FL Day 4

44 mi
This morning we learned the importance of staking out the rainfly all the way. We woke up with the tent wet if we touched it.... the condensation along the rainfly would get inside if we touched it. urgh. We had to wait for it all to dry out in the sun before packing up so the tent wouldn't get midew-y (which isn't covered by the warranty!)

We had a little bit more of US1 to ride on...but after a few miles, cross the road and turned onto a smaller neighborhood type road.It was a BEAUTIFUL place to ride- smooth and scenic... lots of views of the ocean, vegetation, etc..

We stayedat the Wickam county Park. Cook went to get us beer for New Years Eve! We coudln't finish the 6 pack before falling asleep :) we were woken up a few times but the expected firewooks.

Not long after midnight, I woke up to the sounds of someone rifling through out stuff.... we had our bags next to the tent- but the picnic table about 20 ft away had our food/bikes/trailers.... I woke Cook up, and when we looked out, shined the light there was no one there. Odd... a second later a raccoon popped his head up from the trailer over the bag of doof food- CAUGHT YA! I'd be more upset at the raccoon- but he was so darn cute! An very bold- he kept coming back even though we were throwing shoes at him...trying our best to shoo him off. We could hear raccoons bickering and fighting in the woods- I assume over the stolen goods. Cook moved all our food to the showers so we wouldn't loose it all! We didn't have any rope to hang it from a tree unfortunatly. In the morning, we found 1 bagel gone- and Surly's bag of food chewed open and some raccoon fingernail holes.. Lucky guy must've thought he hit the lottery! Wonder how he faired though, since it is dehydrated food- he ate it without water, it probably swelled up in his stomach.





Peacock at the campsite

FL Day 3

36 mi
Well another late start. My fault. We locked the bikes up, and I managed to loose the key. We spend hours looking for it...but luckily it was in the one spot we forgot to look, in one of the sleeping bag compression sacks. urgh.

We rote to Mims, and stayed at the North Gate Travel Park- another place that allows tents, but doesn't ever seem to have people without RVs. We got a site right next to the bathroom, which was pretty nice actually. Lots of old people, coming over and asking us things about riding, the dog, etc... one guy who couldn't leave us alone- but luckily never let his little Yorkie get too close to Surly, esp while we were reading in our tent and he came over to talk yet again. Later in the night, we were reading and talking some, we heard him say "Will you shut up?!".... "and pee already?" - he was talking to the dog- but we swore he was yelling at us! but really just trying to get his little dog to stop yapping -- hard not to crack up laughing.

We got a long, thin leash at the general store just outside the RV park.. itw as only 3 bucks, lightweight and would give Surly more room when we tied her up at campsites to roam around. The woman who worked there asked "Is that for that big dog out there?!" Cook said, no-- that one right there...pointing to Surly. "Yeah thats the one I mean, that dog is too big for that little leash!" Funny what people think is a 'big' dog. Surly is only 40 lbs, just barely comes up to my knee. I don't concider her big at all-- but I guess compared to Yorkies she is a giant. Oh - the OJ here was AMAZING. Made just 30 miles away- tasted SO fresh. And it began our obsession with OJ on this trip!

Riding today sucked. We were on US1 almost all day. They repaved the road, but only repaved half of the shoulder- so it was super bumpy, basically just rocks. It made everything sore- not so much from riding, but just from dealing with the crappy road.

Woke up to big Pilleated Woodpeckers!


Lunch along US1




Coldest day- got all the way down to 45 at night! (pretty warm for late Dec- can't complain!)


Camp

FL Day 2

46 mi
Slept in late- didn't get much sleep the night before since we were driving from SC to FL that night... Stayed at the Nova Family Campground- I think we were the only ones with tents, so many RVs in FL which we expected. Cook managed to leave his shorts behind somewhere the day before...so we stopped by a thrift store on the way. Got 2 pairs one for each, for a whopping 1 dollar total.

Along A1A, a nice road since it either had a bike lane with signs, or pretty nice wide

Waiting for the restaurant, Almond Blossom, to open to get some raw/vegan food- places like this are few and far between in FL, so we decided to go for it. Not that good though...kinda dry. but it was at least vegan and filling!


One of the many bridges


Wheres your squirrels?

Here!
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FLORIDA Day 1

Ok, well it took a while to actually get in and UPDATE this blog- but I'm finally getting to it.

We started out from St Augustine, leaving the car at a really convenient parking garage. Its right downtown, and only 30 bucks for a month! So we had a fairly secure, and cheap place to leave the car while we were riding. We got a late start, leaving around 2 pm, so only rode about 18miles until it started to get dark (which was around 330). We stayed at the Crescent Silver Sands Motel- which, while cheap, wasn't the nicest of motels... it had alittle kitchenette and lovely wood panel walls, and when we walked barefoot our feet turned black! It was just a block or so to the beach, so we took a quick walk there so the dog could get some running time.

The view for Cook-and Surly sitting nicely in her trailer!
Go Vegan.


Turtle on the way to the beach




Tired pooch.

Rehoboth Beach

We rode to Rehoboth the other week.. its about 85 miles from the park and ride to the hotel so we got some good time in the saddle on the way out. On the way back...the headwind was crazy! It was slowww going, and since Cook had to be at work early the next AM, we rented a car for the rest of the way so we wouldn't risk not making it in time for night fall. Surly did really well with so more boring riding in the trailer... but of course she had a blast at the beach. She is somewhat obsessed with chasing the waves and all the birds.

Skyline Drive

Skyline goes up. and up. and up.
We didn't make it as far as planned, so stayed at a not really so open any more campsite- which was fine.... except for the bear :) He was just curious I guess and despite a low growl and some shuffling/short runs around us, eventually took off. Ill tell ya the whole story if your interested!

Gear List

Bikes:
Surly Cross Check
Ultegra shifters
LX rear ders
Deore front
White Industries Cranks- 42/22 gearing
10 spd rear casstte- 12-32!
Mavic A19 rims
Phil Wood Touring hubs

Cook's trailer:
Ortlieb backpacks- yay waterproof!
our 'stuff';
1 pair jeans each
1 pair shorts each
1 tshirt each
2 pair cycling shorts each
2 jerseys each
Craft cold wear longsleeve jersey each
Wool jersey for Heather
Heavy jacket each
Thermal/windproof tights, each
waterproof jacket/pants each
Socks
Walking shoes
Flipflops
Ex-Officio underwear- fast drying!

Camping stuff;
Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 tent
REI Kilo plus long sleeping bag
Marmot Hydrogen sleeping bag- long (dog plus me can fit in!)
Jetboil stove
REI Titanium sporks (totally worth it!)
MaryJane's organic camp food- Lots of vegan options! and sold in bulk too so economical.
Little Lantern thingy
Light and Motion Stella 200L- super small and super bright

My Trailer-
The dog- Surly
Her food- Honest Kitchen, a dehydrated raw food
Baby wipes- great for times w/o showers
Extra food for us
Bike tools
Doggy back pack