 miles.  So this middle-aged puffer got first real intimation that he is no longer 25.  In fact, it led to cursing, total depression, more cursing and steadily speeds, from progressive 14 mph to dismal 9 mph.  But the road was great - typical well-maintained 2-lane, with broad hard shoulder throughout with smooth road surface (you rarely find these on any road in Blighty).  With my new arm mirror from Kate I could see stuff coming from miles back, although it has left spectacular sunburn mark on my left arm.....

Spent the night in another (dismal-ish) motel but aiming to camp tonight.  Next post a few days away.

The day before....

Here I go!  The bare bike, my wonderful 1979 Claude Butler Special (from FW Evans, in the Cut near Waterloo), and just updated via rebuilt wheels, a new saddle post and fresh bars, but otherwise pretty much original.  The day before I fly to Orlando, and then ready to swim in the Atlantic and then 2700 miles later in the Pacific.  Now about to prepare it for the flight to Orlando...........