“I’m a stranger in a strange land.”

Day 46: “I’m a stranger in a strange land.” Look homeward Angel, Thomas Wolfe 1929. Set to music by Leon Russell 1969

Today’s guest blogger is Warren Morris

Day begins somewhere in Florida 7 miles south of Hwy 90 at the Super 8 motel which near as I can tell is best known for its creative suite numbering system. The aches of day 3 are gone and the voice inside my head that says: “Now why did you think bicycling 420 mile across the state of Florida would be a good idea” has disappeared.

We pedaled for 15 miles and then took a break. Then we did this 6 more times. After rest stop 5 the rest of the group visited a famous spring. It had a long name, more than 25 letters. I remember the last 4 were: “chee”. Then we had dinner at the finest diner in High Springs Florida with another group of cyclists. Wow, you meet interesting people when you travel.

Highlights of Day 46: Bicycled past 2 squished snakes, 3 squished raccoons and 14 squished possum. Apparently missed two squished armadillos.

Color Commentary:
Cold start; high 30’s. Not a cloud in the sky. Commandant Conway has us assembled at 7:45am. He runs a tight ship. Horsing around is not permitted. I’m usually the last to arrive, but that is because I’m the only one with 12 pieces of luggage which takes a long time to repack.

Today’s route; 90 miles.
A highpoint of each day is seeing Ms. Vanna and Benny on the horizon at the end of each 15 mile leg, a sign that soon we will rest our weary legs and rear ends and consume mass quantities of block bars, gu packs and water. Ms. Gina drives Ms. Vanna. Aside from being the best looking one in the group, she has elevated the status of the “Vanna Café” from deli fare to haut cuisine. Camembert and fine crackers are now on the lunch table next to the peanut butter and jelly. In addition to her epicurean qualities, Ms. Gina has mastered control of the unwieldy Ms Vanna/Benny behemoth. In just days she is exhibiting trailer maneuvering skills that only people with advanced truck driving degrees can perform. Betsi my dear, I would pay good money to video you backing this rig up a driveway.

Near as I can tell, people in Florida don’t ride bicycles and if they do they’re unaccustomed to seeing people dressed in bicycle outfits and bicycle hats. You get a lot of “What the hell are you doing out heeere on a biiiiiicycle” looks. I do sense an affinity for pick up trucks and swamp music.

Invariably life teaches you lessons. On this trip I’ve learned that dogs love people who bicycle. There appear to be 3 kinds of dogs in Florida, 1) Nice dogs behind fences who bark “Hello, it’s nice to have you in Florida” 2)Mean dogs behind fences who bark “if I could get out of here I’d come and chomp you” and 3) Dogs who wait in the middle of the street for people on bicycles they can come and eat.

I’ve also learned there are 3 kinds of people who drive cars. 1) The group who offers a friendly “toot toot” or smiles and waves as they drive by 2) The group who blasts their horn as they approach from behind and continue as they whiz by, causing you to jump off your bicycle seat and 3) The group that tries to hit you for sport.

Luckily, just about every dog and person we have met was from group 1. What a fabulous adventure this has been.