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.