had a fine sleep in the tent last night. good thing I had the rain fly out; the morning dew was heavy. this was an ok place to camp, especially with the free entertainment most of the night courtesy of the neighbor's dog, whose incessant repertoire included that high-pitched YAPPING. Seemed to get good sleep, regardless....
cooked up the dinner I skipped last night (instead, I had some chicken livers and chocolate milk... mmmm); my family's version of hamburger helper: elbow macaroni, tomato soup, ground beef. cooked up a pot, had some for breakfast and stowed the leftover for a welcomed lunch later.
BIG note to self: employ this idea often....
had planned a seemingly ambitious but doable route to grove hill (was thinking hotel in advance..) coeur d'alene-esque rollers ALL DAY. All managable; enjoyed many fun decsents, but if you wanna play, you gotta pay. lots of long steady climbs, mostly not steep, but for someone from pancake-flat SE Texas, these hills quickly became alot of work. pulled into grove hill later in the afternoon. decided on a room for a warm bed, checked in, cleaned up, and walked to a nearby local burger spot. marginal, but hit the spot. whole body is tapped out.
another beautiful day to ride ! sunny, clouds here and there to break up the sun, light winds. VERY light traffic: went one stretch for what seemed 30 minutes without seeing a car. seemed so remote at times I wondered why there was a road there at all.
today: 73
to date: 899
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Day 15 - Stockton, AL
greetings and salutations on this fine and glorious Friday night in lively stockton, AL. enjoyed a leisurely cool morning cruise thru the quaint and charming southern Alabama towns; Point Clear, Fairhope, and Daphne before hitting Spanish Fort.
nice flat strolls quickly turned into a chapped ass moment when I took a wrong turn and had to double back, about a 6 mile hit; hate to back-track miles due to my own lapse of attention. hit 800 miles cumulative just past Spanish Fort, and that's when the steady rollers kicked right in; the nice long descents were nice, but there's a climb for every one, so it was a solid, but nicely managed day. ended up in Stockton, AL, out in nowhere, really. camping at camp delta, and enjoyed the shower I had to miss yesterday (gross, but sometimes necessary), and availed myself of laundry facilities. very nice night out under the stars again. fly is out, but open to catch a breeze. sweet. another landmark day.
i wish i could express the sense of total freedom being out here everyday, getting from here to there, every mile bringing a new view and each stop meeting local folks and chatting about this and that. it's very liberating !!
today: 67 miles
to date: 825
nice flat strolls quickly turned into a chapped ass moment when I took a wrong turn and had to double back, about a 6 mile hit; hate to back-track miles due to my own lapse of attention. hit 800 miles cumulative just past Spanish Fort, and that's when the steady rollers kicked right in; the nice long descents were nice, but there's a climb for every one, so it was a solid, but nicely managed day. ended up in Stockton, AL, out in nowhere, really. camping at camp delta, and enjoyed the shower I had to miss yesterday (gross, but sometimes necessary), and availed myself of laundry facilities. very nice night out under the stars again. fly is out, but open to catch a breeze. sweet. another landmark day.
i wish i could express the sense of total freedom being out here everyday, getting from here to there, every mile bringing a new view and each stop meeting local folks and chatting about this and that. it's very liberating !!
today: 67 miles
to date: 825
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Day 14 - Magnolia Springs, AL
yesterday evening, cycle-tourists Jake and Chris arrived to join the party. jorg, Joe ( our warmshowers host) and I had already planned a pizza venture, so the boys set right in. Joe had interesting scuba stories to tell; he's an underwater photography buff. he had already laid out air mattresses for us all. this guy is good !! had a jerry mcguire moment ( but without the mission statement); some bad pizza brought me to paying homage to the porcelain goddess.... yuk. started the day a tad off. things got much better, so no biggie. we all left on the earlier side for a nice change, and Jake and Chris rode on ahead; they are on a mission to get to Galveston so Chris can race the 70.3 triathlon next weekend. jorg's logistical considerations brought us to decide to part ways in gulf shores. he decided to press west as I am north-bound. very much enjoyed our riding time, albeit just 3 days. his more leisurely pace actually did me alot of good ! we might actually cross paths again out west, so stay tuned on that. ..
crossed several bridges today, so was able to regain the feel of some climbing gears. enjoyed the trek north into rural Alabama. intended to catch a b&b in magnolia springs, but it was closed. so, decided to pitch camp on some local land (with permission), treated myself to a good local meal of salmon. now, watching the stars laying in the tent.
it just doesn't get any fucking better than this !!
today: 78 miles
to date: 758
crossed several bridges today, so was able to regain the feel of some climbing gears. enjoyed the trek north into rural Alabama. intended to catch a b&b in magnolia springs, but it was closed. so, decided to pitch camp on some local land (with permission), treated myself to a good local meal of salmon. now, watching the stars laying in the tent.
it just doesn't get any fucking better than this !!
today: 78 miles
to date: 758
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Day 13 - Navarre, FL
today was a shorter ride, easing up after a nice long one yesterday. had a very nice evening with our warmshowers host jeff ellis. very hospitable gentleman.
warmshowers.org is a site whose travelling members offer and receive hospitality, and I have to say, it works well !! great time with jeff, and now today with Joe. his wife is presently touring in California, so jorg and I are here with Joe and his son Maurice. we're expecting 2 other touring cyclists to join us later in the for 4 touring cyclists touring!! ought to be an interesting evening!
fairly uneventful ride thru Destin and Ft. Walton beach today to reach Navarre, FL.
tomorrow, looking to reach Gulf Shores, AL to begin heading north to catch the Underground Railroad bike route.
today: 50 miles
to date: 680
warmshowers.org is a site whose travelling members offer and receive hospitality, and I have to say, it works well !! great time with jeff, and now today with Joe. his wife is presently touring in California, so jorg and I are here with Joe and his son Maurice. we're expecting 2 other touring cyclists to join us later in the for 4 touring cyclists touring!! ought to be an interesting evening!
fairly uneventful ride thru Destin and Ft. Walton beach today to reach Navarre, FL.
tomorrow, looking to reach Gulf Shores, AL to begin heading north to catch the Underground Railroad bike route.
today: 50 miles
to date: 680
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Day 12 - Sea Grove, FL
this was an interesting day.
I left st. Joseph state park with the goal of reaching panama city beach. going to SJSP was a little bit of a decision: it was about a 12 mile side trip, which meant I had to back-track it this morning. I enjoyed it there, so it was worth the extra miles.
encountered my first flat (rear) tire today. while I was changing out the tube, up rides Jorg, the guy I had originally expected to start the tour with but didn't as we fell out of touch. turns out he was on the way after all. seems my flat gave him the few minutes he needed to catch me. had I not flatted, we likely would not have hooked up. small world !
during our ride, we witnessed a very nasty car crash not 20 yds from us. we surmised that the guilty driver was distracted, quite possibly by the 2 guys on loaded touring bicycles over on the shoulder. kind of a close call.....
made it to sea grove, FL. staying the night at a warmshowers.org host named jeff, coincidentally an ironman triathlete. lots to talk about.
today: 93 miles
to date: 630
I left st. Joseph state park with the goal of reaching panama city beach. going to SJSP was a little bit of a decision: it was about a 12 mile side trip, which meant I had to back-track it this morning. I enjoyed it there, so it was worth the extra miles.
encountered my first flat (rear) tire today. while I was changing out the tube, up rides Jorg, the guy I had originally expected to start the tour with but didn't as we fell out of touch. turns out he was on the way after all. seems my flat gave him the few minutes he needed to catch me. had I not flatted, we likely would not have hooked up. small world !
during our ride, we witnessed a very nasty car crash not 20 yds from us. we surmised that the guilty driver was distracted, quite possibly by the 2 guys on loaded touring bicycles over on the shoulder. kind of a close call.....
made it to sea grove, FL. staying the night at a warmshowers.org host named jeff, coincidentally an ironman triathlete. lots to talk about.
today: 93 miles
to date: 630
Monday, April 12, 2010
Day 11 - St. Joseph State Park
ended up feeling on the poor side yesterday. the hotel stop was appreciated ! woke feeling much better, but still not 100%. another beautiful day, again with a nice tailwind; i'd say the bike touring gods are being good to me so far. charmed :)
today: 54 miles
to date: 537
today: 54 miles
to date: 537
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Day 10 - Carrabelle, FL
awoke today feeling very worn out; lots of miles the last 4 days, and too much beer and oysters (and not enough water....) last night. I had already planned a short ride of 25 miles to Carrabelle, FL; planned to treat myself to a room and an afternoon of watching the final round of the masters! a good plan, because I began feeling crummy by the time I got there. checked in and right away took a nap! went next door for something gentle to eat. nothing looked good, so i decided i couldn't go wrong with a grilled cheese. how wrong i was. got the worst grilled cheese sandwich ever made; stale wheat bread, toasted (not grilled...) and filled with cheese whiz - GROSS ! didn't do much for my malaise to say the least settled for an order of mediocre fries..... generally a very quiet afternoon. needed the rest day. looking to make st. Joseph state park on Monday.
today: 24 miles
to date: 483
today: 24 miles
to date: 483
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