I'm laid up in the town of Lake City, about 100 miles East of Tallahassee and more importantly roughly 85 miles from the Atlantic Coast. Fingers and toes crossed, if everything goes to plan tomorrow, that should be it; big target number one reached, but let's see.The original plan was to be a good 40 miles closer to the coast, but mechanical problems have held me up. The roads in Florida continue to be amazing, really amazing. Smooth, well maintained, clear, and with good bike lanes for mile after mile. In fact since I crossed the state line I can think of less than 20 miles I've been out of bike lanes. It's amazing, and such a pleasure.
Although I've had a little insight into what might help it be quite this good....I've passed 6 prisons (correctional facilities) in the last 2 days, some top security, some more lax, but I've also passed 7 or 8 sizable prison work teams. All the inmates tricked out in prison chic, plus a hi viz vest with print further highlighting who there are for the thick I assume or just to further humiliate. They are usually watched over by a rather sweaty mustachioed guard in a pick up, who whilst I've not seen so, I assume is armed. Whilst these teams have been busy at a variety of tasks, road clearing seems popular. This might explain why most of highway 90 looks like a park for miles on end.However this is a tangent, the delay was on the back wheel again. Warning for non-bike nerds, then next couple of sentences will be geeky. Basically when the guys in Pensacola changed my gear cassette they put a 11-32 on rather than an 11-28, despite me asking if this was ok. Not helped by the loose nut on the wheel on Sunday the whole derailer was thrown out, and my chain started slipping wildly. Luckily I made it to Tallahassee in time and to a great little shop near the university. We've now locked out the top gear which is annoying, but touch wood it's working well. In layman's, the cowboys in Pensacola rogered up my gears, but it's now under control, but I've now got less gears to work with.
 |
| Nice touch |
There are probably some things I could say about the riding, but I'm under some time pressure. Tallahassee looked like a decent little college town, one of those places that is probably a lot of fun to live in, but a bit difficult to get a proper feel for passing through.
The countryside round here is very green, very forested and seriously rolling. Not big hills just continuous up and down all day, and given you are usually going down hill twice the speed of up hill, I feels like you are climbing for all most all the day. It's luckily started to flatten out in the last 20 miles. The key thing to say is it looks nothing like you expect of Florida, not an orange tree, palm fringed beach, theme park or key in sight, but it's none the worse for it.
Better biking facilities mean far more cyclists on the road, and whilst most are rather individualistic oddballs, if not malicious, I did meet a rather lovely Taiwanese couple who'd been on the road a year and a half. They were pushing on for another 6 months then going back to get married, in Taipei. After a 5 mins conversation I landed myself an invite, complete with a picture of the happy couple holding hands over a rose strewn table. Must check my diary, when I can finally translate the Cantonese card.
Oh.....and it's shot up about 10F and the humidity has gone through the roof suddenly. The top picture is a very poor attempt to show the mirages on the road, but trusting me it's very very hot work. Not as exposed and brutal as West Texas, but still very very warm to ride in. No complaints as I've been lucky through the South, but an unwelcome change all the same.
Route - Marianna - Tallahassee - Lake City
Monday 9 May
Breakfast - I forget, but it involved cereal bagels and fruit at the motel
Lunch - Grilled chicken salad - The Scottish named global burger franchise. Twice in 2 days is bad, but I need the wi-fi and I was in a hurry.
Supper - Turkey and beef sandwich and crisps - Publix super market.
Tuesday 10 May
Breakfast - Ditto the above, but no fruit available.
Lunch - Chicken salad sub and crisps. Subway, Madison. Very odd grumpy shop, everyone was in a mood, bar me. I'd found out they have salt and vinegar crisps, so I felt like a puppy with two tails.
Supper - Chicken and pecan salad - Bob Evans. Delicious country cooking effort. Like this chain a great deal, good food.
Final note: Will update the map when I stop on the beach for the day, but there appears to be a trouble at the moment with Google maps.
