We made it!!!

We arrived in St. Petersburg on Sunday about 2pm. We are about four days early due to great tailwinds, no rain days, strong riding, etc.

I hope to post some pictures soon, but I am posting this from handheld.

The final mileage was 1600 miles, about 100 miles more than projected.

Back in GA !!

We rode across the Talmadge Bridge into Savannah yesterday afternoon. Our first stop was at the Visitor Center at the foot of the bridge to see about accommodations. We ran into a woman who spotted us a cyclists immediately, and she worked for a group that owns several hotels in downtown Savannah, and it wasn't long before we struck a deal to stay at the Mulberry Hotel on the Waterfront, in the Historic District. She had us up-graded to a suite so we would be able to store our bikes easily. At the excellent price she offered us, we decided to make it a rest day for Thursday, and do some looking around Savannah and to pack some stuff to send home to get the weight down.

The woman had ridden BRAG many years ago, and had given up the bike because of back problems, but was very interested in our recumbent bikes. All of this lead to the great suite deal, and we spent the evening with her (went to dinner together) and we will probably see her again today. This kind of stuff never happens when I am in a car. I love it.

Someone is waiting for this computer, so I will get off now and will report back in later in the day, and hopefully post some more this afternoon.

Suffice it to say that all is better than well; we are having an excellent adventure.

Another Great Day (Possibly the Best)

After maybe 20-25 miles of tailwinds, we came by this place out off the road by itself, nothing nearby, somewhere near McClellanville, SC. We passed by, it was on the opposite side of the road, and I told Cathy we needed to go there. We had planned a picnic, and were carrying all we needed to have a nice meal in a good spot by the road, but I just knew it looked like the right place to stop. So we doubled back. What a find!

Great group of folks waiting to ask us about our trips and bikes. Great food, great prices, real trained chef-owner making all from scratch. Kind of upscale country cooking. The people were interesting. One of them was a 94 year old guy that rides his stationary bike for an hour a day and claims that is what has made him live so long. He was so hard of hearing that he could only communicate with his daughter, but she relayed our bike trip story to him and he was very interested.

It only took a few minutes for the fact that they thought they knew Dr. Denmark's nephew who lives nearby and is a doctor also. Amazing. She called on her cellphone to confirm that her brother and son live nearby.

So we got back on the bikes and rode another 30-35 miles with the tailwinds into Charleston, across the fantastic new bridge into town (see picture) where as we decinded into town, a guy on a bike stopped us, asked about our trip, and then escorted us to our hotel, just because we were there on bikes and it was nearby where we met him. How nice (it only seems to happen to me on the bike). So another great day. Hope the rest of the world it OK , too.

We see the changes as we go along....

As we go from state to state, even just from town to town, we see small changes in the style of things, the homes, the stores, and even the food. From time to time, we come across some unusual foods, seasonings, and combinations of foods that seem strange to us, and we usually try to be open minded and try some. But this is one combo that we're not buying.

Very Frustrating...

It is not easy to get proper internet on the road. Some terminals don't work, some won't let load a picture. Some have people waiting. Some all of the above.

We are in Georgetown, SC and doing good, maybe ahead of schedule. May rest a day in Charleston. Have to go.

Another Day, Another Ferry

Here we are leaving Ocrakoke on the Cedar Island Ferry. We have spent several days on the Outer Banks of NC. We stayed in Kill Devil Hill, Avon, and Ocrakoke. Mostly tailwinds for our southbound riding. Excellent riding weather, mostly cloudy, stiff tailwind, beautiful scenery. We are having great time. Out of cellphone range sometimes, and trying to not watch the news much. Hope we can afford to finish the trip. I guess we will know if the charge cards start being refused.
Have not had internet to post for several nights, and now someone is waiting for me to finish.
So I will just say all is going good and pretty much on schedule, so we will be out tomorrow heading for points south from Morehead City, SC.

Spaced Out

Cathy got a little "spaced-out" at our stop at the NASA tracking station at Wallops Island, VA.

We had nice tailwinds for most of our 60 miletrip to Exmore, VA. We had a good

We

Alive and well-fed in Chincoteague, VA

We are in Chincoteague Island, VA. We arrived last nite after a 60 mile ride with a tailwind most of the way. When we turned onto the 8 mile causeway, we turned into the wind, and fought it out to the island. When we hit the island, we made a beeline to a sandwich shop we ate at about 20 years ago. There it was, and they still make a great Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Cathy & I each had a whole sub each, and then we found a motel.

We also enjoyed the items from Great Harvest Bread Company that Erica and Ray sent us. The second picture is of me getting the last bite of cookie from this shipment. I had our only flat tire (so far) right in front of this house with shade and a swing to sit on. So I refreshed after changing the tire.

We did have a weather related adventure in Ocean City, Md. We were passing thru and saw that a thunderstorm was approaching, and we did get raincoats on, then we tried to make a run for a motel. Before we could turn around, the front came across, and Cathy says "a wind picked up the front of my bike", and she fell, and sought shelter behind a rescue trailer. I made it across the street to a store. I called her on the cellphone, as I could not see thru the storm. We were reunited 5 minutes later as the heavy rain ended. We spent that night in Ocean City, and no harm was done, except to ego.

All is going good, and we are both feeling strong and healthy.

Hanna Izadorable

Thursday was a long 62 mile day, hot and humid. But what a lovely ride it was. The Kruimers led the way for us from Edison to Point Pleasant, NJ. We headed east to the shore, and then with the cooler ocean air, headed south to our destination.

The route was gentle and scenic with the Henry Hudson Trail as one of the features. The Kruimers had a front tire flat, but the location was delightful. While the men changed the tire, we ladies sat in the shade and enjoyed the lovely sites to be seen. We were on our way in no time. We rode down the boardwalk through Asbury Park, a place I remember from my childhood. We had pizza and finished in Point Pleasant around 6:30.

Hanna added some excitement to our Friday ride. People were rushing to leave the shore. We had a leisurely 25 mile ride to our destination, Toms River, NJ. This is where we planned to see 94 year old uncle Izzie who calls himself Izadorable. We spent Saturday with Izzie and his family and shared a great meal. It was rainy and windy as Hanna was passing through.

When we checked into our hotel there was a package on the bed from our good friends, Erica and Ray, owners of our favorite bakery, Great Harvest Bread Company in Johns Creek, GA. They know us well and sent us some of our favorite items. Thank you so much! We will be enjoying them for the next few days.

Tommorow we head south, using a NJ state bike map to guide us toward Cape May. We will be waiting to see if Ike will mess with us. Hanna turned out to be just a rainy rest day while we ate and visited. Not bad timing....

The Bikes are Re-built, and we're ready to go!

We had a easy flight to NJ, traveled by train to the Edison area, then Ann Kruimer picked us up and took us to Jerry And Stan's Bicycle Shop, where the bikes had been shipped.

They went togeter well,  but a few adjustments and a cable replacement later, we were ready to roll. Mike Kruimer led Cathy & I to his house, about 7 miles from the shop.

 

We all showered and went to Harold's Deli for a huge dinner (pictures to follow). Back to Mike & Ann's to visit awhile, then to bed.

 

Pancakes by Ann in the AM, and then we were off on the first leg of the trip by about 9am. Mike& Ann will lead us to the Jersery Shore, where it is supposed to be hot & humid today.

We're off.................

Preparations

We have shipped our bikes to Edison, New Jersey, where our friends Mike & Ann Kruimer live.
We will fly out of Atlanta early on 9/3, and re-assemble the bikes on Wednesday afternoon at Mike's friends bicycle shop, spend Wednesday evening eating pastrami and pickles at Harold's Deli, spend the night with the Kruimers, and then bike out of Edison on Thursday morning. The Kruimers will ride with us to Point Pleasant, on the NJ coast, where we will spend the next night.