April 23, 2013 Leaving Dauphin Island and arriving in Florida
Today was warm and a bit breezy. My back wheel has been losing air, so today Carol The Guide looked at it, and May discovered a leak in the seam, and so Carol expertly replaced my inner tube so I could ride out of the condo complex and the 2.5 miles down to the ferry station joining the 27 of us with our bicycles and our helmets and our gear. The ferry takes 45 minutes to chug across the bay to Fort Morgan AL, where we found Route 180 and rode for 20 miles. It should have been a delightful ride along a quiet country road near the ocean with glimpses of waves and sea. Instead a vicious east wind erupted, blowing in our faces and at our bodies, and we all struggled to keep pedaling steadily and to cover the mileage without getting exhausted. It was tough pedaling and my speed sank to about 8 mph as the wind tugged at my body to stop it moving forward.
At the first Sag stop, we were all tired but we pedaled on, eager to cross the Florida Bridge and leave Alabama for the last state on this cross country trip. When I reached the bridge, I pedaled hard and panted my way over the huge curve and came down by Perdido Keys State Park, where I had another six miles to pedal. There was no sign so I wasn't sure this was really Florida. Finally I saw the group of four riders who keep just ahead of me by a modest sign saying "Welcome to Perdido Florida" and we all took the iconic photos. Later on there was another sign - but I missed it as I was keeping my head down to battle the wind. When I stopped at one point to eat my sandwich and have some water, a local came by and said "Taking a break?" and I said "Yes, and please cancel this wind." She smiled and said: "We all hate it but it's here today." Which was true.
I went over a bayou bridge, another big curve over a water way, and turned right to find the second Sag stop, thinking I might call it day. But I had ridden 41 miles, and there were only another 19 to go. So Carla and I rode together for the last section, and the wind dropped a bit, and the roads were good, and there wasn't too much traffic.
Carla came from Brazil to ride across America, a dream of hers for years since she is a good cyclist in Rio. She arrived , pedaled, has served as a Sag Driver too, and is stronger riding every day. Today she confessed she cried as she came over the bridge to Florida: "This is the last state and then this tour will end," she said sadly, "and I don't want it to finish."
I feel a sense of surprise that we have actually made it to Florida, and that there are only about eight days of riding left before we arrive in St. Augustine for our procession, the picnic with friends and our final dinner. And then it's over. How could it have happened so quickly?
Today we are at Sole Inn and Suites, a fancy redone old hotel which now has snazzy black toilets and black basins in the bathroom, and a jazzy black and white décor in the rooms, and wooden slat shutters on the windows. There seem to be a lot of men staying here who watched bemused as we set out our circle of plastic chairs, enjoyed jambalaya and salad for our outside picnic, plus cake for dessert, and then had a map meeting for tomorrow.
On the way in, we knew there was a bike shop right next door to the hotel and several riders went in to meet the helpful staff. I bought two more inner tubes and a couple of bolts to give to Judy who'd given me hers. Then we got our rooms and were settling in. I really wanted some coffee and the owner said there was a shop about three blocks down the road. So May, Linda and I wandered down into the shopping street with bars and restaurants and found a fabulous bakery that made excellent coffee. They each had a Napoleon which I helped finish up, and I bought a strawberry chocolate ball, which turned out to have cake in it. I had an iced latte, which was delicious, and Linda got her espresso in a Real Cup, and we sat at one of the tables in the sunshine pouring in the window and enjoyed the experience. I do wish we had time to explore more or that we stayed in town, like this, s we could wander around for an hour or so.
When we strolled back, we found that the hotel had set up a Happy Hour with wine and snacks for us which was very nice. Then at 6 p.m. we had our traditional Margaritas for crossing a state line - our last state line - and dinner outside.
Tomorrow we leave around 7:45 a.am. for another good day of riding - with less wind I hope. The daughter of a friend of mine lives in town and she called me but said she had just finished work so we couldn't meet. We had a nice talk. She is the daughter of Jean Alexander, one of my good friends in Boulder who will be coming out next month for her grand-daughter's high school graduation. Her daughters also lived in Boulder for a time but she said she'd had enough of snow. I understand the feeling and think a winter somewhere warmer would be the ideal.
I also did the booking to send my bike back from Jacksonville FL to University Bicycles in Boulder CO which is all done online through ShipBikes.com and all our bikes will be taken to Jacksonville FL after the tour ends to a bike shop who will pack them up. I hope it works out OK.
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