Week one recap from the restart to the stop with a well missed high school friend. It has been a week full of emotion pain and decisions. One that Iam not sure I will ever want to go through again but extremely grateful I went through. I am sure my feelings are tough to understand and even I don't fully understand them but again that is part of the purpose for this trip and well this blog. So with that being said here is the recap of the events, the people, their stories and well my thoughts. I hope you enjoy and as always thank you for taking a bit of your time to read the meandoring thoughts of some guy on a journey.
It started with a day a return to the road. One thing I was not fully prepared for was the sun and well the weather of Florida. The sun is brutal down here shade is limited and well it is difficult to find a break along the way. Like I said the weather was not what I expected. Preparing in Pa during the summer months I thought it would be similar but so very far from the truth. Rain just apears and well the sun is beast mode all the time but I will discuss that more with each day recap.
So the trip started off Samantha who was fantastic for putting me up while I healed a little for a week dropped me off hugged me and wished me well. I really don't know what I would of done without Sam. So much thank you. I started down the road pulling a new trailer supplied by my sponsor Schwinn.
Being that I made the decision to move forward after the car accident at Sams there were few thoughts in my mind about not continueing. However what did come was a feeling of what if's with the accident behind me I started thinking about things like rain and distance and well it all became a little overwhelming. As the day continued I had a plan for a stop at a camp ground in Sanderson Florida. So i kept rolling very flat land well now pulling an extra 65 lbs made the distance difficult but I arrived in the smallest little town I have ever seen. This was not till after I went through a viscious rain storm.....actually let me talk about that rain storm now.
Any thing can happen out here. Being alone and being in the wide open for the next 70 days....rain is the least of my concerns. But after the accident I just wanted a smooth start. The rain came about halfway through my distance. If anyone has seen Forrest Gump Im sure you remember the ship scene with Capt. Dan well that is kind of how I felt. Disappointed frustrated and well wet and pissed off. The rain came down for a solid hour of sideways and serious not being able to see 5 feet in front of me rain. The kind that makes drivers use their hazards. Well all I could think was give me a fucking break. Seriously what the hell did I do to deserve this. I mean if you had passed me on the road you would of thought me a crazy person yelling at god....saying things like Bring it I am not quitting throw your best shot I am not stopping and I didn't....I kept going I kept pedaling....yelling and acting like an idiot but when the rain cleared I realized. I had done nothing to deserve this it was just part of life and part of this trip. This was not personal it was just another test to see whether or not I would learn anything and well i did and I think much more on this will come with more challenges.
So I get to Sanderson....let me explain Sanderson. It has a liquor store a gas station and 6 churches and nothing more.....especially the campground google said is there. So here I am exhausted wet and in the middle of nowhere....with no place to camp. So i talked with a state trooper that happened to stop at the gas station. I asked him about camping along side the road....of course its legal but it is not safe around here because we have bears. There is now a viral video that was filmed the very next day of a man mauled by a bear that was made down in that area, So i am glad I passed on staying road side...a bear attack would be no joke. What I did find however was a local church said it was ok for me to camp there. After setting up camp I learned something else about florida.....ANTS.....ANTS that freaking bite....as I am standing there I got bit like crazy so lesson learned also...I am in the wilds and yes anything can happen this is no hotel adventure this is a major world class adventure.
I camp at the church and well get woken up by a local rummaging through my trailer and well it just didn't go well no fight but police and very little sleep. I started off the next day and could not have been happier to get out of that town....my next destination was Osceola National forrest and in time I found my groove and enjoyed the ride. Actually when i got to the forest I was in a little bit of shock. You see it was like stepping into Jurrasic Park please look at the pictures below. Keep in mind this stretch of Florida is not the orlando or miami that you see on tv this is extremely remote and very country florida as desolate as most other long expanses literraly hours passed with out seeing another person.
I found the camp site this time and got all set up. This is where I met my first non friend woth talking about. Eugene approached my site to ask about the bike and my travels. Eugene walked up and said hi do you mind if I fire this up and well it was not tobacco lol. I said no and well he sat there and asked questions as he smoked his none tobacco and to answer question no I did not partake...
Turns out Eugene had been a traveler all his life always traveling and he taught me all about the uses of the Florida Pine should I ever run into a problem. Also he gave me a heads up on other travelers and signs that someone may be a problem. I explained that living in a rough city for the past decade has actually already gave me the ability to know my surroundings and well there is a connection....I may not know the country but I know how to be mindfull of people and my surroundings....well I really enjoyed laughing and learning from Eugene he is a kind soul and decent guy reminding me of that old saying NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST.
The next day I did a good solid push to my next campsite at the lake city campgrounds and made it with some time to spare so I ordered pizza and relaxed in the pool where I met the manager leila and a woman named Joan and her husband Jim. Joan told me all about Jims battle with cancer and how he was a 10 year survivor and we talked about a ton of personal issues like them taking care of his parents when they battled with dimentia....it was a heart felt conversation and well it ended with a hug and well a new friend.... I really enjoyed my conversations with Leila a lovely woman who you can just tell again is a kind soul....I keep useing that term for a reason and will cover it in a bit.....so the next morning I got some coffee and set off for the unknown.
I headed down the road and decided I was going to take the route designated by google...this took me down a very rural road of hard packed sand not asphalt. As my bike is not a mountain bike the sand made travel very slow and difficult....about ten miles out I came upon my first sign of civilization a trialer in an open field....as I came up on it my heart jumped there was a dog about the size of CUJO. No seriously about 150 lbs with a rather large chain around his neck. This was my second fear behind being hit by a car and well this one sent panic through my heart like nothing I could of imagined....I ddin't see the owner anywhere near and well this dog came a running at me....I stopped the bike and got off the bike and positioned it between me and the dog...I then pulled my knife that is sheathed along the frame of my bike....Finally the owner starts walking and I mean walking not running going zues come here zues come here....well the dog starts circling me I keep telling the guy to hurry and he just fing keeps walking...finally the dog lunged at me. He came right over the bike and latched right onto my broken arm. The dog bit down and I slashed the dog right under his right front leg...the dog let go and the owner pulled him back. Zues top canine teeth punctured my arm but his bottom ones were blocked by the metal in the brace or it would of been much worse.
So the owner Henry loaded a bleeding zues and a bleeding cyclist in his truck and took me to the hospital and zues to the vets....he later went back and got my bike and trailer while I was being stitched up. I got a total of 6 stitches and a new brace. I spoke with Henry and really how mad could I possibly be the man and dog may get one or two cars a day and well zues has never seen a bike....I am sorry this is something I never thought I could do let alone wanted to do but I know that push comes to shove I will do what it takes....this truly has been a journey of self discovery...both good and bad so far....can't wait for what comes next.
Now in pain from my arm and stitches I was having issues again with the thoughts of what the hell am I doing....what makes me even think I can do this. If you have never hit a wall then you may not understand a wall comes when you reach the end when you reach your end....when you think you cant go any deeper. I hit one after leaving the hospital....I rode for hours saw no one exhausted dehydrated and sore and well I collapsed I ditched the bike with my feet still in the clips just flopped over on the side of the road....admittedly beaten at that moment...I wanted to just quit leave everything there and walk away...a little reality about this trip set in though. I can not just do that I didn't even really know where I couldn't just call someone....so i sat there crying and well got my ass up dusted it off and started back on the bike...it was slow moving and painfull but I made my campsite.
I got a normal meal and set up camp....I called my support I talked with Cindy she told me I could always go home heal up and start again.....I talked with my friend Tina who listened intently and then offered me some advice she said that she didn't think I could quit that no matter what my reasons are I needed to do this and I said I wasn't sure....I think she was a little disappointed that I just didn't just say hell yeah I got this...and moved on. But folks this is reality this is what tough is this is what happens life challenges you.
Later that night on the verge of giving up i met some young men from the country part of florida....they were polite funny and well we got along. We laughed for hours made fun of eachother like we were life long friends. As the night winded down they decided to show me something that they thought I would love....they took me down to the Suwamee River in the middle of the night they showed me the hot spring that feeds it and then told me to look up...and wehn I did I saw a sight I had never seen...more stars then I could of even imagined being in the sky. It was awe inspiring to say the least and as I sat there staring up like an infant seeing his first snow flake I felt rather small for the first time in my life....I felt like just a tiny piece of something greater....but while a small part an important part as we are all important....more important then I ever thought....kind of visceral and I hope you all get to see or experience something like this....because like I told those guys it saved my trip and they saved Florida.....the next day I decided to take a much needed rest day and spoke to both Cindy and Tina again.....and I think they were both very happy that I decided to push on.
I decided to push on for not just myself but for several reasons and I will explain them at the end of this blog
The next day was perfect I found my groove and not a damn thing bothered me. I made the best distance I had all week I made it to my high school friends house and actually got to rest and sleep in a bed. Today we rode together and will again tomorrow....I saw Monticello today and well I decided nothing really matters and yet it all matters.
I said I would talk about the feelings....I was miserable I was pissed I was hurting and I really was until I saw those stars that night. That is what I was looking for something to put me in awe and show me that there is something amazing out there and I will find it.....there is something amazing out there and I will find it in me and through others and well through nature....through my life realizing that you know what quitting is not an option...I didn't quit for several reasons....mostly mine and the fact I still have much further to go....I still have work to do but also I didn't want to go home a quitter. I dont want people to say they were right....
I want to finish what I started I want to be proud of myself and I want to settle the things in my mind I started out to do. I also want my loved ones to be proud of me and I want to be proud of me...the fear the exhaustion and well the pain are going to happen if this was easy everyone would do it...I have seen the best and the worst of both people and the world and well i am still moving forward and that is what we all need to do.
I would be disappointed if I quit...I would never restart so there is only one choice to move forward now....peace out and thank you. I love each of you that knows that we can all be more and know I will be more. hell i saw a aligator in the wild how many have done that and if you have awesome...squeeze every ounce out of life every day
