September 17 Crossing America

Ormand Beach, FL – Jacksonville, FL a distance of 71 miles, rode bike 33. Total distance traveled through today 5,194 miles, on my bike for 4,417 of them.

My day didn’t start well but ended great meeting my latest friends.   As I started to roll my bike Spirit out of the motel room to go to breakfast discovered the rear tire was flat.  I’m getting fast at changing tires as it didn’t take 10 minutes including washing my hands afterwards.  Then went outside to discover there was a 20-30 mph wind from the NNE, of course I’m heading north.  So much for taking advantage of the prevailing wind blowing from the south this time of year as this is the sixth day in a row I’ve had to battle headwinds but today will prove to be the hardest.  After breakfast loaded my gear onto Spirit and headed into the wind, best maximum speed I could get was 10.5 mph over the next 30 miles.  Cry Pete!  By now I should know whichever direction I’m heading that is the direction the wind will be blowing from.  But that’s not all, this day is to be my longest mileage carrying all my
gear.  Heck, Mother Nature why are you picking on me?  At 30 miles the sky
opened up and poured piercing rain down upon this Old Guy.  Can it get any worse?  Sure it can, next came several bridges to cross which were under construction with one lane closed totally leaving no shoulder to ride on.  The first bridge I got lucky and was able to ride in the closed lane.  The second bridge no such luck I had to ride in the middle of the lane blocking motor vehicles from being able to pass.  By the time I cleared this bridge there must
have been 20 vehicles backed up waiting to pass me.  Not a good thing to have to do to drivers.  I needed a break from all the fun and stopped at a convenience store for nourishment, settle my nerves and ponder a new plan of action for the rest of the day.

Idea!  I’ll call Cue and Case Sales, one of our suppliers which is located in St. Augustine only 14 miles away, and see if I could smooth talk one of them into giving me a ride to Jacksonville.  First, I phoned Ms. Vickie to get their address to insert into the Maps application to be able to find my way to their warehouse.  To my dismay Ms. Vickie informed me it was Saturday which meant no one would be there.  I phoned anyway just in case someone might be
working but only got an electronic voice message announcing their hours.  OK, time for plan B!  As pick-up trucks arrived at the store I would ask if they were heading north.  The first couple folks I spoke with were sympathetic to my plight but were heading south.  Then a truck pulled in and painted on the side was a Jacksonville name.  I waited like a Tiger readying itself to pounce on an unsuspecting prey for the driver to come out of the store.  The guy came out and was almost too fast for me but I succeeded in telling him of my need for a ride.  He turned me down, so I gave him one of my cards and thanked him for hearing me out and turned to walk away.  The guy, Robert read my card and asked, “You riding all these miles to raise money and awareness for MS”?  Yes, I replied and to celebrate my 65^th birthday at the same time.  Robert said, “Throw your bike in back; I’ll give you a ride to Jacksonville”.  Robert you made me a very happy Old Guy.  By my calculation, I was averaging only 8
mph, still had 39 miles to go means it would take me another 5 hours to my
overnight destination and it was already 1:00pm.  To this calculation I’d have to have at least two more rest stops as the longer I ride the more food I need for fuel, not to mention a break for my backside.  Bottom line, it would be dark before I could complete today’s ride.  No doubt in my mind, Robert stopped at this store because my Guardian Angel guided him there.  You see once Robert and I began talking on the way to Jacksonville we discovered he was going only a few blocks from my destination and on the same route.  Thank you Guardian Angel for bringing Robert to my rescue and thank you Robert for being a Christian believer in helping your fellowman.   Robert is another friend I hadn’t yet met.

I was more then a little apprehensive about tonight’s stay as I had contacted the folks through www.warmshowers.com and didn’t know what to expect.  That all changed as I stepped out of Robert’s truck Mrs. Prieto’s, Bobbi,  seemed to materialize out of thin air with a warm welcome to her home.  She
immediately picked up a couple of my panniers and carried them into her home with a, “follow me” as she went.  Upon entering their beautiful and comfortable home I immediately felt like I belonged here an extended family member.   I met Karl their son, who had his own crossing America adventure last summer. And George, Bobbi’s husband, who also made me feel welcome.  Then there was Jenny, who welcomed me with wagging tail and lots of wet kisses.  Yep, this is home.

George, Bobbi, grandson Scott, Karl and me

George showed me my bedroom and the shower.  While Bobbi said if I had any laundry I could do it, too.  Karl brought out some cleaning and lube for my bike.  While Bobbi made me a sandwichand shared what goodies we’d be having for dinner tonight.  Overwhelming to say the least, never did I expect such hospitality.  I would have been happy just to have a shower and a floor to throw my sleeping bag on.  This was great!

A few hours of good conversation, hearing Karl’s stories from the road was a special treat.  We sat down to a Mexican dinner and for desert homemade cake fresh out of the oven with ice cream.  I had to pinch myself to make sure all this was really happening.  Then Karl showed me the security key to the Wi-Fi and I told me it would be OK to work on my journal for the evening, while the family watched college football at eight.

The day may have started bad but it sure ended well.  I now have met 4
fantastic friends, I didn’t yet know.  The Old Guy is going to bed now, Goodnight!

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