Yeah, it wasn't on my route... 80+ miles yesterday got me to Easleyville, Louisiana, despite a flat tire which I took mostly in stride. I waited out big rain this morning at my campground, and had my sites on an easy 45 mile day. About an hour down the road I had another flat rear tire. This time a broken valve stem, unfixable. No biggie, I had bought a spare tube in Pensacola. Got that one loaded up and made 5 minutes before it blew out. Defective tube, unfixable...checkmate. Nothing to do but thumb for a ride. My advice... don't lose it in rural Louisiana, 'cause noone will pick you up. Finally stashed the bike in the woods and started walking. Found a farm down the road a piece. These people were angels. The lady (whose name I don't recall but will find...) called almost everyone she new in East Feliciana Parish to try and get me a tube. There just wasn't one to be had. My idea was to get a cab from Jackson (about 15 miles west). She told me the nearest cab was in Baton Rouge, an hours drive away. So, she called her son Josh who was running fence somewhere deep into their several thousand acre farm. He loaded up his ATV on the trailer, headed back to the house, picked me up, picked up my bike and took me to Baton Rouge, the nearest bike shop.
Neither of them would let me pay them for their time or gas. I'm so thankful for these kind people. After every contingency plan failing, and an hour of unsucessful hitching, their kindness and suggestions were so welcome I nearly cried. Josh offered to wait for me at the bike shop to make sure I got safely to a hotel. He told me his last name, but in my confusion I forgot it before I could write it down. (Josh, if you make it to this site, please send me an e-mail to anderso.carl@gmail.com ).
So, that's how I spent my Monday. Not sure, but I might hang in B.R. again tomorrow, work up an exit plan and avoid some more rain. Cheers everyone!
Monday, November 30, 2009
I'm in Baton Rouge??
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Mississippi Redeemed
The folks at the Haas Cienda Ranch where I'm staying tonight couldn't be nicer, only charged me $10, and let me pitch my tent under the cover of the back deck (so I'll be dry in the am). Made 80 miles today to Poplarville. Shooting for 85 tomorrow and Looooosiana (That's right Ted, your home turf. Go Saints!!! That's football, right??) And if I cross the state line without incident, Mississippi drivers get the award so far for being the most curtious drivers of any state I have ever biked in. Thank you MS!
Friday, November 27, 2009
I-S-S-I-S-S...
Made 70 miles today to Vancleave, Mississippi, despite going through downtown Mobile, Al and a Black Friday shopping spree at the Bass Pro Shop big box store. I had to replace my EMS sleeping pad that had more holes in it then a baseball player's steroid affidavit.
Got into Bluff Park Campground about 1/2 hr after dark. Mud-slide Sam took one look at my foofy shorts and my chattering teeth and said "$30 to put your tent in the dirt, or $40 for a cabin with a heater". Yeah, he had my number. One cold can of Chef Boyardee, and an hour and a half of the 'heater', and I'm starting to thaw out. Low of 35F here tonight. Death by Tarantula looks more appealing then the bathroom here, so no hot shower for me. Still, I'm snug as a bug in my sleeping bag and happy to be here.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009
Tonight I give thanks for all the wonderful people in my life. I am fortunate indeed. I hope you all have full hearts and full bellies.
I spent the day today paddling kayaks in waterways around Mobile bay. Carol borrowed her friend's kayak and car, and we went out in search of White Pelicans. They were around, and although we never got a good up-close look at them, we were treated with fine viewing of white ibises, great egrets, american coots, and scores of other birds. All in all, a great day. Thank you Carol for all your kindness!
Back to the trail tomorrow. More from the road coming...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Happy Birthday, Doug!
Of course, it's almost over now... but here's hoping you had a great birthday, Douglas.
I made the roughly 45 miles from Gulf Shores to Carol's in Daphne. A hot shower, dinner at a local Thai restaurant, great company, and an actual bed to sleep in... can't beat that. I'll likely stay through tomorrow and push out to Mobile and beyond on Friday. Too bad, but it looks like this time the solar charger company sent my replacement to California. Ooops!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Blog Comments
Hi all, I guess folks are having difficulty posting comments on the blog. Try this... after the comment box there is a selection box that says something like 'select profile'. If you don't have a gmail account, click in that box, go to the bottom and select 'Anonymous'. That should let you post. It would be great if you signed your post so I know who is commenting (unless you want to tell me how badly my blog sucks- I always like to do that sort of thing anonymously).
Air Show
When I rode into Pensacola Monday, I was sad to learn that I had missed the Blue Angels in an air show the previous weekend. Sort of... I've always loved aerobatics, but these days seem to appreciate them more in a non-military context. Little did I know, an airshow would be staged, just for me in Gulf Shores, today!
There I was, hanging out on the cabanna of the Hangout, eating my rice and beans and photo-documenting the English Sparrows foraging around my table... and I saw them. Gannets!!! A group of Northern Gannets were in close to shore following some school of fish. If you have never seen Gannets dive, you have to check them out (there are U-Tube videos). These are large birds, pointy-winged, pointy nose and tails (i.e. 4-pointed), that somehow combine power, speed, size, and grace. In an instant they go from a full overhead glide, drop a wing, roll and engage in a power dive, hitting the water at full speed with the grace and elegance of an olympic high-diver. Even more impressively, entire flocks will dive at the same time, hitting the water just inches from each other. These are birds with lightening fast reflexes.
Anyway, noone else at the Hangout seemed interested. My own private air show. Other birds of note today: Osprey, bluebirds, Sora rails, sharp-tailed sparrows, sanderlings, another unidentified small sandpiper, and lots of Monarch butterflies (presumably on their way to Mexico). Oh, and of course, Brown Pellicans. I'd have to write another whole entry to describe their diving prowess.
Tuesday, Nov. 24
Yesterday afternoon I rolled across the Alabama state line, in time to view a gorgeous sunset over Gulf Shores. I'm in Orange Beach at a nice, quiet (relatively speaking) RV campground, and will probably stay another night tonight. Wednesday I'll mosey up the road to Daphne and accept my friend Carol's gracious offer to stay at her place. There I hope to finally receive my solar charger for the phone (though I have been able to stay connected juggling the charge on two batteries. It has occassionally had me hanging out in the bathroom near an outlet longer than some of the RV folks are comfortable with).
Yesterday at a rest stop overlook in Pensacola I met Paul. Paul lives under a tarp by the interstate, and sometimes with his friend under a nearby bridge. Paul helped me with information about local routes, and has done some impressive bicycle touring in his own right. He was a genuinely interesting and engaging person, without a doubt the most meaningful exchange I had yesterday. I didn't ask Paul how he came to find himself in his current position. He did tell me he has lived in Pensacola all his life. If I had to guess, it would be something like schizophrenia. Though, in the few cases of 'true' homelessness that I have any experience with, there seem to be a variety of contributing factors, and no easy solution (if at all). My heart was heavy as I left Paul to push on to Alabama. Oh this human experience...
Sunday, November 22, 2009
More about Rainy Sunday
... the send button is hair-trigger sensitive on this device.
The big RV, must have been two hundread feet long, with a pair of diesel locomotives pulling it. Hey, I'd of taken a picture, but it snuck away.
On my way to towards Milton I met Regina and her Jack Russel Terrier Kruemel (yes Bill B, we know you are in love). I thought I had a heavy load. Regina had as much gear as me on the bike, plus a trailer. But, in true German style, she is touring around the US for a year. Quite a remarkable person, she gave me a card with a website address if anyone would like to read up on her.
A little more rain tonight, just enough to get the tent fly good and wet. Time to slide in... if all goes well I'll make Alabama tomorrow.
Sunday, Rainy Sunday
The motel room I took in DeFuniak Springs last night worked out much better than my previous experience. Had manicotti and a salad at 'Mom and Dad's' Italian restaurant. You would think they would at least call it Mama and Papa's? It rained hard during the night, and I slept like a log.
I had rain for half the day today (just the middle was dry), so I ended up the day pretty soggy. But temps were in the high 60s and the rain was light to moderate. I had my gear prepared for rain, and actually had a pretty good day riding, making about 65 miles to a KOA campground outside of Milton, Fl. This KOA, like most others is right next to the interstate. But they have a nice tenting area, clean shower rooms, a laundry where I got dried out, and a Mexican restaurant down the road. A Bonanza.
The park advertises itself as 'big rig friendly' and they're not kidding. Of course everyone has the big self-contained units with multiple tip-out rooms. But I saw the largest RV I've ever seen here. Unfortunately they left while I was taking a shower so I couldn't get a picture.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
DeFuniak, FL 11/21/09
I'm spending the night at the beautiful DeFuniak Motel. It was $28.50 and 5 miles out of town to camp at an RV park in the rain, or $35 for my present accomodations, and an Italian resteraunt down the street. Tough choice!
Earlier in the day I rode through Ponce De Leon, Fl. A quick search reminded me that ol' Juan PDL was a Spanish explorer, sent to claim the island of Bimini for the Spaniards, when he stumbled upon what he later named Florida. The story goes that Juan was rather obsessed with finding the fountain of youth. Apparently this was not a new obsession for him, nor for other Spanish explorers. And, legend has it that the fountain exists somewhere in Florida. Based on an unofficial survey by me of the average age of Floridians, I would guess that the fountain's location is not well publicized.
So you can imagine my exuberance when I discovered the actual fountain, right in downtown Ponce De Leon (where else?). Clever as Floridians can be, the Fountain of Youth is guarded be a chained,feral giraffe. Having already been terrorized by a half dozen local mongrel dogs, I wasn't about to tangle with a panhandle giraffe, just to live forever.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Friday, Nov. 20
So I rode by this field of flowered crops and it got me to thinking about adaptations and natural selection, wondering who could possibly be pollinating flowers in late Nov.
Regarding evolution, adaptation, and natural selection I began to wonder how humans fit into this picture, particularly the ones that had the room next to me in last night's flea-bag motel. I won't bore you with the details, but it kept me busy for a long while. Before I knew it I had ridden 70 miles to Chipley, Fl.
But, it turns out the whole thing was based on false evidence. It wasn't a field of white flowers at all, it was a cotton field, ready for harvesting. Never seen anything like it.
That's it for now... cold thumbs are pushing two buttons for every one I try for...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, Nov. 19th
Another great day for riding. I ended up the day at Quincy, Fl having ridden 64 miles (a bit shy of the 90 I had planned). But at 42 degrees F I just wasn't that keen on crawling out of the sleeping bag. No excuse tomorrow though, I'm staying at a cheap motel. And I mean CHEAP.
There's a surprising amount of bird song going on down here. Carolina Wrens and Eastern Phoebees are singing up a storm. Some appear to be 1st year males trying out their new pipes.
Unfortunately, Florida roads appear to be hard on owls. I found 3 as roadkill yesterday, two Barred owls and an Eastern Screech Owl. Bummer.
Oh, and Red-shouldered hawks are really vocal down here right now. They are only eclipsed by the sound of an insect that is heard on every grassy roadside right now. Not one I've heard before. I can only describe it as sounding like a high pressure water sprinkler, the kind that spins somewhat randomly. I assume it is some cecada-like critter?
More anon...
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday Nov. 18
Mostly pine woods today with a more rolling hill landscape. No quiet between the ears yet. Same ol' noise. Maybe in a week or so, it usually takes me almost that long.
Staying at a KOA tonight near Monticello, FL. The music of 18 wheelers whizzing by on I10 is constant in the background. Cold Raviolli and beanie weanies tonight (didn't plan time to stop at Winn Dixie, and the pickins' were slim at the camp store).
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, Nov 17
I'm writing from Suwannee River State Park, about 200 miles west of St. Augustine. The park was perfectly blissful until 15 minutes ago when Leanord Skynard showed up next door. Ah, such are the perils of the road.
I haven't calculated today's milage but I'm guessing 60, 70 yesterday, and 35 each of the two days before. Other than one very tight hamstring and a sore butt, I'm no worse for the wear.
I met a bunch of bikers on the route today, all of which had come from San Diego. Most said at least 8 or 9 weeks was necessary. But there was one chap, in his 60s, that was on day 45.
