The last week of the tour was anticlimactic. No more mountain passes. No more mountains period. No deserts, no heat, no more 80 mile days. Just a few more days of flat cruising. What there were were accolades about what an incredible feat this was, and that was true. It was a big deal physically. But that wasn't the part that was the most challenging for me. I knew from mid-September that my body was ready. I knew I could do the miles, so long as speed was not a factor. (That said, I worried about coming in as the caboose, long after everyone else had arrived.) I could get up any hill put in front of me even if I had to walk (I didn’t!).  I knew I could ride in hot weather and in cold, in wind and in fog, on days when I was having fun and on days when things sucked. The physical aspect was the easy part. I have struggled for as long as I can remember with self-doubt and a fear of failure. I found the decision making tortuous. I agonized over the gear choices, worrying about “being

 To our utter surprise we woke up to dry skies with the sun peeking through the clouds. No rain in the forecast — what a gift! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and set off around 9 o’clock. Family and friends had been given an arrival time between 1130 and 12 so the pace was leisurely.  We rode mainly bike paths. No spectacular scenery, just quiet miles with lots of introspection. As we neared Saint Augustine I started to feel the excitement grow. I was ready for the ride to be done, to see Greg and Gemma and the rest that would be there to join me. It wasn’t quite time to stop paying attention, however, because our route took us right through downtown Saint Augustine’s narrow streets and traffic was both heavy and unforgiving. It wasn’t till I turned into the state park that I got a little emotional. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the realization that this adventure is truly over. I rode in and spotted Greg’s truck right away - and next saw Sarah and Walt and Gemma with a b

 We are at the Quality Inn in Palatka on the last night of our tour. Dinner was at the Azalea brewery and awards were given out to all participants — tongue-in-cheek, of course. They were as follows, and as memory serves: Most likely to deliver an impromptu dissertation: Carl Most likely to speak up and be right: Kelly Most likely to build a bike on the side of the road: Adam Most likely to cry at the ceremony: Jack  Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in  Most likely to bribe her way to being the favorite: in Most likely to use shit in a sentence: Terry Most likely to ask or something is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to ask or some thing is when it’s right in front of them: Sue Most likely to burn the house down if coffee is not ready: met Most likely to stop a stranger and ask questions: me It was not the raucous affair I think we all had hoped for, mostly because we are all a bit introspective and conflicted as the tour comes to an end. Florida ha

 What a horror show last night was. I should’ve known when I walked into the bathroom and heard a woman tell a kid she’d “beat him like a stepchild” if he left the building, that she was probably part of the advance party for the evenings upcoming entertainment.. No owner on site and no campground host equals no sleep on our part. A crew rolled in around dinner time, set up tents, commenced to drinking and laughing and having a generally good Friday night time. By 11 o’clock the music went off and we were hopeful but the party went into Floritucky overdrive (apologies to my friends from Florida and Kentucky who were raised right.). I decided not to act on my “ask all the questions“ strategy because this time all my questions started with “What the f*#%?”? They carried on till 3:30 AM at which point the roosters next-door took up the slack. Happy birthday Kayla! I hope you have a two day hangover.  I felt better at wake up than I thought I would; actually, we all did. We headed out arou

 Come on, Florida — let’s up the game a bit, shall we? 37° at dawn with a high of 60 when the normal temps are 49 to 76 seems unfair. It does, however, add to the badassery factor when you have to leave the tent in the middle of the night to answer nature‘s call under such harsh circumstances. We built a fire and enjoyed coffee all morning till brunch was ready. We hung around until about 11 when we headed across the street to the Itchetucknee  State Park. We started as a whole group minus Terry and Sue who had to go shopping for dinner. First we headed to the trail to Blue Hole. The Ichnetuckee River has many springs and underground caves and Blue Hole is one of the ways divers access them. 67,000,000 gallons of water flow out of Blue Hole daily and the water stays 72° year-round. We walked further into the park and saw a kayak company launching boats for a float down the river to the south entrance of the park. We looked into it but it was all booked. Too bad. Some people we talk to

 I don’t know if it was the cold night, or if I was just that tired, but I did not wake up until seven. I heard Tammi putting her tent poles away and wondered why she was packing up so early! I rallied quickly as it was already breakfast time. I want credit. It’s hard to move fast when it’s only 46° and your sleeping bag is cozy. Our ride out of Perry was nothing to document. Perry is little more than a map dot. The KOA we stayed in was the town jewel; the rest of the town was gas stations, bars, and houses working hard against the elements to remain upright. Things improved as we entered Lafayette County although the theme of that section of the ride was “the roadkill route.” I wish people would either fence dogs or tie them. We saw several and it’s distressing to come across them. And unnecessary. Lafayette had Live Oaks and Spanish Moss that created a canopy across the road. This was lovely if not a little chilly. The sun just didn’t get the job done today. We rode into Mayo and had

 We had a very windy night which made for a great sleeping. I set an alarm for 1:00 AM so I could see the Artemis unmanned moon rocket launch, but when I got up I found it had been pushed back and well, 70 miles, so I chose sleep over history. It was gray when we got up, and gray as we headed out. And chilly! I wished I’d opted for leggings over my shorts but was happy to have gloves. Small victories.The temp said it was almost 60 – my body threw the BS flag. I was cold all day. Not much to say about this ride. We had a 20 mile bike path that took us off route 98 for a while. We met another Bike traveler named Tony who had been on the road since June 26.  He started in Connecticut and rode to Indianapolis, then back towards Pittsburgh where he rode the trails to DC. He then went to Key West and is now on his way to New Orleans. We asked questions about his gear (there wasn’t much!) and traded a few stories and wished each other well. We got off the trail and crossed the St Marks River

 Rain delay this morning so it’s been hurry up to get breakfast out at 0dark 30 just to sit and wait for it to clear. Precious little sleep last night and I wish we could just get going but we’re expecting a downpour. That downpour never came and we headed out around 930 for our short 30 mile route. It was warm, almost 70, so the light rain that occasionally spit at us didn’t bother me. Under sunny conditions this ride would have been stunning, but even so seeing the water 10 feet away was pretty good. I stopped to take a look at the Crooked River Lighthouse. It’s been in its spot since sometime in the 1800s, but had to be rebuilt every time a hurricane blew through. In 1895 they decided to go with an open skeleton structure around what looks like a thin silo. It hasn’t had a problem since. The docent from the lighthouse museum came over to speak with me, saying she had several riders in today. She offered the use of the facilities inside the museum even though it was closed, and I too

 I would never have guessed our coldest night would have been in Florida! I woke up this morning to 38°. In a tent. And pretty comfy inside two sleeping bags. I’ve been hoping for a little adversity. Florida certainly stepped up! It warmed up pretty quickly and I was on the road by nine. It was supposed to be a rest day, but tomorrow is looking wet and thundery so we broke up that 75 miles and will do 45 today, stopping just over the Apalachicola River in Eastpointe. Since it was a short day I took it pretty easy, enjoying a bike path it took us along the beach in WindMark. We wandered along until we hit Port Saint Joe where some stopped for a second breakfast. After Port Saint Joe we had a straight 19 miles which gave me a long time to think and get philosophical. What rolled around in my head is that we spend lots of time anticipating and working towards milestones; births, graduations, new jobs, marriages, retirement. And while those milestones are exciting, what we really cherish i