One More Adventure!

Well the fun never ends. After getting to the Jacksonville airport on Friday, 6 hours before my flight home was to depart, I found out that my flight was going to be late taking off due to bad weather in Newark. That meant that I might not make my connecting flight in Houston that was to take me in to Seattle, where Dan would be waiting to take me home to my own bed. After discussing with the ticket agent at the gate my options (basically none!), I decided just to try to get into Houston and hope that my connecting flight would be late so that I could have time to get on it. Not to be. My flight from Jacksonville arrived in Houston at 9:03 and the flight out of Houston going to Settle left at 9:05. Even though I literally sprinted from one gate to the next, there was no way I could get on that flight, and no other flights going out to Seattle that night.

So, do I sleep in the airport or head for a hotel? That's when I met two delightful young ladies who were in the same predicament. We decided that the best option was to share a room, split the cost and catch the earliest flight to Seattle in the morning. So, we got an airport discount on a very nice room at the Sheraton hotel, caught a shuttle to the hotel and checked in with no luggage. I thought it was very funny that after sharing a room every night for 2 months with a different person, now I was sharing a room with two ladies I had never met before. We all hit it off just fine, and made the best of our mutual bad luck. After sleeping in our clothes, we got up and went to breakfast and then headed for the airport. Jena and Orlaith were wonderful room mates, and we all had an uneventful trip into Seattle.

It was wonderful having Dan greet me at the airport. He met me at the baggage claim area with a balloon bouquet with mylar balloons saying "Congratulations", and "You Did It". The funny part was that he also had some regular balloons that were looking quite droopy, barely floating above the floor. We had a good laugh when he told me that they had looked great last night--and had lost air during the night when I missed my flight! It was still a wonderful welcome home! Yeah! I get to sleep in my own bed tonight!

Finale in St. Augustine! May 1, 2008

Our final day of riding began with lots of nervous jitters. It was hard to believe that our last day of riding had actually arrived and that we were within 45 miles of reaching our goal. I was also riding on a patched tube on the back tire and didn't want to have a flat on the last day, ---or fall, ---or get lost, ---or be late arriving at the fire station, ---or a million other needless worries.

The ride itself was beautiful. It wound along back farm roads and quiet little communities. We had to keep telling ourselves to slow down, take a deep breath (famous Michelle words), and not rush through these last miles with our friends.

We arrived at the St. Augustine fire house, where we assembled for the final five miles in to the beach with a police escort. We arranged ourselves in two's, with the oldest riders leading the way, and the younger riders in back. Would you believe I was actually one of the middle ager riders, since there were quite a number of 60 to 68 year olds in our group. We all rode in together the final five miles. We were quite a site as we wound through the streets of St. Augustine, whooping it up, and waving to the curious onlookers. We crossed the Bridge of Lions and headed in to Anastacia Beach, where family and friends had gathered to welcome and congratulate the riders. It was surreal. Although I didn't have family or friends there to meet me at the finish, I knew my family was cheering me on toward this goal. When we got to the beach, I headed straight fo the water, and lifted my bike over my head in celebration of reaching the finish line. Since I was a SAG driver, I didn't bike all the miles, but I biked about 2400 of the 3100 miles. I was told that we climbed a total of 76,000 feet in elevation over the course of the trip. I rode with an incredible group of ladies! Every one made it in to the final destination in spite of minor misshaps along the way. Our celebration included a wonderful lunch at the beach before heading off to pack bikes for shipping home.

We said our goodbyes at dinner time. It was sad to see this trip end, but each of us realizes that it is time to return to our real lives, forever changed by the friends we have made, and the achievement we have accomplished together. I was looking forward to this being my last night in a hotel bed for a long while!

Rest Day in Wakulla Springs

It was wonderful to have a rest day. Some of us don't know the meaning of rest and opted to kayak for four hours on the Wakulla River. It was so peaceful and beautiful, looking like a picture postcard of Florida. Our efforts were rewarded with sightings of alligators (some very close up), manatee (an endangered specie), turtles, and a huge variety of birds. It was our last rest day and Ellen, Mary, Hanna and I mused about what we would each be doing a week from now. I am sure I won't forget this day.

Today (Monday) we biked 53 miles to Perry, Florida. It was a rainy day so we all just put our heads down and peddled as hard as we could for the hotel. After arriving, the weather cleared up nicely, then another storm cloud moved in and dumped all over again. Tonight we will eat our meal indoors to stay out of the rain.

Wakulla Springs Ride on Saturday

Greetings from Wakulla Springs, Florida. Today's ride took us along some very fast, fun rodes along SR 267 in Florida. After the first SAG stop, Hanna, Mary and I took off toward the State Park that was an option on our ride today. We had fun as Hanna pushed the pace, and we fell into a pace line, "peleton style". Sue tried to catch us and came close, but never could because of the advantage we had of drafting. It made for some great laughs at the next stop as Sue came up panting hard from her efforts.

Our ride had the option today of going to Wakulla Springs State Park. This was a wonderful park that had a 45 minute boat ride where we saw lots of alligators, turtles, fish, and birds. The boat looked a lot like the boats in the Jungle Ride at Disneyland--and it was a lot like it, only real! I kept expecting to see the hippopotamas come up to attack us! Ha! Others took advantage of the opportunity to swim in the COLD spring waters, and jump from the high dive. Since it was a short ride today we had lots of time to play.

I should tell you, too, that I have now had my second and third flat on the road today. My first flat on the road came a few days back as I was almost into Florida. Then today my tire was flat when I got off the boat ride. I replaced the tube with my spare, which had been patched earlier. Later, I hit a rock and the patch didn't hold because it was so warm. I have been told that they don't bother to patch tires here for that very reason--they don't hold in the heat!

Tomorrow is a layover day--the last of our trip. We have just four riding days left. It's hard to believe the ride is almost over, and I keep asking myself if I really rode my bike all the way from San Diego to here. It's a funny feeling. I'm looking forward to being home next Friday night. I will try to get my pictures sorted and posted as soon as I can after getting home.

Update from Florida!

Greetings from Florida!
It's been a while since I have been able to update my blog, so let me catch you up on where I've been and a few of the highlights. We were only in Mississippi a few days, and then on Sunday, the 20th, we rode to Dauphin Island, Alabama. It is a beautiful resort-type of Island, and it made a wonderful place for a rest day. The big event in riding there was crossing over a humongus bridge, 3 and a half miles long, and very high. Our efforts were rewarded by getting to stay at some beautiful condos on the beach. I had my first swim in the Gulf of Mexico, and was surprised by how warm the water was. The next morning I went to the Audubon Bird Sanctuary where I saw lots of wildlife, including a gator!
On Tuesday we rode to Pensacola, Florida. It's my first time to be in Florida and I was very excited about it! The beaches were beautiful, with blue-green water, and beautiful white sand. After a lunch stop, several of us went to the Pensacola Naval Air Museum, home of the Blue Angels. We saw a great IMAX movie on fighter jets, and then spent a few minutes trying to see the Museum. There was far more to see than we could possibly take in, and it was frustrating not to be able to spend a few hours there. The last 5 miles of our ride in Pensacola took us along Scenic highway 90. Let me just say, it was a harrowing experience! The road was narrow, with no shoulder, and very fast moving, impatient motorists, who were not inclined to give bicyclists a break. A few of us had near misses with cars and motorcycles!
We are continuing our way into the Panhandle of Florida. It is very warm 85-87 degrees, and very humid. Yesterday we did a 90 mile ride along US 90--it was long a hard, just because it was so warm, and the scenery never changed much. We continue to see critters--snakes (even rattlesnakes!), turtles, and bugs, bugs, bugs.
It is hard to believe we are so close to the end. We arrive at our destination in St. Augustine next Thursday. We are talking about what it will be like to be done and return home to our families, jobs, and responsibilities. "Re-entry" is a term we are talking about a lot these days. I am anxious to be home, but know I will miss my friends on the tour, and the days of riding. After I return home, I will try to get all my pictures loaded on my Picassa page, and you can just click on the "My Photos" link on the right and see all of them.

A Big Ride Day -- 130 miles!

Yesterday I had the longest ride of my life. I left St. Francisville early in the morning with Sue (an emergency room doc in real life). When we got to the 25 mile point we encountered a sign that said "Bridge Out Ahead". Knowing that often roads that are closed to cars are passable by bike so we continued ahead. We saw what "bridge out" looked like when the last 10 yards of cross ties were missing. It could be walked across if one could balance on the beams that were there, but getting bikes across might be tricky. I decided I could try it by carrying my bike in my left hand and holding onto the railing with my right. (I rationalized that if I fell the ER doc was right there and could take care of me!) I got my bike across fine and then went back to get Sue's bike. She then crossed, and we proceeded on. When we got to a spot where there was cell phone reception, we called back to our guide to report that the bridge was out, and that we had already crossed. She didn't want anyone else to try to cross, but after we got up another 5 miles and stopped at a store to get water, we began to see other riders. All had harrowing stories of their bridge crossing, but we were all exhilarated that we made it and were able to continue on to our destination.

Lunch was waiting for us at the 60 mile SAG location, and we were glad to see it, since the SAG vehicle had to find another way around the bridge out location. With 60 miles down, we were game to continue on the next 65. We missed one turn, which added an extra 4 miles to our day. When we got in to Bogalusa, we had ridden 130 miles! I was fatigued, but excited that I had accomplished that goal. We had dinner and cleaned up as quickly as possible to get to bed, and the much needed sleep. Tomorrow would be another day of riding.

Today (Friday) we rode to Wiggins, Mississippi--a 53 mile journey from Bogalusa. My legs were extremely tired. I was so exhausted from yesterday's ride that I was very slow. We passed more dogs, which seemed to be a little mean, but stayed back when we told them to. We found out later that 2 of our riders had gotten bitten by those dogs, one lady rather badly. Add to that, one spill by another rider, and the day was not a good day for our group. We chalked a lot of it up to the fact that we were all so tired. The evening's State line crossing party seemed to lift spirits. Tonight it is storming very hard outside, but the day tomorrow is supposed to be nice. I hope so.

We are now in our sixth state, and I keep reminding myself that I have ridden my bicycle from San Diego to Mississippi! That's really amazing when you think about it. In less than 2 weeks I will be at the Atlantic ocean--realizing the completion of a dream of a lifetime!

St. Francisville, LA Rest Day

Today (April 16) we are taking a much needed rest day in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It is a beautiful, historic town, full of Southern charm, big oak trees, and Spanish moss. Half of our group is housed at the St. Francisville Inn B & B (where I am staying), and the other half is housed at the Butler Plantation B and B. Both are very nice settings, and very restful after our stay in Simmsport, which was very bleak (to say the least!)

Yesterday I had a great ride, as we rode along the Mississippi Levee, crossed over a long spillway bridge, and had lots of fun on very lightly traveled roads. My biggest event of the day came as I was pursued by a dog. Let me just say that dogs can be a biker's worst nightmare and we saw some pretty vicious ones on the previous day's ride. So when this little dog began to pursue me, I sped up, and started to shout at him. However, when I saw he was so little, and only wanted to race me, I decided to have some fun. I kept saying to him, "Okay, let's go, come on!"--and he kept coming, and coming, and coming! He ran along side of me for at least half a mile, while Ellen and Phyllis, who had been riding with me dropped back, laughing in hysterics! He was not going to quit, and when a few of his buddies decided to join in the chase, he chased them off so he could be the lone runner with me. Our SAG vehicle, with Micki driving pulled in front of us, and Micki got out and got a great picture of this little race. Ellen and Phyllis pulled up and the dog was happy to stop and get some tummy rubs and hugs. Micki put the dog in the car with her, and he was happy to get a ride back to his house (on her lap!). He had had the run of his life, and we were all laughing about this cute little doggie that just wanted some fun.

Tomorrow we have a challenging day as we are planning to go 127 miles to Bogalousa, LA. Many will probably take the SAG for a portion of the ride, but several of us plan to ride the whole way. Hopefully, we will not have headwinds to deal with, or else I may SAG part of it too.

Sunday April 13 DeRidder to Opoulosas

Today's ride was noteworthy in that it was the second day in a row for a 90 mile ride. I was driving the SAG vehicle today, and missed the thrill of getting lots of taliwinds to help move me along the road. My seat was glad to get the break from the saddle.

The other noteworthy thing was that our van broke down in the hotel parking lot this morning, giving us all lots of opportunities to beocme very flexible and adjust. The problem was that the starter motor had to be replaced, and finding someone who could do that on a Sunday morning was a dilemma. Apparently, the mechanic who answered the call was in church when he found out he was needed. He came and got the van repaired. Meanwhile, an alternate plan had already been worked out of Arda's husband (who is on the road and was in Navasota) coming and pulling the trailer into our hotel for tonight so that our luggage would arrive, and we could get cleaned up after a day of biking.

What it meant for me was that I was the only one out on the road with all of our bikers. Fortunately, the day was fairly uneventful, and most riders made it in within good time. Tonight we are going out to eat at a nearby restaurant since our cook hasn't been able to prepare a meal in the trailer today. Tomorrow's another day, and hopefully it will be uneventful.

I've arrived in Louisiana!

Yesterday (Saturday) we rode our bikes 93 miles from Kountz, TX to DeRidder, LA. It was a flat easy, long ride with some headwinds, but mostly nice riding. The highlights of the day for me included a stop at a small cafe called Elijah's in one of the small town's that we rode through. It was true "Southern-style" in that iced tea is called "sweet tea"--and it is sweet! It was so wonderfully refreshing that I downed 4 tall glasses during my meal. I figured that I had enough sugar to give me a super boost for the rest of the ride. I also had reason to make more stops :-)



After lunch we crossed the Sabine River and entered Louisiana. As we exited Texas we came across Texas State sign on the opposite side of the road, and it was perfect for picture taking opportunities. I'll try to post pictures soon for you to see.



I quickly realized that I was in Louisiana when I began to see that the predominate road kill was armadillo. They are nasty looking and smelly when they ripen on the road! Yuch! Also, I remember the mud towers from the crawfish seen all along the grassy yards that we rode by.



As I rode along toward DeRidder, I chuckled thinking about the fact that I had ridden my bike from San Diego to Lousianna. I left Lousianna in 1992, and never in a million years would have dreamed that the next time I saw it would be from the seat of a bicycle. It was so fun when we got to our hotel in DeRidder because a woman named Linda who did the tour last year was there to greet us. She lives in Lake Charles (where Dan and I lived for 1 year), and brought everyone MardiGras beads and some great gumbo and pralines! What a welcome.

It had to happen sometime!

Well, after having 5 weeks of riding in relatively good weather, we finally hit our first day of steady rain! We left Navasota, TX this morning with dark clouds in the sky and after biking about 20 of our 73 miles a light rain started. As the day progressed, the rain increased. A quick stop at a State Park allowed me a chance to get my rain coat out of the SAG car, even though I was already totally wet. It rained hard the rest of the way in and was I totally soaked from head to toe. Fortunately it was not cold so we just kept going! It was fun in a silly sort of way! We sang silly songs and laughed as we took the spray from the cars and trucks going by. All in all it was a fun day, and thankfully all arrived at the hotel safely.

Tomorrow, I drive the SAG vehicle, which is good because I doubt that my shoes will be dry before tomorrow. It is a major job to clean up bikes and get everything dried off after a day like this. For the most part, all of the ladies had a good attitude about biking in the rain. We made the most of it!