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Medway Messenger Friday Edition
13 Apr 2012

Medway Messenger Latest - The finish

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Medway Messenger Monday Edition
9 Apr 2012

Lake City to St Augustine - Day 19

The last post, woke up early with a spring in my step knowing this was going to be the last day. The last day of living out of the trunk of the car, sore backside, white finger, backache and knackerd legs! Breakfast was the usual, even though today was approx 90 miles still have to be fuelled right to get there in good condition.


The roll out was quite tricky through the City and onto the US 100 East, wind was favourable and off I went like it was a race, I just wanted to get there and I know Caroline has wanted to for several days now. I have to say she has done a fantastic job of being there when needed with food, drink and a smile ( as well as a full fuel tank) we made good time through the middle of Florida, it was flat and road surface was new tarmac - a dream. The Weather channel predicted storms later on in the afternoon as well as heavy rain. Fortunately that wasn't the case in the morning.


Lunch was at the roadside near the Shands bridge which would take us east on the final leg into St Augustine, I was getting excited that this journey that had taken 2 years of planning and prepertion was about to end.


St Augustine city limits sign came out of the blue and with it lots of tourism, cars, amenities. All I wanted was the beach, fortunately we came across our motel on route and so checked in and got some directions. The final leg of approx 2 miles was on of the hardest I had to do! The wind had picked up and blew me backwards especially when I crossed the final bridge and down onto the penninsula where the beach was. This was it......


Caroline caught me up, by this time I was walking towards the beach in preperation to finish this epic venture. It reminded me more of John O Groats than Florida! Caro came down to the beach and I waded into the Ocean with bike - I only had thoughts for my girls, it sounds silly but I wished I wasn't here doing this but in the same thought a sense of achievement in Emilys name.


Lesson learnt today:


You can do anything if you want to


I am back in the commercial world


My bike and wheels are worth every penny

Quincey to Lake City - Day 18

Alarm clock failure this morning which didn't start the day very well, having to play catch up and get out on the road as quick as possible, every minute is accountable especially when you only get 12 hours daylight. Maybe it was the rushed breakfast or the wind that couldn't make its mind up for the reason why I struggled for the first couple of hours. Amazingly after a good break and several litres of fuel, including Dr P for a sugar rush I was back on the road and soon back up to mileage.
The weather was hot, humid with a 40% chance of precipitation but not until the afternoon. The countryside was rolling and the roadside trees were draped with Spanish moss and the little tow ns were very colonial. As we want through Monticello, Caroline went to fill up as half a tank of fuel is panic stations and she needs to fill up (OCD) I said i was peddling on but slowly for her to catch up as there were critical junctions coming up as in follow the US 90 East sign!!!! Twenty minutes had passed and i got on the radio to ask nicely where are you? and what are you doing? She finally caught up with me as i was cycling back when we pulled over Caroline explained how the garage attendant was a really nice guy, called her a limey and ended up showing her his 9mm pistol!!!!! " oh ok, I thought you might be in trouble" I answered.
I think he was trying to make the point that he couldn't live in the UK because of their weapon laws. He wouldn't pose for a photo though:-)
Further up the road there was a roadside BBQ in support of the local correction centre - smelt so good but it was too early. Through Greenville and onto Madison for lunch at McDeez, a blackberry smoothie and another Dr P. The smoothie gave me brain freeze not once but 3 times-agony!
Back in the saddle and pushing on over the Suannee river and on to Live Oaks on the US 90 East. Pace had picked up and the goal of Lake City was insight, I needed this if I was to finish tomorrow at a decent time ie; mid afternoon. No punctures today:-)
Just planned the route (rowte) for tomorrow and it should be very scenic as we go down the spine and through the swamps and onto the coast where this journey ends.
Lesson learnt today:
Caroline is definately on the spectrum
Garage attendants need to pack a weapon
Florida isn't all commercial and is really scenic

Pensacola to Marianna - Day 17

All excited and an early breakfast - I had a good tailwind waiting to push me along and it didn't dissapoint. On the road for 8 and pushing the big cog the road was rolling but really good surface as I breezed through the miles. The small towns were quaint and Spanish moss covered the trees giving it a haunted look. The sides of the road were swampy and wooded, no sign of gators!!!! The route was the good old US 90 East and would take me parralell to the I-10 and the main trans US rail line - Casey Jones was always my hero (for those who are old enough to remember) you could hear the engines horn as it came through the towns.
Had a DIY lunch swilled down with Dr P and got back out on the road again, I really wanted to make the most of the conditions, my progress was halted by a guy on what I can only describe as a cross trainer with wheels! He was doing a Coast to Coast over a 100 days in support of the US Marine Corp Injured. He was carrying a bergan, sleeping bag and camelbak complete with GPS - respect.
We went passed our proposed stop point in Mariana and battled on, little did we realise that we lost an hour and were now on Eastern time!!!!! Time to try and find a motel. I had made it to within 20 miles of Tallahasee:-) this means if everything goes to plan we could be in St Augustine on Friday:-) still 2 full days to go and can't take anything for granted. Another punctureless day which is always a bonus.
At the Best Western I met a State Trooper who showed a great interest in my bike and gave me some good advice for in and around St Augustine as well as the rest of Florida. He too had a Madone and was a keen cyclist. Again everybody is so pleasant and helpful.
So the penultimate day is nearly here and I can't wait.
Lessons learnt today:
This part of Florida is very similar to England - green and wet:-)
You can turn right at a red light if clear (that is for my driver:-)
I have 5 days to get rid of this ridiculous tan!
The US is a country built on convenience .

Wiggins, via Gulfport to Pensacola - Day 16

You have heard of stormchasers well we were the storm dodgers! There were two options today, one was to go into Mobile from the North West and chance thunder storms and lightening which could be a possible stopper or two, head down to the Gulf Coast and come in along the coastline from the West avoiding the weather front. It was a no brainer and bore the brunt of an extra twenty miles to get down to Gulfport.
Gulfport I would equate to the US Blackpool but hotter with nice white sand and sparkling blue sea. I have to say BP have done a good job cleaning up, I was surprised to see a BP garage still operating.
The ride along the coastline was breathtaking and even more so crossing the deltas on low and high bridges spanning more than several miles at a time. Today was the day we would get through 3 States, Louisiana, Alabama and into Florida - nearly there. Looking at the weather everything is setup to get in for lunchtime Saturday as prefer that to getting in late on Good Friday.As I passed through Alabama, I had to play Lynyrd Skynyrd on the headphones, bit of Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama gets those peddles turning, Mobile was stunning and very colonial a joy to cycle through, the highlight seeing USS Alabama moored at what looked an amazing war museum, however we had stopped before Mobile at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which was very moving.
Finally into the sunshine state of Florida, it was getting late and both of us were getting tired, we pushed onto just East of Pensacola through Bagdad:-) and Milton, however had to go on to Crestview to get a room, so back to Milton in the morning to start - grrrrrrr. Route US 90 East all the way and a tailwind to go:-) No punctures today!
Lessons learnt today:
For all your GPS technology you can't beat a map
Confirmed that I have been beeped in every state
Our car is a V8!!!!! Unfortunately it is red - no love

Baton Rouge to Wiggins

Woke up this morning as per usual time but just had a feeling today wasn't going to be good! I felt good and the alligator and catfish from last night hadn't had any delayed affects, so there was no reason. We set off a few minutes behind time and made great progress in the first hour which is always the hardest hour as you bed in all those aches and pains and get settled in the saddle. Soon hit the town of Hammond and headed North which put the wind behind me and good speed to Franklington. The route was flat, wooded and swampy with random derelicts of what used to serve this highway, more logging vehicles were on the roads as we went through the forest plantations.
Lunch was at McDees, no food just drinks and a bit of internet time to sort out the remainder of the route, it was as we sat in the car the heavens opened and there was a storm of biblical proportions which passed over within 20 minutes, that basically set the trend for the rest of the day. All of a sudden the wind would whip up and you could see the storm coming towards you, I was lucky that I had Caroline in the car in close proximity for shelter, however for the two cyclists travelling in the opposite direction there was nothing. The hail was hurting as it struck me - another reason for wearing a helmet:-) where was Caro? 2 minutes later she tipped up as if nothing was happening!!!!! Again within minutes it had gone. I prepared myself for the next front by putting my waterproof on, this made me feel like a boil in the bag as it was still in the high 80s and the humidity was in the 90s.
We crossed into Mississippi about 3ish, there was no big welcome sign as all the other states had. I rode on and 2 miles down the road there it was - Welcome to Mississippi - but the most unaccessible sign ever to have your photo taken!
The down pours kept coming all the way into Wiggins and now the lightening has started and a weather warning has been given - one thing I will say about the US TV stations is they know how to do weather:-)
Caroline and I are looking at re-routing tomorrow to avoid the storms, however make come at a cost of an extra day and finishing on Saturday - we will see what tomorrow brings.
Lessons learnt today:
Should have done this East to West (confirmed)
Mississippi is full of petrolheads who love their ve -hicles
No hard shoulder on the main highway I'm on.
People still think we are Australian

Deridder to Baton Rouge - Day 14

Today started with the Weather Channel informing me that there was to be a record high across Louisiana, it seems everyday somewhere in the US is having glorious weather and records tumbling apart from the Sunshine State and West Coast. Today was a big stage, however flat as a pancake and a SSE crosswind that would still assist in giving me an average speed of 18/19 mph. From Deridder to Baton Rouge it was all East on the US 190.
The road was very easy going as we passed what seemed the whole of the state was at one form of worship place or another, it seems like in the cartoon Family Guy, Jesus is Alive and well somewhere in the US?
The humidity was frightening and either through irrigation or recent rainfall the area is swampy and fields I could only describe as similar to paddy fields, harvesting what crop I don't know. I saw a few craft that wouldn't look out of place in the Everglades and it did make me think of the film Waterboy - everything from the houses to the locals. Caroline had a local ask her something of which she just smiled and nodded!!!!!
The route headed due South for 10 miles and the head wind slowed me down for an hour, but I knew the heading would soon be easterly to get me back on track. The roads from Opelousas all the way onto the northern bridge across the mighty Mississippi on the outskirts of Baton Rouge were shocking, I had one puncture which I saw coming but couldn't do anything about and the loss of my magent for the speedo. This is always frustrating as i ride to the data, I found my self doing bunny hops on my road bike to avoid wrecking the wheels - both sets will need to be serviced after this adventure.
The frustrating thing when riding the freeways is the state of the shoulder, usually quite good, however today it was unrideable. There are some locals usually in pickups, this one particular idiot was driving a heavy duty pickup that gave me a wide birth then accelerated with the speed of a striking slug to coat me in a cloud of V12 smoke, the embarressing thing was I nearly overtook him!
A good day the only climb was the ramp up the Mississippi bridge. The day has ended on my first taste of Catfish and Alligator, we will see how i feel in the morning!!!! My thoughts are with the turtle crossing a 2 lane freeway - is the grass greener on the other side? Hope he made it!
Lessons learnt today:
Jesus is alive and well in Louisiana as well as all the other States
New roadkill - frogs/toads
Different language and dialect with a definate English origin