Thursday, Feb. 14, 2008 - Happy Valentine's Day

Pensacola, FL to Bayou La Batre, AL. 80 miles, 658 total.

Part of these miles were on the ferry across Mobile Bay, so don't think that I'm a "super-biker-dude"!

It started out clear and cold today with a light wind. I got an eary start at 7 am - that's pretty unusual for me! Riding along in the same direction as me was a "snowbird" from Illinois named Tom. He lead me on a slight detour on a very nice bike path that ended up at a very large RV park full of people from a wide variety of Northern States and even Canada. It was a nice ride and nice to visit with him. He rode with me for almost an hour, even though he had a tee-time with some of his golfing friends. Thanks, Tom. We went past by a lot of large condo buildings, and lots of private beach homes. It was a nice area.

Then, as I was riding towards the Mobile Bay Ferry, I was so surprised to catch up with Susan again. She's the woman from Germany that I rode with a few days earlier in Caryville, but I couldn't keep up with her. She's traveling very light, and with my trailer, I just couldn't keep up to her fast pace!



We raced to the ferry landing, but ended up having to wait about an hour for the next ferry. It gave us a chance to snack on lunch as we waited for the 18 car ferry to arrive. I enjoyed the plesant ride and conversation with Susan as we crossed to the other side of Mobile Bay.



We met a man and wife team that is riding their tandem bike 12,000 miles around the U.S.A. They had just crossed the ferry and were headed East. Had a nice visit with them, also.

Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008

Milton, FL to Pensacola, FL. 32 Miles, 578 Miles total.

It was cold and windy today, mostly a tail wind, that helped. It started out overcast, but no rain. I used the library in the town of Pace to up-date the blog.

An 8 mile section of roadway near Pensacola was the worst of the trip so far. There was road construction going on, and they had ground off the pavement on the bike lane in both directions. The auto lane was good, and they expected bikes to "share the road", but the traffic was heavy and there were a lot of hills, so it was slow going.

I stayed at a motel again, and went to a supermarket to buy dinner supplies rather than eating out. It was over 10 miles to a campground, and it was a little too "urban" to camp beside the road. I'm glad I stopped there for the night.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

De Funiak Springs, FL to Milton, FL - 65 miles, 546 miles total.

What a difference a day can make! It was much cooler today. It started with a few sprinkles, and soon turned to a cool, steady rain, heavy at times. I discovered something very important: Rain gear doesn't keep you dry, it keeps you warm! You end up just as wet with or without, but you stay a lot warmer with the rain gear on!

I stopped during a heavy shower, threw my tarp over my trailer and bike, and proceeded to install the rear fender that I had purchased a few day earlier. I could have done this at a more convenient time, but it seemed like I might not need it at all since the weather had been so good.

Then, just as I was leaving the town of Crestview, Florida, I started having some very serious problems with my left pedal. It was making a lot of noise, and it wouldn't spin freely like it should.

Mission Control found me a bike shop about 20 miles away, and I gave them a call on my cell phone, but they were a good distance off route. They suggested a bike shop in Milton, so I was on my way. It was about 24 miles away, but at least I didn't have to go off course to get there.

The closer I got to Milton, though, the worse the problem became. Soon, it wouldn't spin at all, and it was really draging my progress down. The steady, cool rain didn't help much, either. I finally made it to the bike shop about an hour before they closed for the day.

Turns out that it wasn't just a rain storm, the National Weather Service issued severe Thunder Storm warning, with the strong possibility of a tornado! I decided to check into a motel for the night, and it was a good thing I did. There was a lot of lightening and thunder, and it rained very hard for about an hour. It was also windy. I was able to walk about a block to a pizza restaurant for dinner. Next to the pizza place is a laundrymat, so I'll be able to wash a load of clothes in the morning before heading out.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Marianna, Florida to De Funiak Springs, Florida - 51 miles, 481 miles total. The weather is comfortable, 70 degrees and not windy at all. I was trying to make it to town, and thought that I'd get a room, but it was dark and I was getting tired, so I camped along the highway about 5 miles from town or so. The road noise and the occasional train kept me awake most of the night. Then, about 6:00 am, just as I was thinking about getting up and getting on the road, a friendly State Highway Patrolman paid me a visit. He said that he saw the reflector on my bike and thought that a car might have veered off the road and into the bushes. He was nice, and didn't even want to see my driver's license or anything. Wished me a safe journey on my way to San Diego.

In Caryville, I was passed by a woman from Germany, named Susan, headed West. We talked for about 20 minutes or so. I tired to keep up with her, but she was traveling very light, with only 3 small bags, and I couldn't keep up with her. I so wish I could lighten my trailer some more! I'm afraid to weigh it ... I'd really rather not know how much it weighs.

She also saw the two guy's from California that I sat at my table at Sage's Cafe. We all enjoyed a slice of Spice Cake, compliments of the cafe!

I ate an enjoyable breakfast in De Funiak Springs, and looked around the town just a bit, then headed on my way West.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Gretna, Florida to Marianna, Florida - 47 miles. I was being very lazy today, and even thought about not riding at all, except I didn't want to stay in Gretna too badly! I can't believe I ended up riding 47 miles today!

Breakfast was at Jerry's, but it was a little late, and they had already started their Lunch Buffet. I asked if they would still make breakfast, and they did, but it wasn't all that good. I guess I should have tried the buffet!

Dinner was a buffet in Marianna called Jim's Buffet and Grill. The billboard along side the road said that it was the place where locals eat, so I thought I'd give it a try. Buffets seem to be very popular around here!

I was really needing a shower, so I stayed at a motel in Marianna called "Best Value". I took their last room, and it was not very expensive, so I'm glad I stopped there for the night.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Sweet Field, Florida to Gretna, Florida. 56 miles. Partly cloudy, but very comfortable today. Not too hot and not too cool. I camped at the Elementary School in Gretna, although just on the other side of the fence was the railroad tracks, and there where trains all night long!



I was feeling some pain in my left leg today, my feet are sore, and my tailbone is still hurting. I've been in the saddle too long, or maybe I'm just getting too old! And the hills! Tallahassee had a lot of hills! There's a college there, so I saw a lot of college students in town.

There was a beautiful sunset tonight.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Lee, Florida to Sweet Field, Florida - 46 miles. My GPS says that I've traveled 327 miles so far on this trip. I put on my warm gloves again today, as it was a bit cool in the morning. I had breakfast at the Yellow Pine Restaurant in Madison. There are a ton of Pine Trees here, in fact, this part of Florida reminds me a little of Eastern Oregon. I didn't know that Pine Trees came in Yellow, though. I thought they were all green.

I've been finding that I do really well by getting up and riding for a while before breakfast, eating some sort of snack in the middle of the day (like a granola bar, some candy or an ice cream sandwich), then eating a big dinner at about 4:00 in the afternoon. That way, I can be looking for a place to camp for the night while it's still light out. If I eat a later dinner, it's dark when I'm trying to find a place to camp, and it doesn't work out as well.

I camped for the night in Sweet Field at a Baptist Chruch, next to a power sub station. This worked out really well. I didn't follow the Southern Tier Route the whole way today, finding that it saved a few miles by staying on Highway 90. I'm not sure why the printed route went so far South. I saw a few more bike riders today, heading East.

I'm really enjoying the local food at the small restaurants along the way. I haven't cooked a meal yet, and if I don't soon, I just might be sending home my stove, pot and silverware. I'd sure like to lighten the weight of my trailer!

I didn't camp here, but I think this cabin would have been a nice place to stay! This was on Highway 90.