Day 21 Fernandina Beach, Fl to St Augustine, Fl 57 miles

This picture takes a little explaining. We had to take a short ferry across the St Johns River about 20 miles into the ride. The ferry leaves at 15 past and 45 past the hour. We left the hotel at 9:00 (because it was a short day) and we figured if we pushed it a little we could make the 10:15. We made it with time to spare. There was another group behind us and but they arrived at the dock just as the gate to the ramp was closed. The photo shows them at the gate yelling at us not to leave them. We of course waved and yelled "see ya later". So much for group cohesion.

Here we are in St Augustine. This is where Old Dick has a condo. He doesn't use it much. Matter of fact I don't recall that he has ever used it. He talks a lot about it though. Talks about the ocean view and how you can fish right from the dock. It's rather mysterious. I wouldn't be surprised if he bought it to launder drug money or to hide illegals. Who knows? He's a strange one.

This is my last day for this ride. It was a good one to end on - sunny, good road, no punctures(flats), didn't crash. Life is good.

Day 20 Brunswick, GA to Fernandina Beach, FL 62 miles

Here we are in the "sunshine state" and we did have sunshine the entire day which was a welcome change from the weather we had been having.

Had a minor mutiny this evening. Applebee's was our dinner restaurant but about eight people said they couldn't stand another Applebee's and went walking off down the street to find something better. I sympathize. I'm rather tired of the Applebee's menu as well but it's included in the deal. Being somewhat frugal and I chose to eat at Applebee's one more time. Michel vowed that he will never ever eat at Applebee's again as long as he lives. So there you are. It may be because we are near the end of the campaign that the troops are starting to rebel. It didn't seem to phase Tracy. I think she's probably seen rebellions on other rides.

We're headed down A1A to St. Augustine tomorrow.

Day 20: Savannah, GA to Brunswick, Ga 82 miles

Here we are in New Brunswick, GA. I know a family of gypsies that used to live here but they have since moved on to other parts.

I needed that rest day in Savannah. I was feeling somewhat whipped. It's probably physically harder to ride in the rain because you have to be on your toes to avoid a mishap. I think the rain is done for this trip. We've had quite enough.

Had dinner tonight at a local seafood restaurant. I sat with Michel, from Quebec, Larry from Michigan, Bill from Washington, Don from New York and Doug from the UK. As the only one from the South, the questions directed at me were:" What are hush puppies made of?", "What are grits made of?"," Do people fish from bridges a lot here?" "What did the waitress just say?"

"Does everybody say y'all?"

We've stayed in some very nice motels and a few not so nice. This one is in the latter category. Everyone will be happy to move on to Fernandina Beach tomorrow. It's only 60 miles down the road.

Day 19: Beafort, SC to Savannah, SC 47 miles

The forecast called wind and for rain as the Weather Channel said "heavy at times". Several of the saner people decided not to ride at all. Like tropical storms which the Weather Chanel said this wasn't, the rain came in bands. It waited until we left Beaufort but as they say in South Carolina then it "cut loose". We had to cross two long bridges and with the wind gusting to 20mph you had to ask yourself "Why am I doing this?' The other problem was that many stretches of road were two lane with no paved shoulder so we had traffic passing very close. Michel, who was riding behind me, said he saw a tractor/trailer's side mirror pass over my head.

I took this picture while crossing the bridge into Savannah. Notice the direction of the flag on Larry's bike. It's indicating a pretty good crosswind. It was about this time that we had a temporary break in the rain so I was able to get my camera out.

Tomorrow is a rest day and after that it looks like the weather should be good.

Day18: Charleston, SC to Beaufort, SC: 80 miles

These signs were along the road into Beaufort. The small print says" violators will be shot, survivors will be shot again". I guess they don't want anyone trespassing.

On the way out of Charleston Michel asked me "What do these signs mean "Adopt a Highway"? "We don't have these in Quebec."

Mosquitoes are very bad here. If you stop riding near any of the wooded or swampy areas you get attacked by swarms.

Tomorrow we're headed for Savannah. It's one of our shorter days but the weather forecast is somewhat threatening - 20 -30mph winds and 100% chance of rain. We have to go across the big bridge into Savannah. I might have to walk that one.

Day 17: Little River, SC to Charleston, SC: 118 miles

Everybody set speed records today. The wind was strong and directly behind us. With very little effort we could motor along at 20mph. I made it to the motel by 2:30. If instead it was a headwind, I doubt that I would have made it before dark.

In case your interested, hear is what I had to eat today.

Breakfast: Orange juice, two pancakes w/syrup and butter, raisin bran, danish , yogurt, coffee

1st rest stop: four oreo cakes, banana, orange slice

2nd rest stop: two cheese and bologna sandwiches

After ride snack: chocolate milkshake, french fries, diet coke

Dinner: Chips and salsa, fish taco, black beans w/cheese, two beers

I'm still hungry. I think I'll get another milkshake.

Tomorrow it's Beaufort - 80 miles.

Day 16: Jacksonville, NC to Little River, SC, 109 miles

Everyone was happy to get out of Jacksonville. The traffic was pretty tough. We got there just when Camp Lejune was quitting for the day. Those people don't really believe in "Share the Road". Beverly was "brushed " by a guy in a pickup truck. The right side rear view mirror hit her on the side just enough to push her off the pavement. She didn't go down and according to her had a only a little red mark on her left side. Obviously it could have been much worse. She did call 911 and the police came but I don't think the driver was sited.

Had my first flat today. Luckily it was at a place where I could get off to the side and change it. Jack, the Israeli, had a flat on a bridge and had to walk his bike to the end of the bridge where he could get out of traffic. Other than that the weather was good and the wind was at our backs so the miles went quickly.

Tomorrow is our longest day- 118 miles to Charleston.

Day 15: Ocracoke, NC to Jacksonville, NC, 86 miles

Remember the old saying: " Red sky at night cyclist's delight, red sky in morning cyclist take warning"?

This was the sky last night and today turned out nearly perfect-tail wind, good roads, temperature in the 70's, didn't get lost, no flats.

We boarded the ferry at 7:00am and arrived at Cedar Island about ten. Got on the bikes and averaged 20mph for the first hour. That's what a good tail wind will do for you. Stopped at a Dairy Queen for some fuel about 1:00 and arrived at the motel about 3:00. Butta bing, butta boom. Nothing to it.

Went to the Golden Coral for dinner. It's very different from the last one I went to maybe 25 years ago. It's really hard to describe. Kind of a feeding frenzy. They have a huge assortment of things to eat. It's an OK place to eat if you need to make up for the 4000 calories or so that you've burned cycling. If not you should avoid it unless you're looking for a side show. Michel, I think, experienced somewhat of a culture shock. There were a lot of very large people who really shouldn't have been eating there. He actually heard one very large lady say to her friend as they were loading their plates " If I eat any more I may go into a diabetic coma". True story.

Tomorrow it's 109 miles to Little River, SC. Hope that the wind is still out of the north.

Day 13: Kill Devil Hills, NC to Ocracoke, NC, 80 miles

The original plan was to ride down the Outer Banks to Ocracoke but the bridge that was damaged by Irene wasn't open yet. Plan B was to ride inland to a place called Swan Quarter and take the ferry to Ocracoke. The only problem was we had to ride the 80 miles by 12:00 to make the ferry. No one was really thrilled with the plan.

The support crew would track our progress and if it looked like someone wasn't going to make it they would get picked up to ride the van. We left the motel at 6:45 when it was light enough to ride. I started riding in a pace line with "Jim and the Jews" as they are called by some. A pace line allows you to ride faster than you can by yourself. It's the same idea as drafting in NASCAR.

We made it to the rest stop at 44 miles on schedule. The rest of the way I rode with Al from Ann Arbor who wears a Michigan jersey. (He knows I'm from Ohio but not the I went to OSU.) We left "Jim and the Jews" at the rest stop. Al is a national champ in orienteering. ( As best as I understand, orienteering is a sport where you are given a map and you run through the woods trying to find the finish in the shortest possible time.) But I digress. Long story short we made it to the ferry at 11:30. Average speed 18.1 mph. Not too bad for a couple of geezers. I think about half the group was able to complete the ride and the rest got picked up.

We have a rest day in Ocracoke then we're off to Jacksonville, NC. This time we ride the ferry first and then ride.

Day 11 Virginia Beach, VA to Kill Devil Hills, NC, 76 miles

We're staying only about a mile from the Wright Brothers Memorial you see in the picture. It's an interesting place if you've never been.

As you can see we had a good day weather-wise. A little chilly to start out but it warmed to the sixties with favorable winds.

Tomorrow the original plan was to ride down the Outer Banks to Ocracoke but they haven't finished the bridge that was damaged by Irene. The new plan is we ride inland to the Swan Quarter ferry and take it to Ocracoke. The problem is we have to be there by noon and it's 80 miles. There are going to be a lot of people riding in the vans at some point. I might be one of them.

We're leaving as soon as it gets light. So if the wind is right and I don't get lost or have flat I might make it. Tune in tomorrow and get the low-down.

Day 10 Pokomoke Gity, MD to Virginia Beach, VA, 76 miles

Not the best day for riding. When we left the motel it was 49 degrees with light rain. About an hour later we had partly cloudy skies but a strong and gusty wind. So it goes.

I can tell we're in the South now. Two dogs chased me today. We passed a cotton field and some stopped to take pictures. Doug, from the UK, picked a bole to take home.

At the end of the ride at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel we loaded the bikes on the vans for the 20 mile drive across the bridge. I was designated navigator because Mac the driver was unsure of the way. (Mac a retired rocket scientist is our bike mechanic. He really was a rocket scientist. He is a PhD and worked for Lockheed.) Besides me Michel, Mike, Jack, the Israeli, Stuart, and another guy piled in the van. The drive across the bridge was kind of crazy. The wind is blowing like hell so the van is getting some pretty good buffets. Stuart is relating little known facts about the bridge -cost to build $250 million, etc. Jack gets a call on his cell phone and is talking loudly in Hebrew about who knows what. Other than that it was uneventful.

So we made it to Virginia Beach. Tomorrow we're off to Kill Devil Hill. It's still supposed to be cold but no rain.

Day 9: Dewey Beach, DE to Pokomoke City, MD, 63 miles

So you never heard of Pokomoke City? Well, it's quite a place. Sits right on the Pokomoke River. It's not far from Chincoteague Island where they swim the ponies every summer. Other than that there's not a whole lot I can tell you about Pokomoke City.

On the way here we rode through Ocean City, MD. What a terrible place. It's like Myrtle Beach on steroids. It's to be avoided.

Tomorrow we ride to the southern tip of the Delmarva Penninusla. We're going to load up in the bikes on the vans and be driven across the bridge/tunnel going to Virginia Beach. No riding bikes on the bridge. To get everybody across they're going to have to make several trips.

Day 8: Hammonton, NJ to Dewey Beach, DE 80 miles

This picture is of the people who made the 1:00 ferry from Cape May, NJ to Rehoboth Delaware.

We had to ride 70 miles from Hammonton to get to the ferry. Jan, who is in front center and Stuart who is kneeling made it just as the boat was getting ready to raise the on ramp. It wasn't a big deal since there was another ferry at 2:30 that the rest of the group made but who wants to be on the last boat to Delaware?

I think I needed a rest. After breakfast this morning I went back to bed. I don't recall ever doing that. Maybe it will start a new trend. Or maybe I'll just ask Barbara to start serving me breakfast in bed. It will save a few steps.

Dewey Beach is closing up for the winter. Many of the restaurants and shops are closed and some are only open on the weekend. Today though is summer-like, temperature in the 70's and sunny

Tomorrow were off to Pokomoke, MD. If this cold front pushes through we should have a tail wind which would be really nice.

Day 7: Somerset, NJ to Hammonton, NJ, 79 miles

Saw this sign when we stopped to fix Michel's flat. Given that we're we riding bicycles in the rain in heavy traffic, it seemed like an appropriate name for this ride.

We're in what is called South Jersey. It's pretty rural with some dairy farms and around Hammonton big fields of blueberries.

Tomorrow we're taking the ferry across Delaware Bay. It's 70 miles to the ferry landing. There's an 11:00 which I won't make and a 1:00 which I plan to make. It's a 90 minute ride so I hope the weather is good. After the ferry we ride 10 more miles to someplace called Dewey Beach and a rest day.

Day 6 Suffern, NY to Somerset, NJ 64 miles

Today we rode through the New Jersey suburbs. Lots and lots of stop and go. Northern New Jersey is one big suburb. It's kind of like riding 64 miles down Union Ave in Salem. Lots of well-kept houses and green lawns. Many stops and many turns. The longest segment without a stop or turn was 3.5 miles. In Kansas you can ride 35 miles without a stop or turn.

We only got a little bit lost one time. Somehow we missed a turn and rode about 2 miles off route. A nice lady out walking her dog got us straightened out. Stuart, the retired doc from Florida, always gets lost and in true fashion he did today too.

Everyone seems to be holding up pretty well. We've had two minor crashes. Mike, from Connecticut, went down the first day in the rain. He may have cracked a rib and is riding with a taped up chest. Stuart hit a bad patch of pavement and got a few scrapes and bruises.

Not a lot of picture opportunities today. The one in this post is the only one I took today.

Tomorrow were off to Hammonton, NJ. I'm told they grow a lot of blueberries there.

(I tried to put in picture but for some reason it's not letting me.)

Day 5: Fishkill, NY t0 Suffern, NY, 53 miles

The picture below is looking north towards West Point from a bridge on the Hudson River. We arrived here about 10:00 this morning. The next bridge south is the Tappan Zee bridge so we're not that far from NYC.

.

After we crossed the Hudson we went through a state park.A very nice ride but we had to walk our bikes across the washed out section you see on the right. It must have been quite a rain storm.

No other problems other than lots of traffic. The drivers though have been pretty friendly which would seem to be out of character for New York. We do see a good number of other cyclists on the road so perhaps they're conditioned to seeing bikes on the road.

Tomorrow we're off to Somerset, NJ.

Day 4: Windsor Locks To Fishkill, NY 93 miles

I didn't write anything yesterday because I didn't have any energy left. They said this segment would be the toughest and they weren't kidding. Several of the group said the hell with it at various points and rode in the van.

What made it tough is that we had to cross through the Berkshire Mountains in western Connecticut. They're not much as mountains go but some of the climbs were steep and some were long. In total about 6000 feet of climbing. The Berkshires are a weekend retreat for NYC so there was a lot of traffic too.

A bit of trivia. Why is it called Fishkill? They may kill some fish here but "kill" is Dutch for "creek". So there you are. Remember that the next time someone asks you about Fishkill, NY.

Today should be easier - 53 miles to Suffern, NY.

Day3: Worcester, MA to Windsor Locks, CT 67 miles

Here's a picture of where a tornado cut through near Brimfield, CT back in June.

I don't remember seeing anything about in the news so it was a little shocking to come around a curve in the road and see this. In tornado fashion it wrecked some houses and left others intact.

Today went well. The forecast was for rain in the morning but they got that one wrong - just fog.

I rode the last 35 miles with a Jim, a retired chemistry professor from California. He probably goes 140lbs soaking wet but is a real animal on the bike. I couldn't keep up with him on the hills. He never stands on the pedals just pumps away sitting down. Next time I'll just let him go.

Tomorrow is going to be hard - 95 mile and lots of hills. Like Super Chicken used to say " You knew the job was dangerous when you took it"

Day2 Portsmouth, NH to Worcester, MA 93 miles

Here's a picture of Michel and I having lunch at a posh bistro outside of Worcester. This was taken just before it started raining again. We split a turkey sandwich ( the French word for sandwich is sandwich) and drank chocolate milk. I won't go into the details but I will never drank a quart of chocolate milk and then get on a bike.

Like Slaby (I hate to bitch) but today was tough. Rough roads, narrow roads, lots of hills, lots of traffic and a pretty hard rain shower. Tomorrow is shorter but the weather is calling for steady rain all morning. I'm starting to get used to it. You can only get so wet and at least it's not cold.

Tomorrow we're headed for Windsor Locks, CT.

Day 1: Portland, Me to Portsmouth, NH 70 miles

Seventy miles of fairly continuous light rain. It's stopped for now but the forecast is for more tomorrow and Saturday. So it goes.

This is a picture of the bridge to Portsmouth. It's being repaired and only open to foot traffic. I guess I look a little goofy with a shower cap on my helmet but it kept my head dry. Besides what else would you wear in a rain shower? At this point the only thing dry was my head.

Michel and I were riding along Route 1A in the rain coming into Portsmouth when we saw a lady up ahead waving her arms. It was my sister-in-law Sue and my brother Jim. They told me they were driving from Boston to Bar Harbor to spend a few days and might pass us on the way. You never know who you'll run into up here.

We rode by the Bush estate in Kennebunkport. It sits out on a point and looks like old money.

Tomorrow we're going to Worcester, MA. In this part of the country it's pronounced Wussta.