Sunday, February 11, 2007

Don't Mess With My Texas Mustache!

Like any other form of communication in my life, emails and blog updates have been drastically sporadic during this trip. But here's an attempt to update y'all from Houston, Texas.

So far we have biked just under 3000 miles and have withstood temperatures from the upper 80's to the mid 20's in January sunshine and February thunderstorms. I'm glad to say I've worn spandex in most of the southern states and actually conducted conversations in them with inhabitants of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.

Since too much time has passed to give a detailed account of our travels I'll send out some highlights:

+ I learned that there is more to Florida than old people and tourists. I encourage anyone traveling to Florida to checkout the Northern and Northwest en part of the state, where real people still live, farm and fish. There we found out that Florida has the most freshwater springs than any other place in the world. These springs cause massive sink holes and underwater caves. Two extraordinary cases occur on the Santa Fe River at River Rise and River Sink. At River Sink the river goes underground for 3 miles until it rises again at River Rise. Along the Gulf Coast of Florida we found many tourist and development free towns where people actually live and work. The best we went through was Carabelle, east of Apalachicola. In another small town we picked up a book called Spring Creek Chronicles which is a collection of fishing stories from Spring Creek, Florida.

+ We stayed a week in New Orleans and spent lots of money supporting local musicians and bars We saw good live music every night, ate Louisiana oysters and had our fill of po'boys and gumbo. We worked one day with ACORN gutting a home in uptown New Orleans and got a chance to talk to some people in the neighborhood about the storm. Basically every conversation in the city eventually turns towards the hurricane. Some have conspiracy theories about government land grabs taking place and others seem very mellow about the whole thing. I considered taking a job at the race track mucking out horse stalls and fulfilling my Jayber Crow / Port William dreams, but decided against it and we eventually biked out of the city.

+ Our route out of New Orleans was the Mississippi River levee. We followed its winding path all the way to Baton Rouge. There are lots of refineries on that river and some enormous grain elevators. North of Baton Rouge the refineries become more scarce and after crossing the Mississippi at St. Francisville by ferry we entered some of the prettiest farmland since leaving Pennsylvania. In this part of Louisiana we ended up following several dirt roads to the Atchafalaya River. Along the way we met a dog named Rim (we know his name cause it was stenciled on his side) who, instead of chasing us, ran in front of us for several miles. I hoped he would come with us for the remainder of the trip, but he eventually tired and ran into the woods to rest.

+ In the weeks preceding Texas we were told that Texas would be terrible, be it the landscape or the people, so we were expecting the worst when we crossed the Sabine River into East Texas. We did so at night fall in a downpore and ended up camping next to Quicksand Creek on the side of the road. I'm glad we didn't sink. Anyway, we've since experienced real Texans, and they aren't as scary as they or other people would like us to believe. I think Texas and Texans have the same syndrome as New Jersey and New Jersey-ans do. Texas is different they all like to say, but it's really just like any other southern state we've been in. They do have big mustaches and they do wear cowboy hats and they all do say ma'am, but other than that we haven't been shot at or threatened (like in Georgia). So yea.

So now we're in Houston and will be heading to Austin and then Big Bend National Park. After which we may go through northern Mexico or we may stay in the states. I'm just about ready to see the Pacific Ocean and possibly start heading north to Seattle. First things first, shave this beard into a Texas Mustache!

Friday, January 5, 2007

Gainesville Rock City

We pulled into town at 11pm on the 31st and went to the first bar we saw, The Top on Main Street. That night we found a sweet campsite on the University of Florida's campus on Museum Road, between the old Natural History Museum and some parking lot. On the 1st we got up late and went to a used bookstore with a cafe. I got rice, black eyed peas and collards soup, commonly known as Hoppin' John down here. It's a southern tradition to eat this soup on New Year's Day, brings good luck. After dropping off the rental car at the airport we biked back into town in search of a cafe or bar. Everything was closed, or so it seemed. As we were giving up and heading back to our UF campsite we saw Durty Nelly's Irish Pub. Sweet! And that spelling's right.

The barkeep allowed us to bring our loaded bikes inside and we bellied up to the bar for "crappy hour", as bartender Rich lovingly called it. We found ourselves drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ales for the next six hours or so and chatting with an array of locals. Rich told us about Tallahassee and his travels with his lady to New Zealand and how on returning to the States he realized how in your face US advertising in with billboards and all. I also chatted with another guy originally from Panama City, Florida who is planning to hike the Appalachian Trail this spring. I told him about my hike on the AT and wished him luck. A UF professor, Louise, bought us a round of drinks and Shira took a nap on the stage while I ordered and ate some pizza. I found her before I finished the whole thing and woke her up. Jason told us BMX stunt stories and explained his ideas for a Radical Rick movie before getting kicked out for being a crazy BMXer who spills beer on people.

On a suggestion from Rich we went to Jeff's Deli in northwest Gainesville for breakfast the next morning. Good bagels with NYC yiddish humor thrown in the mix. Down the street from the deli was Bikes & More bike shop, a cool little shop we happened across. Inside we found Elli and John (I think that was his name!) and spent some time hanging out while my bike got looked over. The shop owner builds his own track frames called Villin Bikes. Beautiful frames, pictures to come I hope. After spending about an hour in the shop we were leaving as Elli offered the use of her shower and stove at her house. Awesome.

Before going to Elli's we stopped by the Florida Museum of Natural History. Northwest Florida is full of caves and sink hole formed from the dissolving of the limestone base of the land. Mammoths and Mastodons used to roam around way back in the day. Even remains of huge sharks, now extinct, have been found in the Saint John's River. The Devil's Millhopper and River Rise and Sink are examples of Florida sinkholes. The Santa Fe River travels underground for 3 miles between River Sink and River Rise. Crazy.

That night we ended up sleeping at Elli's house with black cat Inky and golden retriever Buddy. We were very grateful to have a nice couch to relax on and a roof over us, because it poured early the next morning.

All in all, Gainesville completely reminded me of Allston, Mass. I even met a guy who had been at the Silhoutte in Allston a couple days before. Yeah.

Just like James I'm drinkin' Irish tonight!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Okefenokee


Georgia


My View Down


Harper Gruber with his Pecans


Frosty Morning In NC Woods


The Great Aykio (sorry about that spelling!) !


One week is a long time ...

I'm getting cagey sitting here in Florida. I'm ready to ride but I need to wait until the 1st to take off to Gainesville. Our new tent arrived today. Shira and I threw the old one out last week, into the trash compactor it went! That was a terrible tent. It was great at keeping water out, but it was also great at keeping condensation in. It was a single-walled Eureka tent, don't do the single-wall, get a fly.

Outside of Reidsville, GA we ran into our first touring bikers. Dana and Matt were a couple from Portland, OR travelling south to West Palm Beach, FL from Reidsville. They were travelling 80 to 90 miles per day and riding on a tight schedule. I hope they made it in time. We biked half a day with them and then had a great dinner in town. It was fun to meet people who were sort of in our same frame of mind. We also picked up some travel tips from them, since they had travelled in Asia by bicycle.

Hmmmm. Out of all the states we've travelled through, I have to say that Florida is the strangest. Before Florida turned into New New Jersey it seems like it was actually a cool place populated by Florida Crackers. For me, the easiest way to describe a Cracker is to compare them to the self-sufficient people in the Appalachians. They are basically flatland hillbillies, many of whom had Scotch-Irish roots, similar to the folks of Appalachia. These Florida Crackers were semi-nomadic farmers and cattle herders. They scraped a living by growing or making most of was they had. Their main drink was "low bush lightning" or moonshine, mostly homemade. Their main food was corn in the form of grits and cornbread. They also harvested swamp cabbage, which is the heart of the Palmetto palm tree, and boiled it to eat. One of the facts I like most about these Florida Crackers is their disregard for property rights and the law. Criminal matters were dealt with between the parties involved and usually the courts were left out of it. And, in deciding where to settle, Crackers would travel until they found a suitable plot of land and begin building a house. If it was someone else's land, they would live there until kicked off.

Now these Florida Crackers are being squeezed out of Florida because of the several decades of outrageous development. Development that has brought the snow birds and other weird and strange characters to Florida, most of whom have white hair.

A few more days of all day Law and Order for me, then I'll be headed west! Woohoo!

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

La Florida

Holy hell, we're in Florida. Here's our route, more to come....
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=602700

Saturday, December 2, 2006

Faster than a speeding thunderstorm

Gee whiz, it seems like forever since the last time I wrote. Even though it's only been two weeks. The weather has been so unbelievably lovely, we have been reluctant to take time out from the sun to sit in libraries. But today is Saturday, and we get to take it easy on weekends, so here I am despite the shining sun outside.

So much has happened. The question is, which things should I write about? Well, I guess I'll start at the end and work my way backwards. First of all, bragging point: yesterday we hit our 500 mile mark! This may not seem like a lot to some of you cycle people, but for a girl like me, whose previous big cycle achievement was beating the number 23 bus down Germantown Avenue on my way to Temple University, this is a big deal. Now I can't wait until our 5,000 mile mark so we can really celebrate.

So yesterday was a big day. We camped for the night at a ball field in Pea Ridge, North Carolina. The moon was so bright, we didn't even need headlights to set up the tent after sunset. And it was so warm outside, we just lay on the grass looking at stars for a while before turning in. We woke at the crack of dawn, with mist rising up on the ballfield. Loaded up the bikes, and headed over to the corner store at 7:00am.

Well, let me tell you, that store was the place to be! Everybody in town was waiting for a bus to come and take them to their workplace of the day, and they were all in the store buying coffee and honey buns and Colt 45 to get them started in the morning. We bought coffee and stood outside answering questions and joking around to the crowd's delight. Yesterday was Friday, so the boss man walked around handing out paychecks before everyone loaded up on the bus to head out to the cabbage fields. A smaller crew jumped in a pickup for a landscaping job. But can you imagine? All day long, harvesting cabbage. Take it from a farmer, harvesting cabbage is no joke.

We headed out from the store and three miles down the road we were pulled over by one of our new friends from the store, driving a silver Dodge Durango. "You're going the wrong way!" he said. "You're heading to the beach, right?!" Turns out that a few months ago, the North Carolina highway department re-numbered all the roads without telling anybody. So what was 64 is now 94, and we rode three miles right by it without thinking twice. Paul gave us directions to get us back on track, and I gave him a hug for his troubles. He jokingly offered to drive us to the beach for $30, but we declined, especially after he admitted that he should not be on the road at all, since he had no driver's license. He was a trip. When I asked him his name, he said, "My name's Paul. I'm in the the Bible, baby!"

So we headed south down 94, straight into strong winds. There was a cold front heading in from offshore, and everywhere we stopped we were warned that there would be major thunderstorms in the afternoon. Our destination was Roanoke Island of the Outer Banks, a 60-mile ride. We decided we could do it before 3:00pm, and beat the rain. Usually on a 60-mile day, we take a break around 9:00am for breakfast, and then another break at 1:00pm for lunch. But with the clock ticking, we just took short stops to throw down a power bar or two and then kept moving. At 9:00, we pulled over for a minute to say hello to a snapping turtle by the side of the road. At 11:00, we finally gave in and cooked some Ramen. At 1:00, we stopped at a store to fill up on water. But yesterday our fast pace paid off. As we reached the four-mile bridge over the Croatan Sound to Roanoke, we saw storm clouds gathering behind us. Halfway across the bridge, Tom yelled, "It's gaining on us! Pedal faster!" I down-shifted and starting pedaling while standing up, cresting the top of the bridge and gaining speed all the way down. The rain started just as we pulled off the bridge, and we made it safe and dry to the Roanoke Island Visitor's Center. It was awesome to beat the storm.

We waited out the worst of it at the Visitor's Center, chatting happily with a retired volunteer named Stanley. He told us all about his 1-acre garden, where he grows tomatoes, corn, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, zucchini, cucumbers, and everything else under the sun. He even has an apple tree for applesauce, several fig shrubs, and a hardy tangerine tree that he has been harvesting for the past weeks. He grows enough food to eat all summer, for his wife to fill the shed with canned vegetables, and to give away corn and other vegetables to the neighbors. Almost like a free CSA! He loves to try new seeds, so Tom is going to send him some Lenape Popcorn seeds just for fun.

Another interesting encounter from yesterday: we met a couple who lives off of a boat! Just before we crossed the Alligator River. They were walking in to a store as we were walking out, and they commented that it was a windy day for bicycling. It turns out that their boat was docked right around the corner, as they had come inland from the Outer Banks to get out of the winds. They were on their way to the Caribbean for the winter, and told us that they had saved up for retirement, and have been living for the past six years off of their little sailboat. Tom and I talked about it later, and it occurred to me that I am glad to be adventuring now. But when I get to retirement age, I would much rather be settled in one place, close to my family and good friends.

As for now, I'll be content to write you! :) So that'll do for today, I suppose. I have lots of things left over to write about from our week in Virginia... mostly about massive fields of cotton and soybeans, huge tree farms full of loblolly pine and deer hunters galore, abandoned farmhouses sinking into the ground, and cypress swamps with engorged tree trunks growing out of black still water. We saw blue herons winging across a lake, gray foxes by the roadside, and several black vultures feasting on the carcass of a deer. Although the terrain was flat, and the sun was shining, we were haunted by a strange feeling the whole time we biked through southern Virginia. There didn't seem to be a lot of people around... sort of like a no man's land. We both felt something like relief when we crossed the border into North Carolina.

Today we plan to take it easy, and bike just 30 miles to the campground in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island. I called to make a reservation, and they have a 15% off-season discount, and a hot tub! Hooray!!!!

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

First week on the road

So we've been biking just over a week now. Our first week was more resting than biking, to tell the truth. On Friday Nov 10th, we biked 30 miles south to our friend Claire's farm in West Grove, PA ( www.inverbrook.com if you wanna see pictures!). Her amazing hospitality kept us there for two days. I don't even have words to describe the abundance of good will and good cooking that we encountered - it seemed like every time we turned around, someone was organizing a family gathering centered around more food! On Friday night we had turkey gumbo, and then on Saturday night we had a preview of Thanksgiving. And the table was always full of muffins, scones, sausage, cheese, and endless cups of excellent tea. The other factor keeping us at Inverbrook Farm was Claire's father, Bob. An amateur pilot, Bob delights in keeping well abreast of weather patterns. A few times a day, he would print out a radar map, and show us the low and high pressure systems that he assured us would soak us to the skin the second we left the farm.

We finally managed to get on the road on Monday Nov 13th. It was pouring rain. We stopped for breakfast with our friend Trey, just a few miles down the road. Trey has been farm manager at Maysie's Farm in Chester County for the past growing season, and is now trying his hand at beekeeping. He is caretaker of Walt's Swarmbustin' Honey, while Walt takes a break from beekeeping for the next 15-30 months. The honey operation is 165 hives, and the house is full of treasures. In the livingroom, Trey took a blanket off what looks like a massive ant farm... but is really a hive! The bees have a tunnel through the livingroom wall and go out every day to collect pollen. Then they build the honeycomb inside the plastic panels of the indoor hive. It was awesome to see the bees at work. Trey fed us trout from the pond and homebaked biscuits, and sent us off on the road with a pound of bee pollen for energy.

The rain continued to pour as we slogged across the Mason-Dixon line and into Maryland. It did not let up all day, actually, until we finally reached Ady, MD and Emory Knoll Farm ( www.greenroofplants.com). Emory Knoll grows 10 greenhouses full of a succulent groundcover called sedum... exclusively designed for use on green roofs! So we learned about why it is good to have a green roof: 1) to reduce stormwater run-off by making an absorbent ground-like layer on the roof, 2) to improve air quality with more urban plants, 3) to reduce heat index in cities because of plant transpiration, and 4) because green roofs are cool.

So all that green roofery was interesting. But something totally amazing happened while we stayed at Emory Knoll. When we first pulled in, we were greeted by all the greenhouse workers, including the buoyant Akio. He was thrilled to meet us, because he has done bicycle tours as well, and coincidentally has the same bike as mine... a Surly Cross-Check (yeah baby! it is an awesome bike. www.surlyville.com). Meanwhile, Tom's bike was having a rough time of it. Built as a road bike, his Jamis could not handle saddlebags. So Tom was pulling all of his gear in a rear trailer. But with a combination of 60 pounds in the trailer, heavy rains, and road bike brakes, Tom's ride to Ady, MD was nothing short of terrifying. Akio asked if we wanted to see his Surly bike, and commented that he barely rides it. Tom jokingly asked if he would like to sell it. Akio considered for a moment, and said, "No. I won't sell it to you. But you can have it."

We spent the next day visiting bike shops and the local REI, outfitting the Surly with saddlebags and switching out Tom's saddle and pedals. In the evening, I cooked lasagna with Akio's girlfriend, Cathleen, while the boys hung out on the porch and replaced chains, checked brakes, and did all the things that two boys who used to work in bike shops like to do together. It was a really fun night. As Tom and I walked back through the grassy landscape to our campsite for the night, we kept reminding each other that this was real, this was really happening. The complete and sudden generosity of our new friends made us feel surreal.

On Wednesday Nov 15th we reached Reisterstown, MD and camped at the local Church of the Brethren. And on Thursday Nov 16th we biked through the worst rain yet of our trip. There was a flood watch in effect for the area where we were biking. We put on headlights and backlights and hoped for some semblance of visibility. I ditched my glasses since they kept fogging up, and experimented with different ways of keeping cold hard raindrops from hitting my eyes. Squinting was one option, and blinking rapidly was the other. So far I have to say that blinking rapidly is far superior. The world goes by in strobe fashion, and it is pretty effective at keeping out the rain. But I will let you know if something even better comes my way.

We were heading for Chevy Chase, MD and the warm refuge of my uncle and aunt's house on Dorset Avenue. The last leg of our journey was on the Rock Creek Trail. Right next to Rock Creek, the trail had completely flooded and several sections were under 1-2 feet of water. But several sections were still unflooded, so we proceeded with caution and kept biking. When biking through deep water, make sure to stay on the paved trail. Or else your bike wheel will get caught in the mud and leaves on the side of the trail, and you will crash. Tom kept reminding me of this factoid as we splashed our way through the windy trail. He can be very supportive that way. It was an exhilarating ride.

We got completely soaked. But somehow everything in our bags stayed dry! This could be a good advertisement for Scotch Gard and Ziploc Bags. About three miles before Chevy Chase, we were met on the trail by a park policeman, who told us that the trail was closed, as the water was above waist-level. He gave us street directions, and we completed the last few miles in the full traffic of Wisconsin Avenue. What a relief to finally reach the destination driveway! We actually sat there in the driveway, stunned, for about five minutes, until my aunt Brenda came out to say hello.

We spent another long weekend with my family in Chevy Chase, enjoying Friday night dinner, Saturday morning services, my cousin Jonathan's birthday on Sunday, and all the associated antics. I always visit these folks as part of a big family gathering, so it was great fun to hang out and be part of the household. 11-year-old Leni played electric guitar for us, and helped us figure out our personalities based on star signs, favorite colors, and other foolproof tests. 16-year-old Jonno demonstrated his driving skills, as well as his carefully-calculated tactics to annoy out-of-state drivers. Dan and Brenda were awesome hosts, making us feel completely comfortable even as they whirled around with their breakneck schedules. Thanks, family.

And then on Monday Nov 20th we hit the road again. Last night we camped at a Baptist Church, and tonight we hope to stay with the Methodists. We're about 20 miles north of Fredericksburg, Virginia. There's a synagogue not too far off-route, as well. Hopefully we can manage to stay balanced with all the faiths and denominations.

Well, that was a long post! And I didn't even tell you the half of it. But suffice to say, we are making our way slowly but surely. One day at a time.

All best,
Shira
Here's our route so far. We'll be staying around Independent Hill, VA tonight.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=553222

Monday, November 20, 2006

I'm taking the lint from my pocket,
Placing it upon your floor.
I ain't got no more money to play this game
And I'm headed south this fall.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Ahhhhh. What a week. What a week? What am I doing? Biking in the winter? West? On a racing road bike? Sounds Polish. Yeah, well that's the plan, headed south for the fall and should make it to Florida by winter, after which we'll be headed west to California.

The farm season ended a few weeks ago, and for those of you who don't know, I've decided to bike with my friend Shira to California this fall, winter and spring. We've been on the road for a week and haven't made it too far. We have sorted out a lot of gear that we don't need and have purchased a lot of gear we should have gotten months ago. It was a practice week.

I now sit in Chevy Chase, MD, next to Washington, DC. Along the way we have stayed with our good friend Claire and family in ChesCo, Ed in Street, MD and the Hirsches in Chevy Chase. At each stop we've been pampered. That all ends tomorrow as we cross the frontier into Virginia because we no longer have any contacts until Florida.