Blog 4/24/10 Now What?

As the pictures show,  we finished the ride today.    What they don't show is that we had to drag the bikes across a hundred yards of beach at Anastasia State Park  east of St Augustine to complete the ceremonial dipping of the wheels in the Atlantic.  Good thing all the 3100-odd miles in between here and the Pacific were paved!

I got a nasty surprise riding along the potato fields this morning--a bee stung me.   Apparently it alit between my inner thigh and the nose of the bike saddle and didn't take very kindly to my thigh slogging up and down in its personal space.  Anyway,  that's pretty close to some very tender territory so it sure got my attention.  And the spot that got stung rubbed the saddle the rest of the ride!  Ouch!

Only 45 flat miles to get here today,  plus around 10 more looking around.   St Augustine is the oldest town in the USA, and is quite a tourist destination--the town even more than the beach.   Think of the Village of Saugatuck multipled by fifty or so for the town,  and Oval Beach multiplied by 100 for the island, which is really a big, long, protective sandbar--accessed by a big drawbridge.  Art galleries, boutique stores and fancy restaurants line the narrow old brick streets,  and tour trains,  horse-and-buggies and rental scooters, vie for space with cars and motorcycles.   Bicycles are the fastest mode of transportation for sure,  even with loaded panniers.   We scrounged up a decent motel room on the edge of the historic district that overlooks the Matanzas River that flows between the town and the island.

How touristy is it?  A fake pirate ship plies the river carrying tourists.  It causes the drawbridge to rise every hour or so,  further congesting traffic on both sides.   And the occasional pirate or soldier wanders the street authentically dressed and with his musket shouldered.  There's a Harley-Davidson store on a pedestrian mall--no vehicles allowed.

How do I feel about having completed the trip?  Good question.   I'm proud.  My mind is much more prepared to keep going than my legs, so I guess I'm physically exhausted but not at all emotionally or psychologically used up,  which I think is mostly due to having a great partner to share the miles with.   If I had done the ride alone,  it would have been much harder.

A few days back I said that the journey is what matters, not the destination, and now that we have arrived,  the truth of this is even more apparent.   Over dinner,  Kathy and I were talking about where we might go next...but first we have to ride up to Jacksonville and catch a train home.

Doug

P. S.
Some random thoughts:  Haven't seen any real gators, and only two live snakes.  Southern squirrels are small with wimpy tails.   As a species,  egrets are doing just fine.  Too bad Spanish moss and azaleas don't grow up north.    Obesity is at least as big a problem in the south,  and it seems more people smoke here.   Southern roads are in much better shape than northern roads.  In general,  southern drivers are more polite to cyclists--except for the cretins driving wood-pulp hauling trucks. I would really like to know the percentage of people who undertake this ride that finish.   Besides this being harder than I imagined (and most of you know that Kathy and I are hard core,  seasoned riders),  so much has to go right--accidents,  illness, dogs horrible weather, mechanical problems etc.  could easily put a premature end to the fun.   It takes a lot of stamina to do this.   A good dose of luck too.