2017 11-12 Palatka to St Augustine (32 miles), to home (1074 miles)

I woke earlier than usual today, a bit restless for it is difficult accepting the fact that this is the last day of a fabulous trip and it will soon be over.  This trip has afforded me the opportunity to meet some new friends and together we shared the joys and trials of the Southern Tier, and saw America in a way that is only possible on two wheels and  at 12 miles per hour.  On the other hand, I'm also very anxious to get home and see my wife again.  It has been over two months since we parted company in Portland, OR.  This trip would not be possible without her continuing and constant support.  We talked every morning on the phone and hearing her voice gave me the energy to face the challenge the day would bring.  We also talked again at the end of the day, and her happy, joyful greeting would always relieve any pain that an exceptionally hard day may have brought.  It is now time to return home and see her smiling face again!

The ride to St Augustine was slow.  Not because of any bad road conditions, or traffic conditions, or weather problems, but because there seemed to be a need to savor the last thirty miles of the trip.  I was not to be disappointed as the morning provided me with a great sunrise, the site of which I will never grow tired and one which has been provided for me over and over again during this trip.  I also had the opportunity to cross more bridges with their special views of trees and water and wildlife.  The last section of the ride was on a pleasant, relaxing rail trail, a tree lined and peaceful retreat from the highway. 

My ride ended at the Hertz car rental office located at the St Augustine airport, the only location opened on a Sunday.  The panniers were removed from the bike,  the bike was quickly disassembled and every thing was loaded into the car.  Before I could start the long ride home, I needed to visit the beach.  What is a cross country bike trip without the ceremonial dipping of the front wheel into the ocean.  It started in San Diego with the dipping of the rear wheel into the Pacific and the trip would just not be complete without dipping the front one in the Atlantic.  Arriving at the beach, a short distance from the car rental pickup, I carried the front wheel to the beach.  The rest of the bike did not want to be disturbed from its comfy spot in the car.

And now for the long trip home.  The ride from St Augustine to my home in New York is over a thousand miles long.  It was already 11 AM but I felt good and had to get home, and there is plenty of driving time left in this day.  After driving for several hours and not feeling tired, I just kept on going.  The need to get home took over and after driving for 18 hours reached my home and my wife.  Now the trip is over and complete!

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Trip Home

2017 11-11 Cross City to Palatka (101 miles)

Ok, so it is a long mile day, I’m fighting a head wind the entire day, and I did say I wouldn’t be writing a blog, but once in the habit of doing something it is hard to stop.  The morning started out very pleasantly.  Across the street from the hotel was an entrance to a fantastic bike path that lasted the first 20 miles of today’s ride.  It is nicely paved, peaceful, and there is no fear of traffic.  Then to add a touch of calm to the morning, I was presented with a good sunrise.  Who could ask for more?

Laving the bike path, things changed.  The head wind, not as obvious on the bike path due to the protecting influence of the trees, was relentless.  The road had good shoulders and moderate traffic, but it was going to be a long day of riding into the wind.

Finally made it to mile 80 and there it is - another bike path that looks like it should take me to the end of the ride.  Jumped on the path and headed about 2 miles into it when, ouch.  Ugly black mucky water is blocking the path and it doesn’t look passable.  Turn around and head back to the road.  That is when I meet Juanma and Sergio, two brothers from Spain, traveling across America on a tandem, and headed my way.  We road together the rest of the day, stayed at the same motel and ate dinner together.  They are a very interesting pair.  Sergio is blind and has autism.  He is very content traveling with his brother, Juanma, who takes excellent care of him.  The two seem very happy with their journey.  I had a good time getting to know them, and admire both of them for their accomplishment.

Tomorrow I will ride 31 miles to reach a Hertz car rental facility in St Augustine, my journey will be complete and I will start my long car ride home.

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Map of entire trip

2017 11-10 Crawfordville to Cross City (98.3 miles)

My name is Joe and I have written from my point of view about the experiences and daily life of riding the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier Route with a group of fellow cyclists, and shared my images from as well as maps of each day’s ride.  I have enjoyed sharing this experience, not only in real time with the other members of the riding group, but also with all of you who have experienced and hopefully enjoyed our travels from the comfort of your computer room or easy chair.

Last night I made a decision to ride the remainder of the trip solo in three days, instead of the five days scheduled by the group.   Therefore all that is left is ‘me’.  My intend is to finish with two almost one hundred mile days and a third thirty-two mile day, which will end at the Hertz car rental office, where I will rent a car and start my drive home.  I am anxious to get home and should do so by the 14^th of November.  Since most of my ‘experiences’ in the next two days will be in getting in the miles in order to finish, there will probably be no more written posts to this blog, except for maps and an occasional picture to complete the record of my trip.  There will certainly be no way to report what is happening to ‘the group’.  I have enjoyed authoring this blog and hope you have enjoyed following the progress of the 2017 Southern Tier adventure.

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2017 11-09 Apalachicola to Crawfordville (54.1 miles)

Today started out foggy with a threat of rain in the afternoon.  The rain never came, but the fog prevented us from fully enjoying our last day along the Gulf.  We had a good day of cycling, but not a good day for pictures or memories.  The ride was short, about 44 miles for most of the group, who stopped at the Sopchoppy City Park to camp.  Joe and Tom decided to ride an additional 10 miles and stay in the comfort of a Best Western hotel.  As they past through Sopchoppy, the winds picked up and the sky darkened, the rain was all set to come, but it held back, and all stayed dry.

Yes, we left the Gulf coast behind today, no longer to see the water and all the lovely sights it presented to us these last few days.  There are only about 240 more miles left before we reach St Augustine, and this will take 5 more days of cycling.  The remainder of the trip should be pretty much routine; the sights will be mostly country roads, with occasional patches of civilization thrown in.  No more big climbs, no more water to enjoy (unless we get rain), just a few miles and the trip is over.  Then there will be time to reflect on all we have accomplished since our journey began on September 12^th.

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2017 11-08 Panama City to Apalachicola (61.6 miles)

This morning started out foggy, but thankfully it cleared before we really started to ride, and additionally cycling away from our hotel and out of town was stressful.  There was heavy early morning commuter traffic and a shoulder less road.  Fortunately this condition lasted only a short time before the traffic diminished, a shoulder appeared and the scenery changed.  What a beautiful ride unfolded for us the rest of the day, with plenty of refreshing views of the gulf, plentiful wild life and blue skies and warm temperatures.  It was a truly perfect day.

With so much of today’s ride in sight of the gulf, there were amply opportunities to stop at a beach and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the water, or as some did, to swim.  And where there is water, there are birds and other creatures commonly found near the water.  You will see from the pictures that we were provided quite a show today.   Some of us even took a route that added about 6 additional miles, just to be within view of the gulf a little longer.  

When we were within about six miles of Apalachicola, we cycled along a three to four mile section of route 98 that had the largest concentration of butterflies that could be imagined.  There was some low growing flowering plant that seemed to attract them, and as we cycled by the plants, the butterflies would take off in all directions.  What a beautiful display of orange and black winged butterflies was ever where around us.

With so much of nature to admire today, it is easy to miss the fact that we slipped into the Eastern Time zone this morning.  Among everything else, this event was just so Ho-hum.  

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2017 11-07 Destin to Callaway (Panama City) (59.6 miles)

After the usual morning ritual of eating breakfast, making a lunch and taking down one’s tent, we headed out to reach our lodging for the evening, The Days Inn in Panama City (actually the little town of Callaway out side of Panama City).  The ride today was sprinkled with glimpses of the Gulf.  It was a welcome change from yesterdays ride, and the views made the day relaxing and the time seemed to fly by.  Mid morning we stopped for a lunch break in the delightful little town of Santa Rosa Beach.  The food was excellent and the staff very friendly.  One of the waiters, Gary, was extremely interested in our journey.  He asked numerous questions about us, our trip, and our bikes.  He paid special attention to our table, we felt honored.

For dinner tonight we ate at Sonny’s BBQ restaurant, a very short walk from the hotel.  The ribs were tasty and the servings generous.   We are not sure why we have not put on a hundred pounds of extra weight on this trip.  This extreme eating will have to end soon.

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2017 11-06 Pensacola Naval Air Station to Destin (68.5 miles)

Today we were discharged from the Navy after having served our 2 day enlistment.  It was a wonderful time but we are happy to once again be civilians and free to come and go without an escort.  We left the camp as a group and headed over to The Oak Restaurant and Lounge, still on the base near the golf course, for a fantastic breakfast.  After eating more than any of us should have eaten (the pancakes where gigantic and the other food good too), we headed off in smaller groups to our final destination, Henderson Beach State Park.

This is the first day of riding off the official Adventure Cycling route, the object of which was to cycle more along the ocean.  With this goal in mind, a good 16 miles of today’s ride was to be along route 399, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  As we crossed over the bridge from Gulf Breeze to the start of the ride along 399 we got a group text message from Chris (remember, he is ahead of us because he did not stay on the Naval base) indicating that the route is closed.  Chris road about 7 miles along 399 before being turned around by a park ranger, and he saved us all from having to do the same extra 14 miles of riding he just did.  We turned around and retraced our ride back to route 98, which we took the rest of the way to our camp ground.  It was a sham we missed out on riding the National Seashore for it would have been absolutely beautiful.  We instead had to deal with the fast and sometimes intimidating traffic on route 98.  All reached the camp ground safely.

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2017 11-04 Dauphin Island to Pensacola Naval Air Station (56.3 miles)

We broke camp, had breakfast, made lunch and headed over to the ferry landing, which was scheduled to depart at 8 AM.  Some decided to wait for the ferry at the landing instead of hanging around the camp ground any longer.  Those that waited at the landing were treated to another fantastic sunrise, one made especially beautiful by the fact that it was over Mobile Bay! The sunrise was short lived, so hanging out at the campground even 5 more minutes would have caused one to miss this treat. 

Taking the ferry was a relaxing way to start the day, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the bay.  We were treated to sea gulls being fed at the back of the ferry by some car passengers who were throwing them bread, and whipping them into a feeding frenzy.  Several pelicans flew by, some landing on the pilings along the shore.  They are indeed an interesting looking bird.  As the ferry docked on the east shore of the bay we spotted several dolphins just breaking the surface of the water close to the ferry, but none stayed on the surface long enough to capture on camera.

Located a short distance from the ferry landing is historic Fort Morgan.  Several of us decided it was worth a stop, delaying the days ride a little longer to sample some history.  Fort Morgan is located on Mobil point, at the end of Fort Morgan Peninsula.  It stands guard where the bay meets the Gulf of Mexico, and played a major part in the Battle of Mobil Bay in August of 1864.  It was constructed between 1819 and 1833, after the war of 1812 made it clear the United States needed better defenses against invaders.

The ride from Fort Morgan to the second stop of the day, a lunch stop, was pleasant, relaxing, enjoyable and refreshing.  There is just something magical about cycling near water.  Our lunch stop was at LuLu’s , a very nice sea food restaurant on the water.  

After enjoying a great seafood lunch, we cycled on to our destination, a campground on the grounds of the Pensacola Naval Air Station.  By the way, some of us would rather have climbed onto a hammock instead of our bikes after such a filling, delicious lunch.  Four of the riders from the group are retired military personnel, which is the only reason we are allowed to stay at this facility.  They have easy access to the base, the rest of us are their guests, and we must be accompanied by one of them to enter the base.  While it is interesting to stay at this facility, it makes exploring on a layover day a bit of a challenge.  Chris decided to stay at a hotel and that his freedom was more important than staying at the base, and perhaps he made the right call.

While cycling to the base after lunch we achieved a big milestone, we entered the seventh and final state in our journey, Florida!  Reaching this point of our journey gives one a feeling that can not be easily put into words.  To date we have cycled 2494 miles, and we still have 9 more days of cycling, and about 450 more miles to pedal, but the end is so very close.  We will be deviating from the official route for a few days, as many of the riders want to spend more time along the Gulf shores.

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Trip Total Map

2017 11-03 Ocean Spring to Dauphin Island (57.7 miles)

Some may be growing tired of seeing pictures of sunrises or sunsets, but on this trip they have been a treat that is always welcomed.  And this morning the sunrise was another one to remember.  It was a perfect way to start a great day of cycling. 

Half of today’s ride was along route 90, and this was our way to get back onto the official route.  Route 90 has wide shoulders that are generally in good shape.  The traffic was at times heavy, but the wide shoulders made it safe and thus not stressful.  While on 90 and shortly before resuming the official route, we achieved another milestone.  We left Mississippi and entered Alabama! 

In the afternoon we cycled along Mobile Bay!  It was scenic, interesting and relaxing!!  Crossing the Gordon Persons Bridge, we arrived at Dauphin Island where we will camp at the Dauphin Island Park camp ground.  This is a very nice camp, clean and well laid out.  It has excellent shower facilities and a recreation room for relaxing. It is also conveniently located a few hundred yards from the ferry, which we will be taking in the morning to cross Mobile Bay so we can continue our ride into Pensacola, FL.  Yes, tomorrow we will achieve another milestone, entering our seventh and final state.

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2017 11-02 Poplarville to Ocean Spring (68 miles)

We started our day with breakfast in the bunk house, and the day was promising to be a pleasant one, warm, dry and a cloudless sky.  If we were going to stick to the official Adventure Cycling route, we would be headed for Vancleave to stay in a local camp ground, but that has been closed for several months now.  So we are headed instead to Ocean Spring to stay in Camp Journeys End.  At last night’s map meeting we discussed how best to get there since our maps will not be of any use.  Many different routes were selected by individuals in the group as “the best” route for them. 

Tom and Joe headed out of Poplarville on Route 53, one of the several options discussed last night.  After riding only a short while they were passed by a lady who yelled out her window that they had missed their turn.  She pulled her car over on the shoulder a few hundred feet down the road and waved them down.  When they described how their route was changed due to the lack of camping she was horrified.  “You do not want to ride this road” she said.  “It is too dangerous.”  After discussing the choices with her, Joe and Tom decided to take back roads, and Neil, who had ridden up as they where talking, decided to continue on.  They were more than happy to change their route as the first few miles on 53 where loaded with traffic and there was no shoulder.  It did not feel safe!  After turning off 53 as suggested, the entire ride changed to be more peaceful, relaxing and with hardly any traffic.  Again “a road angel” saved the day.

The majority of the ride was now on very relaxing country roads and the weather was perfect. 

Dinner tonight was at a great BBQ, The Shed.  The food was out of this world. 

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2017 11-01 Franklinton to Poplarville (50 miles)

We woke up today to skies that shouted “Rain”, and it was to remain overcast and cloudy all day.  Most of us made it to camp, the Hass-Cienda Ranch RV Park in Poplarville, before the rains finally started.  And when the rain started it came with full furry; it has been teaming out side since around 2 PM and still is at 7 PM.  We are all in the warm dry shelter of the bunk house.  All but one that is, Eric.  He stayed overnight 30 miles before Franklinton so he had almost 80 miles to ride today.  His longer mileage meant he was on the road longer, and therefore he road almost 40 miles in the teaming rain.  A most unpleasant experience for sure.

Rolling into Bogalusa around lunch time was perfect as it is the last place along the route to get food until we reach the end of the ride.  A nice little local dinner was closed, so we headed to a McDonald a short distance down the street.  How ordinary.  The local dinner would have been much more enjoyable.  While leaving the McDonald after eating, we ran into a few of the other riders who recommended a great donut place just around the corner.  One thing about a long bike trip, you never pass up calories, especially delicious ones.  The apple fritters they sold were the best any of us have ever had and boy were they hugh!!  We’ll ride harder the second half of today's ride to burn off this wonderful treat.

Another milestone today, crossing over the Pearl River we left Louisiana and entered Mississippi.  It has been a good time in Louisiana and it would be nice to explore all that this state has to offer more completely. 

The camp ground staff prepared a fantastic dinner for us tonight consisting of a rather large piece of steak, a baked potato with sour cream, and green beans. It was a most delicious meal.  The rest of the evening will be spent in the bunk house, relaxing before going to our tents.  And by the way, the tents are all set up under one of two large shelters, out of the rain!

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