Day 47 - Oh, Carolina......

 Two cheesy title song puns in two days, and the above is truly dreadful. Especially as I’m pretty sure Shaggy was not remotely singing about South Carolina. But I need a hook to kick off the post and the fact today was as damn near cycling perfection as you can get.

When I hit the orange groves east of LA on day 2, I remember thinking the whole trip would be like this. Trundling absent-mindedly along gentle B-roads, with rolling beautiful countryside for company and sleepy little dorps to break up the day. It’s been nothing like that, it’s not been worse, just very different to the picture I’d imagined.

This made today all the more special. The bike had no problems, there was a non-stop light tailwind, and the B-roads rolled gently through one small sleepy town after another. For Forest Gump fans, it feels like I’ve been trapped blissfully in Greenbow, Alabama all day. 

Funny thing is when it all goes so well there’s not a whole lot to say. It’s really beautiful round here, in a gentle subtle way. And whilst this has been coming for a while these feel like very old communities. And given much of this coastal region was settled by Brits less than 20 years after the English Civi war, they really are.

The town centres are populated and full, there seems to be little in the way of new building doughnuts around strangled cores, and much of the architecture is pure Americana. Clap board house in block colours complete with porches, and rocking chairs out in the shade. 

Throw in the swaying corn fields, lush woods and old glory flapping off every veranda and it’s a picture of pure American good times. And best of all it really doesn’t feel forced. 

It such a contrast from much of the I-10 corridor. Down there, in an urban context, it can feel relentlessly new. In fact outside of the sparse downtowns you can date the growth exactly; the 60s and the age of universal car ownership, then the late 70s and 80s and the comditisation of air conditioning. It’s interesting in it’s own way, but it love the settled feel round here.

So before I bore you all to tears with a history lesson and my misty eyed musings, I’m going to call it a night. Great day all round, fingers crossed it was not a one off.

Route - Hardeeville - Yamasse - Walterboro - Moncks Corner

Breakfast - Motel standards.

Lunch - Japanese Steak and Chicken Stir Fry - Fuji Express, Walterboro. Decent little meal. The place was as basic as it gets, as most japanese places out the cities are, but the cook was cranking out great little meals for not too much, good spot to stumble on.

Supper - 4 tacos from the heathy menu - Taco Bell. I’ve always avoided this chain on principle, and I have no idea what that principle was. Sure the soft tacos were not the best in the world, but they filled a hole and felt healthy enough. Topped it off with a milkshake from Sonic, just because I wanted to work out how you order there. There’s no inside, in this chain, and only occasionally a drive through. You drive or walk up to 20 odd boards, where you press a button to order, and the guys run out with your order, to eat at benches or in you car. I know for the American readership this makes dull reading, but we don’t have anything like this at home. Probably because the employees would understandably unionise over being in out in the cold so much.

Day 46 - Rainy day in Georgia

I thought up the little title homage to Brook Benton before, unexpectedly, the above happened right at the end of the day. Behind a bush in the beautiful Savannah Nature Reserve I was suddenly in the Carolinas. I’m so obsessive about planning the routes every night, not sure how this detail slip my notice. Great little boost though to cap off a day of ups and downs.

The local news promised rain all day, but I’ve heard that 20 times before, and then spent the day topping up the tan. This time they were spot on. Bar a couple of hours at dawn and the a couple riding into the motel, it’s rained non stop. It’s spat at me, drizzled on me, and soaked me right through. The downpour just before lunch was the heaviest rain I can ever remember being in, or certainly that I’ve not been inside or in a car in for.

No complaints though. Today is the start of the 7th week cycling, and in all that time I’ve only been rained on properly once for 20 mins in Arizona, and spat at twice. 42 days and 20 mins rain. It’s crazy. I was long overdue, and to be honest it’s taken the sting out the heat.

The riding was basically a sandwich, dull filling for the middle of the day (more of the forested, flat, sleepy land) with beautiful dawn ride through the fishing villages up inlets off the Georgia Coast, and then a lovely ride through the Savannah Nature Reserve and on into South Carolina at the end.

However before the peaceful end, there was another mechanical detour. The gears started skipping yet again, so I divert off route 15 miles into downtown Savannah. As experienced time and again the service in the bike shop was friendly, fast.....and amazingly free. They just don’t charge you for tune ups, which is obviously awesome. 

Smallest church ever

I was only 5 blocks from the historic downtown, however after almost getting mown down trying to push through the soaking streets to see it, I just turn off North out of town. It’s bad, but Savannah will just have to join New Orleans, Austin, and the rest as a place to come back to with a car. When it’s raining, and everyone says you have to watch your stuff and lock up your bike, it just seemed to much hassle, especially when soaked through to your underwear.

And I’m not unhappy with the decision. Half an hour later I was out cruising through the Nature Reserve. I’m no twitcher or particular love of wildlife, so much so I’m  embarrassed to admit I found a safari in Kenya rather dull, but this was lovely. 

So lovely in fact not only did I almost missed the sign to South Carolina, but I almost rode over an uncomfortably large snake sunning itself on the road. It was probably the Carolina Toothless Kissing snake or something equally wet like that, but I didn’t stick around to find out, and now have the fear again about every rustle in the bushes.

The shoulders on the road have dropped away completely in Carolina which is discouraging, but a decent Mexican meal in lively spot over the road, has more than made up for it. And set me up for the 35 miles of I-95 frontage road I’ve got first up tomorrow morning.

Route - Brunswick - Savannah - Hardeeville (very conscious the maps need updating. Today was meant to be the day, but got in late)

Breakfast - Couldn’t face another motel breakfast, so nipped over the road for oatmeal and breakfast bun at Starbucks. Yummy change.

Lunch - Grilled Mahi Mahi, baked sweet potato and salad - Captain Joe’s. Best sight of the day, out of the driving rain, into another brilliant local. Same story as yesterday. Looked weary from outside. Inside it was cheerful, friendly and most importantly serving up great local food. Spot on.

Supper -Tacos - Mi Territa - Seriously lively mexican restaurant right by the free way. There was a tent outside filled with punters dancing away to Mexican dance music, inside the bar was a fascinating mix of lonely truckers, fat cops, drunk golf fans on their way back from the Players in Florida, and locals of all backgrounds, and all held together by the very diligent and welcoming family who own the place. A real gem of a place, and rightfully busy. Oh, and the food was fantastic and really authentic.

Day 45 - Finally heading North

 Today has been about one thing; finally heading North. There really is not a whole lot to say about the actual riding though; it was just under 95 miles and it went to plan. 

Granted it was snooker table flat and there was a light tailwind all day, but it now seems strange how early on anything over 80 miles freaked me out. 95 miles just trundles by now. This is not to say heat in the high 90s and intense humidity was easy riding, just easier.

The first 15 miles was frustrating. For the first time in the trip I had to retrace my steps, to avoid a ferry crossing, and hit a bridge in downtown instead. It’s only the second time there’s been a ferry option (the other being an alternate route to the cycle through downtown Mobile I took). 

It’s probably a bit silly, but I really want to ride or walk every single mile, and a 2 mile ferry ride would niggle at me forever. When the detours to avoid them are 20 mile round trip through downtown rush hours, I do slightly question my sanity, but it’s just a decision I’ve made.

In downtown I finally turned off highway 90 and headed straight north up Main street which became highway 17, the new mothership. The last few miles out of Florida were bliss. It really is the best place for long distance cycling in the world.

The change into Georgia was immediate. It’s not that it’s bad here, but the cycling approach is basically bear bones; slimmest shoulder/cycle lanes possible, the odd sign about cyclists on bridges (one of which had been shot at which is not encouraging), and some old rusty bike route signs are all you'd know you're on a designated cross country bike route.

That said the roads are quiet, and bar one idiot in a Budweiser truck everyone gave me a wide berth right up till Brunswick. There’s nothing much to say about the country side, it’s more of the quiet, flat forested land that seems to sit just in from the coast for the whole arch round from Texas. It’s got noticeably poorer since leaving Jacksonville, but it’s strange that the decay just doesn’t look so desperate in the woods for some reason. 

Just before being tidied up

Getting into Brunswick had it’s challenges. I’d not realised how big it is (100k plus), and at 5:30 on a Friday people were not driving well. It’s back into the dull motels, not improved by the seriously mardy lady on the desk, but with two weeks left it seems more manageable. And as I’ve mentioned before, you notice the very rare grumpiness here so much more, because it’s so so rare, when some one’s rude it seems so odd and out of place, it takes you back. 

Apart from that the only thing I can think to mention is, the closer I get to the end, the more neurotic I get about every twinge in my knees/legs, and bump or crunch on the bike. Made me realise I’m probably ready to stop cycling now.

Route Neptune Beach - Jacksonville - Waverly - Dock Junction, Brunswick

Breakfast - Standard set up at the motel

Lunch - Fried Green Tomatoes and bacon sandwich, potato salad and strawberry milkshake. Corner Cafe, Kingsland. As has happened time and again, almost didn’t go in because it looked a little ropey (and had a flag waving mannequin outside) but once in, the food was brilliant. Home cooked and seriously tasty, and it all came with a great dose of banter from the waitress who dragged me into the kitchen to meet the other girls and show off my accent....Almost let vanity take hold of me, and think maybe the beard trim yesterday is work.

Supper - Yummy Paella type shrimp dish - Cracker Barrel - Top top food. Have a good feeling about Georgia's food. In fact with California, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, here and New York I'll have down a proper culinary tour of the States, and when it's done well the food here is fantastic, and so distinctive to the place. I just wish I had a car to explore more food places. American food is really very good and so distinctive once you get beyond the cliched burgers and fries (although I've had some ripping burgers though).

Day 44 - Atlantic admin

Right so target number one is complete. There were some hiccups getting here yesterday, but I made it in the end. I've been asked on emails and Skype a few times today how I “feel.” To be truthful I’m not really sure how I feel and what I think of it all just yet. It felt great seeing the sea yesterday no doubt, but beyond that it’s a huge cliche, but it's not really sunk in. 

I've still got 1,200 miles to go to New York, and there's not really anyone here to celerbrate with. I mean there is, of course, but just not anyone I know or knows me. It's weird I found myself researching the whole route again last night with the same anxiety as the first night, fretting I wouldn't make it to the Atlantic. That probably makes it sound like I've flipped, but if you fret and worry about something for months vaguely, and weeks intensely, when it actually happens it's hard to compute. One thing is for sure, I've got the bit between my teeth for New York now.

As for yesterday it was a fairly functional day. For the most part it was flat solid roads, through the pine forests and small farms of North Florida, on cycle lanes. There were more prisons, more prison working parties and more mustachioed guards to keep me company, but in general it was basic, dull riding. 

It was as I got within the Jacksonville city limits (which are vast, I mean deep into the countryside) that it all suddenly got more concerning. First the15 miles on a bike rail trail into the edge of the city proper was supposed to be an ipod-in chill out, but things didn't turn out that way. 

You can't really see it on the two photos of the trail, but this was midday and the sunlight was sharply dappled through the trees. 3 or 4 miles in I noticed that the light had turned a deep red and, looking up, that the almost cloudless sky was now thick with smoke. I’d heard a cop and the petrol station owner in Lake City talking about forest fires, but I’d not paid much attention. I’ve no idea how close I was, and not sure I want to know, but for 10 miles the air stank, the smoke got on your lungs, helicopters swooped in low and there was a light dusting of ash falling, like the very beginnings of a snow storm. Deep in the woods, alone, it was an unnerving hour.

Out the other end East and Downtown Jacksonville unfortunately broke Florida’s record of quality cycling. There was nothing particularly unpleasant about it, just as I’ve said before, when you don’t know a city it’s never pleasant, and the industrial and commercial doughnuts round cities can make for dull and depressing riding. 

Downtown was compact and uneventful, although whilst crossing draw bridge over the river, the siren started up, and I was forced to scuttle under the already closed barriers the other side. The rest of the 15 mile ride out to the coast just got more and more decent, better roads, better neighbourhoods, better weather. In a wierd kind of way it feels suddenly feels like LA again. 2,700 miles and the attitude and outlook is finally the same again. Strange.

As the more observant of you will have noticed I did not have my panniers when I got to the coast. Dragging a fully laden bike over soft sand just didn’t appeal. So delaying my excitement I stopped in the Motel first, dropped off my panniers and some items I vainly didn’t want in any pictures. Not that it helped if you check out my rank ankle sock marks.

It was then a 1 mile ride to the beach, the ocean and a very big smile. I wandered up and down the beach a bit shellshocked, if I was honest. After all the stress and strain over mountains, through deserts and over swamps, dreaming of this moment, it just kind of happened. Mile upon mile of flat hard white sand, the Atlantic crashing in, and the sun mellowing as dusk closed in. I couldn’t have written it, it felt too perfect to be real, still does.

Today has been a pretty functional day. Laundry, calls home, route planning north and general admin, a large amount of which now relates to post-trip which is strange suddenly. Neptune and Atlantic Beaches are cool civilised little coastal towns. After weeks of small towns and city outskirts, it a cool breezy place, full of cool breezey people. I’ve just luxuriated in the Starbucks smugness of it all. I’ll be glad to be on the bike North and into the back straight tomorrow, but this is a place I could happily stop a while.

Route - Lake City - Baldwin - Jacksonville - Neptune Beach

Wednesday 11 May

Breakfast - Bagels, frosties and fruit at the motel

Lunch - Chicken summer salad sub - Subway. It just hits the spot, and it’s on their healthy menu so I’m not complaining

Supper - Bar-B-Q pork platter - Bono’s Bar-B-Q. Worst Bar-B-Q I’ve had, dry, and crumbly. After the walk on the beach it late suddenly, and so I ducked into this place. Bad choice, although the ladies serving where lovely.

Thursday 12 May

Breakfast - Same as every day.

Lunch - Calamari and 2 fish tacos, coleslaw and sweet potatoe - Fish Kitchen. Great little spot. Wish I’d found it last night, cheap well cooked fish, and cracking service, all next to some poor old boy in hospital PJs who told me this was his first outing in 2 months. He looked hungry.

Supper - Sushi - Bought at Publix, eaten in front of Green Zone in my room.

Day 43 - The Atlantic Ocean

Above is the Atlantic Ocean. c.2,700 miles, 39 days cycling, 7 flats, 3 new tyres, a new gear cassette, chain and saddle, 8 visits to bike shops, 2 painful wipe outs, 2 throbbing knees, countless burgers, every motel chain under the sun, one too many heart stopping moments and near misses, and much else beside, and I've finally made it: The Pacific Ocean at Venice Beach, greater Los Angeles to the Atlantic Ocean at Neptune Beach, greater Jacksonville by bicycle. It feels good. Roll on New York City.

A proper post will be along tomorrow, but right now I'm off to find a drink.

Day 41-42 - Almost smelling Atlantic air

Afraid this is going to have to be a quick update, as I'm using the wi-fi in a cafe that's just about to close. Also will not have time to re-read it, so apologies in advance for the grammar/spelling.

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.

Day 40 - Lucky breakdown

Above is not quite the planned picture for today. It’s supposed to be 50 miles North of here, in Georgia, in a quaint little farming town. Instead this is a motel and convenience strip just North of I-10, in Florida, but I have literally no complaints. Today has been a day full of luck and yet more legendary American generosity.

Really need a barber now

The first 50 miles from DeFuniak Springs was much the same as yesterday. The roads are brilliant, with cycle lanes almost the whole way, and the countryside rolls on through pine forests and sleepy farming villages and towns. And for the first time in the trip I was joined a whole group of cross country cyclists heading my way. Most were in a big organized group. 

I’ve met guys coming the other way, but generally the conversation is a bit rushed as you both want to head on in different directions. This was decent because for a mile or two every half an hour or so you had company as you cycled. Decent, and later, seriously vital.

Rifle with the groceries

One of the guys had done the research on the highway 90 and discovered it was a good solid cycling road right to the Atlantic. I’ve had worries about heading inland in Georgia which most websites didn't seem to indicate was cycle friendly, and google maps searches seemed to be endlessly throwing up shoulderless roads. On the hoof there and then, I decided I’d push for the coast at Jacksonville rather than head North and jeez am I glad I did.

Breaking the number one rule in life, I started to have smug thoughts about how well the bike was holding up. Which obviously led to a blow out 10 miles short of Marianna. And it was a proper blow out, the back inner tube sounded like it exploded, and deflated in the space of 10 metres. No major issue in of itself, as I had tyre changed and back up and running in under 10 minutes. However when put it back on the bike it became clear what the issue was. My back wheel was rattling and shifting concerningly in it’s bracket. 

Surely not right

I was 80 miles from Tallahassee and the nearest bike shop, and this problem way beyond my technical ability. This is where company came into it’s own; cycling on warily I was passed by some of the big group and it became clear that firstly they were stopping Marianna, and secondly they had a team “sweeper” who followed up the whole team and was bike mechanical expert. 

I rode slowly into the rather nondescript town centre of Marianna, and set up in the McDonalds, because they had a good vantage point over the road, air conditioning, wi-fi......and of course the Big Mac, and it was lunch time. I rushed out like a oddball waving down every cyclist till the sweeper, called Arlen, came through, and what a hero. 

Luckily he didn’t think it was a disaster, and just told me to ride into their camp 3 miles on where he had a full set of tools in their support van and he would look at it. By the picturesque lake front he just set to on bike and found out the guys who had changed the gear cassettes had left the bolt in the axel like mechanism seriously loose. It was fiddly and technical work, but in 20 mins he had the bike back to top form, and all without a complaint or any suggestion I give him anything. It was just pure generosity. A thoroughly decent bloke.

Once it was all done it was too late to push on to the next town in the light, so I’ve wound up on the above, and no really complaints. It’s actually a decent spot as these areas go. And there is a Walmart whopper over the road, so I went tohave a look, because I’ve seen these places everywhere. It was exactly as expected. You really could buy everything there, food, furniture, clothes, rifles, bikes, TVs.....etc etc, and given this is a smallish town it's vast, I mean truly vast. An aircraft hanger full of everything you want, and just one or two things you need. 

It also had something I’d wanted to see for ages, the Walmart fatty buggies. Sure, some people looked like they had legitimate reasons to use the motorised buggies to get round the aircraft carrier, but I’m pretty sure the gargantuan gentleman, in his mid-30s, would have benefited from the exercise of walking to and down the crisp isle he was cruising. 

However in the interests of balance, as a general rule the States really is not any fatter then anywhere else, especially not the UK, it’s an outright myth. In the heartlands I’d go as far as to say the UK is fatter, and the odd outlier you do see is probably more to do with the differing social security set ups and need to get out here or not at home, rather than any sort of trend.

Route - DuFuniak Springs - Marianna

Breakfast - 2 Bananas, Cornflakes and a Cliff bar at the motel

Lunch - Angus Burger McMeal - Look I was in there for a reason; the wi-fi is very helpful and frankly it tasted good.

Snacks - Hot Tamales - Delicious

Supper - Ribs, coleslaw and baked sweet potatoes - Sonny’s Bar-B-Q. A lip smacking end to a day when even I'll admit my diet has not been good. Although even by local standards the the country music in the restaurant was melancholic, in a genre where melancholy is stock in trade. Not sure it was improving the lonely truckers’ mood, even if the music is good.