Days 29, 30 and 31 Cross City to Brooksville to Sarasota to Cape Coral, FL

Day 29 Distance: 101 Miles
Day 30 Distance: 103 Miles
Day 31 Distance: 80 Miles

Total Distance: 3,157
Total Time: 31 Days
Average Distance Per Day: 101.84 Miles

Beginning Bike Weight:  95 lbs (A friend had said when I started the trip, "It will be interesting to see your final bike weight".  It took me 2 weeks to figure out what he was talking about.)

Ending Bike Weight:  64 lbs

Number of flats to front tire:  0

Number of flats to back tire: 12

Number of tires on front tire: 2

Number of tires on back tire: 3

Number of falls: 0
Number of injuries: 0
Number of bonks: 2

The final 3 days of riding has essentially been eventful only for it's lack of the usual daily adversity.  On Day 29 I had stopped in the morning at a gas station to restock fluids when a large Greyhound bus came pulling in from Orlando.  The bus driver came over to talk and said that they were headed for, of all places, Fort Meyers, the town adjacent to my final destination.  He offered to take me and my surley on the bus for the last 240 miles, gear and all, and promised that he would not tell anyone.  Of course I laughed and joked about it, but as I strapped on my helmet yet again and the bus pulled out of the station and headed South I couldn't help but stare and appreciate the concept of motorized transportation.  At lunch the cook at the cafe told me about the Sun Coast Bike Trail, a dedicated 40 mile bike path that heads South towards Tampa so I jumped on the Trail until I found a motel for the night. 

On Day 30 I made my way into Tampa, a very beautiful town, and found George Steinbrenner Stadium, the spring training home of the world champions New York Yankees.   (This ballpark is right across the street from the Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers and Ray and is comparable in size to Petco Park, the Padres regular season stadium.) From the stadium was a 50 mile ride around the eastern side of Tampa Bay and then down to Sarasota where my parents came up to spend my last night on the road with me.  Shortly before arriving into Sarasota, I was thinking that "I hadn't had a flat since Amite, Louisiana".  Within 5 miles of jinxing myself, I was heading over a bridge with heavy Saturday afternoon traffic and a very small space to navigate and road debris along the shoulder when my rear tire hit some glass hard enough to puncture the rear tire, the liner and the rear tube creating that all too familiar hissing sound and an immediate flat.  I walked the bike over the bridge and made my final tube change.

The final day, day 31, was a short 80 mile trip along the coast.  Knowing that I was coming down the home stretch my thoughts revolved around riding on some of the shoulderless roads as safely as possible and riding the bike "easy" so as not to have any major mechanical issues.  I couldn't imagine riding the length of the country only to fall 40 or 50 miles short of the final destination!  Fortunately, the bike held up fine and the Florida drivers all gave me enough space to bring the ride home.  Sunny skies and a gentle tailwind pushed me the last couple of miles to my parents home in Cape Coral, Fl, a beautiful beach town with over 400 miles of canals.

General Rules: Now that I have completed the ride across America I would note some general rules. Of course there are always exceptions, but here's some general observations:

1. The smaller the town the friendlier the people.

2. The closer you ride to a big city the less courteous the drivers become.

3. Once you engage someone in a conversation that they are interested in it doesn't matter where they live or what type of accent they have they will be friendly and will enjoy talking to you.

4. If you drink 16 to 24 ounces of beer the night before your ride whether it is an ale, a lager or  a stout you will have more stamina, endurance and energy. Your outlook on life will also improve. (Maybe not, but it just seems that way!)

Now that I am not burning 7 to 8 thousand calories a day and have a vehicle to rapidly transport me to whatever destination I desire I am free to start eating when I'm hungry and not using food as a "pre-emptive strike". What a great concept!  I have eaten so much food that is high in carbohydrates, sugars and calories in the past 30 days that eating has become an absolute chore. The other night I was sitting in my room at the Best Western plowing down a pepperoni pizza with a side order of cheesy bread topped off with 3 sodas from the vending machine, 2 cups of decaf coffee. and a bottle of gatorade.  The next morning I hit the motel's free breakfast making 2 waffles smothered in syrup, microwaving grits and eating eggs all of which was flushed down with 3 glasses of orange juice and 2 cups of coffee. I then stuffed a bagel, an apple and 2 muffins in my snack bag for later.  I thought that as much as I am enjoying this trip, the one thing that I will not miss is the constant consumption of calories.  As I write this final blog entry, I have been off of the bike for a little over a day and it has been a struggle weaning myself from the food addiction that has gripped me for the past 31 days.  Maybe I should join Jenny Craig! 

Before ending, I must give thanks to all of those who have made my trip possible.  First, my dedicated, loyal and competent office staff who have admirably kept things going smoothly at the Office over the past 5 weeks.  My friends for their incredible support and encouragement.  An almost daily text message or voicemail or comment on the blog served as a huge boost to continuing on day after day, when sometimes it seemed like I was swallowed by the size of the adventure with a feeling of getting nowhere fast.  To Morton from Copenhagen, Denmark who rode with me from day 3 to 5 and helped me establish a rhythm, pace and routine for the long trip that lay ahead.  To Neal, the 21 year retired Marine Captain who rode with me from days 7 to 17 before his knee slowed him down.  From the time that we had our morning breakfast together to the time that we had our evening meal, we had more fun each day than I had imagined possible on a trip of this nature.  Through osmosis, his stories of survival and adversity have hopefully made me a more self sufficient person.  To my 3 daughters who followed my trip wondering if their Dad, who at 53 is too old to be having a mid life crisis, has finally lost his sensibilities and yet still supported and encouraged me. To my parents who closely and nervously watched and monitored my painstakingly slow route across the country until I arrived safely in their driveway.  And last, but by no means least, my girlfriend and significant other, Tami Colbert, who looked at me with a pained face shortly before I left and asked sincerely, "No really, why do you have to do this?"  Yet through it all supported me more than I thought possible by not only taking care of things at home but by her constant encouragement and excitement as I passed each milestone.  I could not have done this trip this without her and for that she has my undying gratitude.

On my first day off of the road, my Dad and some of the guys from the Cape Coral Tarpon Club took me out fishing.  I had one tarpon jump on the line, only to spit the bait out.  I did snag a 6 foot maco shark. (Okay, maybe it was closer to 2 1/2 feet)

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, the ceremonious annointing of the front wheel into the Gulf to complete the ride across America....