Tag Archives: cross-country cycling tour

Day 11: Headwinds vs Tailwinds

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Cheryl reporting again this evening. I think Chuck prefers the interview method of blogging. 😉

Chipley to DeFuniak Springs, FL
44 miles

The plan this morning was to take the trail to Florida’s Highest Waterfall at Falling Waters State Park before leaving the campground, but after being told by fellow campers that the hike was 25 minutes each way and that the ‘waterfall’ was bone dry, as it is dependent upon rainfall, the guys decided to just break camp and start riding.

According to Chuck, the most exciting thing that happened today was meeting a cycling couple heading east from Austin, Texas.

Rider coming from Austin

Another rider heading East

Chuck was impressed that the woman riding was using a rubber belt type of chain, as he’d never seen one before. He said he definitely wants to check it out once he gets a chance, as it looked like a good idea.

Belt Drive?

Belt Drive?

While they were talking about their travels, Chuck said she complained about the headwind she and her partner were experiencing. Chuck was incredulous. Headwinds? They were heading east and should have had a killer tailwind from the headwinds Chuck and Bob were fighting all day while heading west. But as we’ve learned from all our thousands of miles riding the Withlacoochee Trail, sometimes it feels like you’ve got a headwind no matter what direction you’re riding.

Tonight they’re staying in DeFuniak Springs, enjoying a rare night in a motel room. There weren’t any campgrounds close enough to the route today to take advantage of today, so it was the best choice. I was told that no one’s complaining about the accommodations.

Chuck spent part of the evening recharging all his gadgets before they had some dinner and settled into bed.

Charging away

Day 10: Docs on Bikes

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Cheryl filling in tonight for Chuck with info from his phone call.

Sneads to Chipley, FL
50 miles

Chuck called tonight (via FaceTime, which is the Mac equivalent of Skype – technology is so cool!) and said the guys are camping at Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, FL. Chuck’s familiar with this campground, as we stayed at Falling Waters together back in 2003 when we took our ‘Big Trip Out West’, RVing for the first time.

By the time everyone made it to the campground and got their tents set up, it was too dark to hike the short trail to Florida’s Highest Waterfall this evening, but they plan to take a look at it tomorrow morning before heading out again.

Today was another ‘Death Valley Day’ according to Chuck. This is his way of saying the winds were miserable. Chuck has used this phrase a lot on this trip, but the first time he said it was back in 2009 when he rode his bike from the entrance to Death Valley National Park down to Badwater (the lowest point in the U.S.) when we were traveling as full-time RVers. If you click the link and read his post, you’ll know what he’s talking about. 🙂

Chuck said he’s not complaining, though, and that everyone’s still motivated and feeling strong, but “we feel slow.”

The boys seem to be settling into the routine of riding, with not too much to report out-of-the-ordinary. They stopped in Chipley at a laundromat to do some laundry, and did some shopping at CVS and Wal-Mart for some batteries and stuff before riding to the campground.

The big excitement of the day was meeting yet another group of riders coming east from San Diego on the Southern Tier trail. Jessica, Caley, and Tad are three med students on their way to St. Augustine.

The "3 MDs" Riding Sea-to-Sea

Everyone chatted with each other for a little while, took pictures of each other, and exchanged blog addresses. Before long they parted ways, but not before one of the girls complained about having fallen on her bike and Chuck joked facetiously that he’d never done that before.

Of course, as they parted and the light turned green, Chuck clipped in before he had enough momentum and promptly fell. He said he never felt so embarassed in his life. But, hey, it happens. The only time we cyclists ever seem to fall is when we have an audience, right? It must be bicycle Murphy’s law!

The current plan is to ride to DeFuniak Springs tomorrow and maybe stay a couple of days to see the sights.

Snead to Chipley, FL

 

Day 7: Kick My Butt If I Complain

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Suwannee River to Marietta, FL
50 miles

This morning I could not get organized. Felt like I was going in slow motion. It was 42 degrees this morning. It was cold, but my sleeping bag was nice and warm. Hated getting out :-). We were up at 6:30 and riding by 8:10 am.

Today was a very hard day on the bike. 50 miles isn’t much, but fighting head winds all the way really beat us down. But I’m not complaining. No way, it was a cake walk.

About 30 miles into our ride, we stopped at the top of a hill for some water and to catch our breath. As we were recuperating, a couple (husband & wife) coming from the other direction came across the road and stopped to chat a bit.

They had started from El Paso about 6 weeks earlier. The guy was a retired Army officer and asked how long I was in the Corps (he saw my USMC flag). We talked military stuff for a while, then we talked biking.

He is completing going around the perimeter of the whole United States. WOW! Plus, he had done the central route too. On this trip he had broken his chain and had fixed it, but it was too short and he couldn’t use his high gears.

We told him he probably wouldn’t find a bike shop until he got to Gainesville. We said our goodbyes and they headed east. As they rode off Bob said to me, “If I complain about anything on this trip, kick my butt.” I said that goes double for me.

The guy we had been talking to had his right artificial leg strapped to his center tube. This guy was riding with only his left leg.

Kick me if I complain about anything!!!

Today's 50 miler

Day 6: On The Road Again

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White Springs to Suwannee River, FL
30 miles

Sometimes things happen for the right reasons. The whole time we spent at Suwannee Bicycle Association was like serendipity. We missed the rain. We met great people at SBA. We met Kevin & Josh, fellow cyclists completing the same route we are beginning.

Kevin & Josh about to get back on the road

Kevin & Josh about to get back on the road

And we learned the amazing history of the SBA from Jean, who helped start SBA 21 years ago.

Suwannee Bicycle Association's Jean

SBA's Jean

Yesterday we had a good talk with Kevin and Josh – really great guys. They are super adventurous. They had a lot of good stories to tell us, including one about backpacking with skis for two weeks! They gave us good info on places to avoid and things to look out for on the rest of our trip.

Pumping the tires

Pumping the tires

Late last night, someone tried to get into SBA. It was Jean. She was coming in to be there early for some street marking the next morning for the Florida Bicycle Safari. We were all sleeping on the couches and Josh & Kevin were sleeping on the floor. Bob gave up his couch so Jean could sleep on it and he moved to the floor. Jean joked the next morning she better not tell her husband she slept with 5 guys! LOL

Jean talking to cyclists

Jean talking to cyclists

Jean told us all about the history of SBA. She said the founders (husband & wife Dan and Lys Burden) did a huge cycling trip from Alaska and were featured in National Geographic at the time. They are also the founders of Adventure Cycling. Wow.

Suwannee Bicycle Association Beginnings

Suwannee Bicycle Association Beginnings

We could have left earlier this morning, but we only planned to go 30 miles to Suwannee River State Park. We’re having to adjust our route based on campgrounds. There’s nothing between there and Tallahassee. With the strong winds (20-25 mph) today, 35 miles is like 50 miles.

After Suwannee River State Park, there’s a big strip of 110 miles to the next campground. We have info on two Warm Showers possibilities Wednesday night in Tallahassee. We’re trying to break down the mileage to manageable chunks.

The ride was cold. Having to wear long-johns, but having a good time!

White Springs to Suwannee River