Made it to Hollywood

I made it to Hollywood. I rode a total of 404 miles. Jerry is joining me for the last leg to Key West. That is about 200 miles. We will leave Jan 3, 2013

Resuming Tour - November 29, 2012

I am resuming my bike tour on Thursday. I am back on Amtrak November 29 to Deland. I haven't contacted any of the warmshowers or couchsurfing host that I had previous made request with. I have made no arrangement for places to stay. I plan on traveling on a very flexible schedule. I will make request as I travel.

I boxed my bike this morning and am all ready to go, except mentally. I have a lot of pain in my joints and muscles. I live with the pain, so I hope that it doesn't become a real factor. I hope that by being on a less planned schedule, that if I have an exceptional hard day, then I will just do less or take a day off. I have a much lighter load this time. My bike weight 38 pounds, (I cut 2-3 pounds off it) and my load is 38 pounds, (down about 20 pounds). That includes everything except the water. It also is easier to pack everything in the panniers. We have been having some cool weather, or I would have got rid of a few more items, and cut the weight by an additional 2-3 pounds. The cooler weather should help with the ride, and we have also been having less wind. The breeze that we have had the last few days have been from the NNE. I am riding south, so I hope the wind will stay cooperative. On my previous attempt, I had a strong head wind and it continued to increase as Hurricane Sandy moved up the coast. On the evening of my last day of riding, the wind gust were above 50 MPH. Being right on the beach, it was a constance wind that I couldn't ride into. Fort Lauderdale still has an area of A-1-A closed because of Sandy. I hope that I don't run into other areas that are closed.

Déjà vu

I am preparing to resume my trip. I have made adjustments on my bike, and have lighten my load. Repacking my bike for Amtrak, again. I have reservations on Amtrak for November 29^th to Deland.  

Getting Prepared to Complete My Tour

It has been about two weeks since I suspended my bike tour. I have been busy working, a few day in Vero Beach, and then in Hollywood. I plan on being finished here by the end of the week. After I finish, I hope to go back to Vero and get my bike and get back on the road. My biggest concern is that I stay in so much pain. I don't know what is causing it, but all my muscles hurt. I joints hurt, but that is nothing new. I hope the pain doesn't worse.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Thursday October 25, 2012

I am reading Pete Staehling Less Encumbered Touring http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Ultralight. I find some good information in his journal about touring lightweight.

I planned my trip in late October when it would start to cool in Florida, and when the probability of a hurricane would be less. I mapped out the distances I would travel each day, and where I would stay. Guess what, three days into my trip I am fighting the winds and rain created by hurricane Sandy. It has taken me off schedule, and I have already changed my plans. I expected that everything would go as planned, but not to this extend. However, in the three days that I did ride, I learned some valuable lesson: One is to be flexible with where you are going to be, and second, don’t carry too much (I am scaling down what I am carrying). I am also making adjustment to my seat and handlebar grips. My hands and my rear is already sore. I will be back when I get on the road again.

Dinning Car on Amtrak

10-27-2012 Hurricane Sandy has produced rain for the last few days, and 50 plus miles per hour winds. I am real disappointed right now. I am in Vero Beach waiting out the weather and doing some emergency repairs on a machine for a client, and the parts for the repair won’t be in till Friday. At this point I don’t know what I am going to do. I have ridden my bike locally and the wind almost blows me off. My route down A-1-A has flooded areas and closed roads. I am considering getting a ride home, and trying it again later.

November 1, 2012 I am home now. I am rescheduling the remainder of my trip. I am going to do the trip different. First: I am scaling down the weight. Anything that I don't absolutely need, I will not be carrying. I had too much weight. Second: I had ever day's distance and stops planned. Now I am going to plan only a day or so ahead, and then only when I stay with a host. This way I can deal with the elements better. Third: I am trying to make some changes on the bike. I have carpal tunnel and my hands are killing me. I don't know how I am going to resolve this problem. I am looking at different handle bars, but I don't know if that will help. My bike is still in Vero Beach. I am going back up to Vero in a couple of weeks. If the weather is cooperative, then I may complete my ride then. I was very disappointed that I suspended my ride, but the wind and weather from Sandy was just too rough.

Light House at Daytona

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I Start my Maiden Tour!

Tomorrow I start my maiden tour! I have been planning this adventure for the last several months. When I started planning this trip, I didn't even know about touring, or that people does this. Of course, there are always the few outrageous people that seem to strive to accomplish thing that none of the rest of us would dare do. But ride a bicycle almost six hundred miles at sixty-four years old! Well when family and friends said I was nuts, I didn't feel I had much an augment to convince them otherwise; after all, I don't personal know, nor have I met anyone, that has spend even a day in the saddle, much less a couple of weeks. But most that know me, feel that it is just another of the outrageous things that I do, so they aren't terribly surprised. As I start researching and preparing to make this trip, I discover, to my surprise, that there are tons of people just like me, that are not only older, but going much farther. I find that my trip is like a warmup for a real trip for many people. But, I figure it this way, you may go farther, but you're not going to enjoy it any more that I am. So I start my adventure tomorrow.

Bike Packed in a Box

Seven days: I packed my bike in a box to transport on the train. The box was too small, but I got it packed, but I am not too happy with the packing. I hope that there won't be any hard handling of it on the train. I am anxious to get started. I hope the butterflies will leave after I spend my first night on the road. I look forward to the train ride. It is an eight hour train ride from Fort Lauderdale to Jacksonville. I have always wanted to ride Amtrak.

A couple of hours after packing my bike, I go the mail box without my bike. The is something that I jump on my bike to do. Without my bike, going to get the mail becomes a chore. I miss her already, but I will be getting lots of use from her. Hopefully she will treat me right and we will become close.  

Bamboo Bicycle

I like these bamboo bicycles. After I get back from my ride, I am going to build one. I like the black bamboo. I have access to everything that I need to do it. These are beautiful bikes and they have a lot of advantages. Strong and lightweight. The bamboo gives you a better ride than either steel, or carbon fiber, because of the flexibility and the absorption of the road. I can build my own much cheaper than what a comparable bike will cost.    

Nine Days and Counting

Nine Days and Counting till I start my tour. The several months that I have been planing this trip has flown by. Everything is going on right now, Jerry's house burnt, Debbie is having to move her manufactured home, because the Seminoles Indians are closing the park. I am stressed as hell. I hope that I can relax when I get on the road.

I have planed a very conservative trip, riding an average of thirty miles a day. I may pick up the pace after I get on the road. I have planed this to the max. I am sure that I have over planed this trip, but being inexperience, I don't want to get caught where I have a problem making it to somewhere to stay, etc. Once I am on the road and get a feel for the weather and conditions, and my own abilities, then I can relax. I also want to be able to enjoy the trip, and not be on a race of endurance.

I hope the weather is cooperative. The summer has been hot, rainy, and windy. As of today, that is still what we are getting except a little cooling of the weather. But it is still in the mid and upper eighties here in south Florida.

Back to My Original Time for Departure

I am going to make the ride alone. Jerry has just bought a house, so he has a closing, moving, and all the things that happens when you move from a house that you have lived in for years. I hate that he is not making the trip with me, but hopefully we can do one together soon. We were both self contained, so it doesn't change much of what I will be carrying. It would have been nice to have him ride with me for support, and to enjoy the experience together. He may be joining me later in the ride. I am only a one and half years older that him, and we have done a lot together over the years. The family thinks that we don't always make the best decisions when we are together, but we are still here. When we had our sailboat, and we got small craft warning weather reports; it was time to go sailing. I have a lot of great memories sailing with Jerry. 

Ride Delayed

We have delayed our ride till the Monday after Thanksgiving. I hate the delay, but it can't be helped. It seems that after all the planning, everything comes up when we are ready to go. I was excited about leaving, but life happens! The bright side is that the weather should be cooler. It is still hot in South Florida.

 The Critical Mass Ride with South Florida Bike Club was just way-too-cool. We had well over one hundred, maybe as much as one hundred and fifty riders, riding on every conceivable type of bike. The ages ranged from a baby with Mother and Dad on a tandem, pre-teenage kids, to some seniors well past eighty. Bikes were dress out in all different types of lights. We rode from Holiday Park, down Las Olas, and down the beach. Las Olas and the beach has sidewalk cafes and bars; everybody was hollering and having a good time. The ride along A-1-A was beautiful, with a full moon lighting up the ocean. The ride ended at the “Whole Enchilada”, where we had food and drinks. That was really cool also, with having the restaurant covered up with bicycles. We rode fifteen miles in just under two hours.

We traveled as a group; spread out several blocks long. Leaders of the ride would stop traffic so that we could go through intersection as a group. We would take one lane, riding three to four abreast. It also is challenging to ride in such a group. 

Ride posted on www.everytrail.com 

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1788977  

Added Link to Journal on Crazy Guy on a Bike

You can follow us on Crazy Guy on a Bike. I added a link to our journal. I will be posting pictures and comments about out trip.

Six Weeks Until Trip

     We only have six weeks before we leave on our trip. I have been lining up places to stay on warmshowers.org, couchsurfing.org and camp sites. I am real excited about the responses that I have received. Meeting new people is going to be one of the highlights of the trip. It has been a job to plan on how far we can go each day, and that will determine what host we will stay with. The responses we have gotten makes me wish that I could meet them all, but that is not possible. I will also be posting on crazyguyonabike.com. I will post a link to my journal.

Packed

I got my front panniers, and I am packed and ready for our trip. 

Bike Trip to Sebastian Inlet

            I head out Thursday morning at 8:00. The weight on the bike changes the way it handles, but rather than that it is not hard. The day is hot and humid; low 90’s with the south Florida high humidity takes the heat index to over 100. I do the first ten miles with ease, then stop and have breakfast. I am already totally wet with sweat. My shirt and shorts are soaked. After breakfast I do my next ten miles with the occasion stop to hydrate. By the end of twenty miles I am really feeling the heat. I start stopping every two to three miles to cool down. I go into the ocean, the water is cool and feel great, and I hit a couple of showers that are at the beach, but no sooner that I am back on the bike, I am hot. The last ten miles was difficult because of the heat. I consumed over a gallon of water on my trip of thirty miles and still felt dehydrated.  

            As soon as I got to the camp site (Sebastian Inlet Marina) it started to rain. It felt good. I just hung out in the rain and cooled down. The rain didn’t last long, so I pitched my tent and enjoyed the rest of the day. Sebastian Inlet Marina has primitive sites for $20. I was the only one in the place, and the marina personal left at 5:00 so I had the run of the place. That was nice, but I wouldn’t recommend the place. There are a couple of other places close that I have stayed that are much better: the Sebastian Inlet State Park, and Long Point Park. They cost $28.00, but have better access to the water.  

            Friday morning I didn’t start till 9:00. I had planed on an earlier start. By the time I had breakfast and got packed it was late. The heat was already getting bad, and I have some soreness in my legs. It had rained during the night and the humidity was extremely high. I know that the first ten miles are the easiest so I wanted to get it done quickly. I have been adjusting my seat, so I stopped a couple of quick stops to adjust and hydrate. I made it to Vero Beach Jaycee Park, a distance of seventeen miles with any major stops. The park has covered picnic tables so I stop and cool down. After cooling down, I go to the Beach Grill that is at the park and have lunch. When I lived in Vero, I use to go here for breakfast and lunch often. They have great food. I had a Maui fish sandwich that was great.

            After lunch, I stretched out on the bench for awhile and rested before completing my last twelve miles. A breeze has picked up and I am getting some passing clouds. I stopped several times on my last leg of the trip to cool and hydrate. Neither the breeze nor the clouds were consistence enough to give a much help. I got within a mile when I got sever head winds, later reported at fifty miles an hour, that was blowing sand into my face. I couldn’t ride into it. I stopped at a church under the overhang on the lee side from the wind and waited out the storm. It cooled everything down nicely. I waited about an hour until it was only a mist of rain and finished my last mile.

            The total distance of my trip was 59.4 miles. I am pleased with the trip. I knew that it was going to be difficult with the heat, but I proved that I can do it. I don’t know how much easier it will be in cooler weather, but I am sure that it will help a lot. I have some soreness in my legs and stomach, but not too much. I am sure that when we get on out trip we will build up a lot of leg strength. It was a good trip in spite of the heat.

Vero Beach to Sebastian Inlet

I am leaving tomorrow for a shakedown ride to Sebastian Inlet from Vero Beach. It is 30 miles from where I am leaving from. I am packed ready to go.

Packing Panniers

I packed my panniers and did a five mile ride. It went fine. I didn't find the weight an issue. I didn't pack my sleeping bag, I have got to get it where I can get it more compact. I may get a different bag, something more light weight.

I have desided to forget the sleeping bag and go with a blanket and sheet. It will be a warm in October in Florida.

It has been raining for the last couple of weeks. It wasn't raining today on my ride, but the streets were wet and the tires threw water on me. I have decited to get fenders.

Handlebar Extension

I haven’t got in any good rides this week. It has rained everyday. Each time it looks the shies are clearing, then it cloud up and rains again. I don’t mind a little rain so much, but these have be hard rains with wind and lighting.

I did get my handlebar extension, and was glad to get it mounted. I was concerned about mounting it without it interfering with my handlebar bag, but it worked.

Dania Beach

I rode to Dania Beach yesterday, a round trip of 16 plus mile. I left from State Road 7 just south of Sterling Road to US 1, then north to Dania Beach Blvd, then Dania Beach Blvd to the beach. I did the side walk most of the time. This road has no good shoulder, and the traffic is fast. It was a good ride except rather hot.  I made a stop at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor on US 1 in Dania Beach. This is a stop worth making. The ice cream is made fresh daily on the premises. It is moderate price, and has inside or outside sitting. It was truly a great experience.  

I am back to my blog

I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks. I drove to Tennessee to get my stuff from my house. While I was there I rode with Jerry on a short trip. The hills were a challenge when I wasn’t use to it. After Tennessee, I drove back to Florida. I spent a few days in Flagler Beach, then went to Vero Beach where I worked a few days, left some of my stuff from Tennessee. After Vero Beach, I went on to Fort Lauderdale with the rest of my stuff           and did some work. I am now back in Flagler Beach. I also got some stuff for my bike. I got my handle bar bag, and a speed odometer. I love them both. I am back to riding after a couple of weeks of only riding twice. It is good to be back on the bike.

Magnificent Day

Today was a magnificent day, sunny with a cool breeze. I rode a leisurely 10 miles along the beach. The wind picked up in the afternoon, but I was just killing time enjoying the day.

Discovery of Bike Touring

My brother and I are in our early 60’s and wanted to do something outstanding before the time to do so was gone. I had backpack in my earlier years and have always wanted to hike entire Appalachia Trail, but with arthritis and knee problems, hiking is difficult. I got a bicycle for exercise and found that it doesn’t hurt my knee, and I love riding.  So we decided to make an extended bike tour. We started ambitiously with plans to bike from Jacksonville to Key West, over 500 miles. I expected that it would be this great unique accomplishment of two older men. Then we started researching the route and what it would take to do it. In our research we found a whole new world on crazyguyonabike.com. Not only did I feel very naïve, but a little bit stupid when I realized that what we are planning is nothing to what many people are doing. I am still looking forward to our trip, and it will still be an accomplishment for us.

Journals on Crazyguyonabike.com

Yesterday I did a short ride of 6-7 miles up the coast on A-1-A. On the return trip I faced a strong head wind. I hope that we get cooperative weather and wind when we make our trip.

I love following the journals of people on crazyguyoabike.com. These stories are very inspirational, and convince me that I can do my trip. It also makes me realize that what we are attempting is just a speck in the universe of touring. Our trip compared to these trips around the world would be just a warm up trip. I also know that doesn’t make it any easier for us to do, but if they can do what they are doing, then we can do this.

Flat Tire

My front tire went flat for the second time. I have a place on the rim that is wearing a hole in the tire. I fixed the tube with a patch and added some tape to protect it from the rim. After putting the tire back on and inflating it, the tire tread split. The tires have plenty of tread, but they are old. I have taken both tires off and I headed to get new tires. I was hoping to wait till we were ready to make out trip to get new tires. I am going to replace the rim tape.

I replaced tires, rim tape, and tubes on both wheels. I took it for a short ride, but I will give it a better ride tomorrow.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/

I have been reading some of the journals, and looking at the pictures on crazyguyonabike.com web site, and they seem to have a lot more gear that what we plan on carrying. I am going to be in warmer weather and on flat land, and we have plenty of places to stop to eat and spend the night. Although it is not a credit-card tour, it is scaled down from a full blown hard core tour. We will be camping, carrying food, water, and cooking some meals. However, we do have a lot of places to stop and eat, and but food for the evening. I don’t believe we will need to carry much food, as we will never be more than a couple of hours from a store. If we make our trip in October as planned, we can carry light clothing.  

Our Challenge

I am sure that nobody is reading these, but that is okay. I am writing it for myself, but if anyone is reading this; I am not crazy. At least I am not the craziest person out there. There are a lot of other people that are doing a lot more that what Jerry and I have planned. When you read about the people that have biked around the world, or the Race Across A-Merican (RAAM) endurance race, and they don’t take the short easy route, or the 24-Hour Challenge (record of 502.6 Miles set by Chris Ragsdale), what we are attempting is amateurish. But for us, it will be our challenge. It is not just about a challenge, it is about adventure. It is about spending a couple of weeks on our bikes enjoying the scenery, meeting people, and having a good time before age tells us that we waited too late.

Why do it on a bicycle, you might ask if you were reading this? A young South Korean girl bicycling around the world put it like this,”A car is too fast to see the world, and walking is too slow, biking is just right”. I agree with her. You don’t miss much on a bike. I did this route on my Harley several years ago, and although it was enjoyable, when I ride the same stretches on my bicycle, I see things that I missed on the motorcycle. I have also done several nice backpacking trips, but they would be hard for me today. A hike of twenty miles with a backpack is a hard day’s hike; whereas, twenty miles on a bicycle is a leisurely ride.

This ride will not be a walk in the park for us, but it is very doable. I get more anxious everyday to get started, and I fear that something will happen that will prevent us from doing it. We’re not spring chickens anymore, and you never know what tomorrow holds.

Crescent Beach to Flagler Beach

Yesterday I rode from Crescent Beach to Flagler Beach. It was a twenty plus mile ride. I was facing a stiff wind much of the ride. It was hot and I got sunburn, and dehydrated. It was a beautiful ride, and I truly enjoyed it, but I did learn a couple of important lesson. First was the importance of nutrition. I had not eaten much, a tuna sandwich that day, and it didn’t give me the energy needed for a sustained ride. By the end of the ride I was feeling the need for food. Second, my sunburn affected me the next day and made me feel bad. We will have to protect ourselves from the hot Florida sun. The area did provide many areas where a small tent could be pitched, some parks, and good places to eat. The trip that went through wooded areas that have picnic tables along the way. I made several stops and had many more that I would like to done. I am getting anxious to make our trip.

Ormond Beach

I rode another twenty miles this morning. I rode from Flagler Beach to Ormond Beach on A-1-A. It was a beautiful ride. I am going to go for another ride this afternoon. I feel very confident in my ability to do this trip. Even though it is very doable in two weeks, I may want to take more time to savor and enjoy the trip. When you are on a bicycle you get lots of opportunity to stop and talk to people.

I rode another five miles this afternoon for a total of about twenty five miles. I could have done more, but I had other things to do. Physically it hasn’t been hard, except for my rear end. Who designed these bicycle seats anyway? I need a saddle seat.

Twenty Mile Ride

I rode twenty miles on my bike today. I did it leisurely in about 2 ½ hours. I don’t believe that doing 40–50 miles a day will be too difficult. I was real sweaty, but not tired. I definitely required hydration. I also find that the long straight stretches of road are the most difficult mentally. These long stretches require that you exercise more patience because you don’t seem to be making progress. I do believe that my legs are getting stronger. I am riding in a higher gear with ease. I also find that the only way a wind helps you is if it is directly behind you. You have to fight wind in any other direction; therefore, wind sucks.

Daytona Bike Week

St Augustine

Jerry's Bike

I made a road trip from Flagler Beach to St Augustine on A-1-A to check out the bike route. Most of it will really be a nice trip, but some areas don’t have good bike lanes. They do have some usable sidewalks that will work. It is a beautiful trip and I look forward to doing it on the bike.

Bike Week at Daytona

Roy's Bike

It was cool and windy today. I rode along A-1-A in a very strong wind coming off the ocean. I had to gear down 3 notches lower than I would without wind. I moved off the beach a couple of block with hopes of having less wind, but the difference was marginal. Even though it was cool, I worked up a real sweat. The ride was enough to get an adrenal work up. It is bike week in Daytona so we have a lot of motorcycles everywhere. They are worse than automobiles for bicyclists. They own the road.

I love the bike

I love the bike; the feel of the wind, and the feel of coasting along a quite road. I love the feel it rolling and moving under my power instead of some motor propelling it. But then I love sailing, the feel of the wind, and the power that came from capturing that wind in the sails. It’s not that I have anything against smoking, stinky motors; they are convenient, but they are not my preference for recreation

To make this trip

I am really looking forward to making this trip. We can make it in about two weeks if we do 35 miles a day, and 35 miles a day is a reasonable expectation. I have done 25 miles in about 3 hours, but I wasn’t loaded and riding on a good route. If we stretch the trip out over 10-12 hours we can our 40-50 mils a day. We can ride for a couple of hours covering about 10-15 miles, and then take a break, and then ride for another couple of hours. We want to take out time to see the sites and “smell the roses”, in this case, smell the salt air. I expect that it will take more mental will that physical endurance. It is going to be tough living on the bike, traveling each day, and finding a new place to stay each night. But the rewards will be great. I look forward to meeting people on the trip and making new friends. It also can be a great accomplishment.

I am 64 today

I turned 64 today. I still feel pretty good, except for some arthritis in my joints, but I don’t plan on that stopping me from making this bike trip. I have been working to improve my endurance, riding in the wind, and up the bridges that cross the Intracoastal Waterways (ICW). We don’t have many hills in Florida and this is our best hills. It is like using steps to work out when you are running. My knees hurt when I run, but don’t seem to brother me on my bike.

The Start of Our Biking Blog

Jerry and I are preparing for a bicycle trip from Jacksonville to Key West. Our plans are to make the 500 plus mile trip in October of this year. We plan it as a two week trip traveling 40-50 miles a day. It is going to a challenging trip. We have our Bicycles and most of the other equipment that we need. We are in the process of testing our equipment. We will be posting our process, and when we get on our trip posting our progress and pictures.