April 12

Yesterday we traveled to the most amazingly special place of the whole trip - home.  Everyone made it back home safely yesterday. 

I told you I'd give you some averages and facts from the trip, so here they are. 

Total miles - 3010
Days we went over 100 miles - 13  (also had 5 days of 94 - 97 miles)
Days we rode over 200 miles - 0 (never got that good tail wind behind us)
Average miles ridden per day - 91 (this does not include rest days or 1/2 days of riding)
Bugs eaten - 4 (we did a pretty good job of breathing through our noses to avoid too many buggy treats!)
ACRES signs spotted - 29

Donations are still coming in strong for the trip - so we will announce the total funds raised by Pedaling for Preserves in a future Quarterly.

A short video of our home for the last 41 days - I promised a tour in an earlier post, so here you go).

Things that surprised us about the trip:

1.  How many other people were out doing the same thing at the same time.  We encountered at least 20 people either heading east or west along the route.

2.  It was easier than we anticipated.  That is a sign of good preparation and a smart pace, but more than that, it was simply enjoyable.  Having fun for 41 days makes anything easier.

3.  We gained fat.  Everything else on our bodies stayed in good shape, but our bellies grew some serious fat during the trip.  This was surprising at first until we got thinking about it.  Each day in the morning we hopped on the bike, then at evening we got off the bike, ate, showered, then went to bed.  All day long, all our stomachs were just hanging there - no real movement or effort all day.  So, I guess it makes some sense, but we didn't expect that - and we weren't motivated to start doing sit ups after or before a long day of riding!  Of course, I also realize the huge volume of food didn't help (especially the breaded, deep-fried bacon!)

4.  Most slushie / icee machines don't work.  Believe me, we checked nearly every one during the last half of the trip.    


We have no life altering example or deep insights to share from the trip - yet.  I say yet because during the trip we had a job to do - get on the bike and ride east - so that dominated our days and thoughts.  Just this morning, the distance of the trip hit me, it was the first time that I really realized we just rode our bikes from coast to coast.  Once we have time to process the trip and the lessons and insights gained, I would not be surprised if we could then articulate some life altering insights we gained.  At this point, we know we are proud of our effort and so glad we took the trip, that we appreciate everyone's support, and that the trip has changed our perspective on many things in life - even if we can't yet find the words to describe how. 

It's hard to find a way to end this type of blog because as I stated above, the real lessons from the trip haven't yet been fully developed in our minds.  But I'll close with this - had we waited for the right time to take the trip, it would still be on our wish list.  We fulfilled one of our life dreams in the last 41 days.  We plan to do the same during the next 41 days.  I got to say "goodnight ladies" to the chickens last night.  Small thing, I know.  But, it's part of another one of my life dreams that has come true - a stable, loving home filled with people and pets.  The "ladies" helped me fulfill a portion of my dream last night - and the beautiful thing is that I recognized it, 42 days ago, I wouldn't have.  We wanted the trip to be much more than a bike ride and it was.

Thanks again for following along, if you want to chat more, you can reach me at jkissel@acreslandtrust.org.
     

April 10, Day 41

WE MADE IT!

41 days, 3,000 plus miles = one completed trip.



We ended up riding 78 miles today until we hit the Atlantic - a good day on the bike with clear skies and warm temperatures.  We tried to keep our routine just like any other day in order not to be distracted and to keep our attention to the task at hand and traffic, but the count down was definately on our minds. 

There are so many people to thank that have made this trip possible - to give an example, here is a partial listing of people who helped us specifically today.  We woke up in a trailer donated by Barton Lake RV, pulled by a truck donated by Norm and Libby Cox, that was parked in a parking lot of a baptist church who let us stay there for free.  For breakfast, I ate homemade granola sent by Jim and Pat.  Before I got on my bike this morning I put on wrist braces bought with a gift card from Brian and Amy, and sunglasses donated by Kissel Family Optometry.  Then I hopped on my bike that was tuned up and fitted to me by Summit City Bicycle.  That is a bunch of people helping today just to the point when I got on my bike!  There are so many of you who have helped in so many ways - donating to ACRES, sending stuff along for the trip, chipping in on fuel costs, etc.  And of course a special thank you to our families and employers for allowing us the time to take this adventure.  Thank you so much to everyone. 

As we head home I'll compile some averages and other data, and will post a new blog tomorrow, along with adding in several other photos.  

As this adventure ends it makes me start dreaming about my next adventure.  How about you?  What's your next challenge for yourself - let us know so we can follow your journey.  I hope you've enjoyed following our bike trip - we've certainly appreciated knowing that so many people were following along.  Be sure to check back tomorrow night for more information.

April 9, Day 40

Like I said yesterday things could come up that would keep us from finishing on Sunday.  This morning Kevin woke up to a rear flat tire - which in itself isn't that big of a deal, but the flat was caused by his rim liner wearing out.  So, we tried to patch it back together and he got another flat in less than 1/2 mile.  So, we took it apart and replaced the rim liner with two layers of electrical tape which seemed to have done the trick as he didn't have any trouble with it the rest of the day.  Then at lunch we stopped at a local bakery and deli and ordered some cold meat sandwiches, 55 minutes later we got them.  So, these two delays slowed our day by nearly 2.5 hours, but we were still able to get 100 miles in today ending up in Melrose, Florida.  We thought we'd end up just shy of 100 today, but we ended up with 100.2 miles - squeaking in one last century ride. 

Today was very warm again - high of 91 and lots of great Florida sunshine.  I know warm Florida sunshine must sound wonderful to those of you in colder climates right now (and it is), but we were sure glad to exchange it for some great Florida shade for a large portion of the afternoon.  We went down tree covered roads and a 16 mile bike path that really helped keep the heat from becoming an issue today (that plus frequent icees, popsicles and shakes have helped us through the heat and keeps our bellies growing nicely as well).     



We saw what I believe to be a gopher tortoise on a bike trail this afternoon.  And guess where we saw it - adjacent to a nature preserve of course that is protecting the habitat for this indicator species withing the heart of Gainesville.  We have run across many nature preserves on our trip - it's always nice to see our partners' successes all across the country.   

We have about 75 miles left until we run out of roads heading east.  It's very possible that tomorrow we will dip our tires in the Atlantic and complete this bike ride.  It hasn't fully hit us yet that this trip is nearly over.  Our routine for the past 40 days has been to hop on the bikes and head east for as long as we can - it's what we do.  Kevin and I were talking this afternoon that it seems like we should be tired or at least tired of riding the bike, but neither is the case.  We paced ourselves very well which has made the trip very enjoyable mentally and physically. 

Our helmets have big vent holes in them that bugs tend to fly into and get stuck - I just let them crawl around until the next time we stop, but yesterday a bee flew in there and stung me.  That was the third bee sting I've gotten on this trip.  I don't mind getting stung if it's my fault - if I step on a yellow jacket nest, it seems quite fair that i should get stung for destroying their nest.  But all three stings on this trip weren't really my fault, but I guess the bees didn't know that.

We ran across two more ACRES signs today

We encounter many smells during our bike rides.  Today was dominated by the smell of honeysuckle and pine trees - very nice. 

We're hoping for an un-eventful and efficient day tomorrow that will allow us to reach the Atlantic to celebrate the end of a wonderful journey - we'll let you know tomorrow night! 

April 8, Day 39

It was hot today - stayed around 90 all afternoon.  We started the day off in a light fog which kept the temperature down for most of the morning.  It also made for beautiful scenes in the forests we were riding through.



We stopped and picked up some loblolly pine cones

The most of the day was spend riding through rural areas that look a lot like northern Indiana in the summer time. 

Here are the ACRES signs put together in a single sheet - thanks Shane for putting them all together.

And here are some additional ones from today.

This evening Dad taught Kevin how to call a doodle bug out of it's hole.  The pictures show the hole,  the video shows the process, and the final picture is the successful result - a live doodle bug!

We ended up in Wellborn, Florida after about 105 miles of riding.  If we keep up this pace we could be hitting the Atlantic on Sunday.  A lot of things can come up, but it's possible that this journey could be completed in just two days. 

April 7, Day 38

WARNING - Shameless donation request coming up.  Every week since we began this journey, there have been 350 - 500 people reading this blog, but there have been only 69 donors toward Pedaling for Preserves to date.  Hmmmm....some of you are obviously gaining some entertainment value from following our journey - why not chip in for the cause?  We've made it real easy - just go back to the Pedaling for Preserves page and you'll notice that there are Pledge, Donate, and Sponsor buttons not only on the left but also on the bottom!  Alright, enough of a sales pitch, but seriously any donation you can make would be greatly appreciated and all donations go directly to purchase and preserve ACRES' great nature preserves. 

We ended up in Woodville, Florida tonight after 108 miles.  We are staying in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church. 

We were on highway 90 a big part of the day - nice road with a great shoulder.  The rest of the time we were on rural roads meandering through rural landscapes. We were in and out of pine and deciduous forests.  The spanish moss is pretty thick in most of the oaks. 

In order to get 100 miles in a day, we don't take too many breaks, which means less pictures, but I'll try to get some general landscape shots tomorrow.  We found two more "ACRES" signs today - people have pledged money for every sign we see that includes ACRES - excluding real estate signs.  Shane is putting them together in a compilation photo that I will include in the blog soon.  To date, these are my favorite two signs we have come across:

We found this one in east Texas - must have been a dentist who bought the ranch - pretty clever!

And I like the folk art feel to this one - plus we used to have Nubian goats when I was growing up.

Idaho Dave - to answer your question from a few days ago, my heart rate was 160 - 170 bpm when resting and 200 - 210 bpm if I moved or stood up.  In and out of a-fib as well. 

April 6, Day 37

"Cookies make me happy".  That's the line I remember most from today.  I was about a bike length behind Kevin, and as we were riding I was eating some Lemon-O cookies.  In a shout so he could hear me, I yelled "COOKIES MAKE ME HAPPY!".  Its a simplistic thought I know, but at that moment cookies really did make me happy and I was fully aware of it and appreciating it.  It wasn't that the cookies were all that good, they were average, but the cookies got me thinking about other lemon delights that also make me happy - like a lemon meringue pie from Nordmann's Nook in North Manchester, lemon icing on pound cake, etc.  You come to appreciate the simple pleasures when you spend as many hours as we have seated on a bike. The deepest thought I could come up with at that moment was "cookies make me happy" - but you know, it's great to be reminded that life is about the simple things.  To further this point, here is what Kevin and I miss the most (besides our families, co-workers and friends)

Kevin
My dog's love
My wife's cooking
The joy of my 4th and 5th grade class on Wednesday nights
The clean smell of laundry and sheets
Being able to take a real shower (we have to take "splash n' dash showers when not hooked up to a water source so we have enough water for all three of us)
The same place to lay my head every night

Jason
Fresh fruits and vegies and home cooked food
Coffee in the morning
Playing the piano
Time to read and study
Hiking in a nature preserve (we hardly walk all day - it's strange not really walking anywhere for 5 weeks!)
Saying "goodnight ladies" to the chickens when I put them up for the night
My bed
Not having to do leg squats in the shower because the shower head is low (frustrating to have to exercise in the shower after a long day on the bike!)
The quietness and darkness of night at home.

What we miss most are the simple things in life - basic, routine things that we often took for granted before the trip.  We don't miss any of our "stuff" (tv, vehicles, tools, etc.) .  The trip has been an excellent reminder of what's really important and to appreciate all the amenities that our normal, routine life affords. 

Today we rode through more pine forests and rural portions of Florida.  We encountered a surprising amount of hills today. 

Dad took a spill on his bike this morning and skinned up his shoulder and arm, but is fine.  He'll probably take a day off the bike tomorrow, then get right back on.  He's been riding about 15 - 20 miles on days that he rides.

The sign below would seem to warn against drinking and driving on your bike, but it was actually a warning about an open metal mesh bridge that we crossed.  These type of bridges and cattle guards in the road require you to walk your bike across them.  I missed a cattle guard warning sign in Texas as I was coming down a hill - I was going too fast to stop, so I aimed for a narrow metal strip that ran the length of the cattle guard, luckily I hit the strip and didn't catch my tires in the cross beams that they used to make the cattle guard.

It's much easier to find nice resting stops than it was when we were in the West huddling under shrubs!  I also realized today that our bright green shirts aren't showing up as well due to all the green vegetation - our orange, white and yellow shirts stand out better now. 

Today was a nice day on the bike.  Temperature was 70-75, we had a nice road with a wide shoulder, wind was bearable, and food was great.  We ended up in Bonifay, FL after 96 miles.  We are staying behind Bonifay Computers - thanks Dave for letting us spend the night and for the water and electrical hook-up! 

April 5, Day 36

Today we made it to Florida - the final state! It's the second longest state for miles we need to travel, but it sure was a good feeling to enter Florida. 

 



This morning we went through some beautiful communities in Alabama along the gulf.  Huge live oaks full of spanish moss stretching over the roads, very nice homes overlooking the bay, and great roads made the morning very enjoyable.  Every road we travelled on in Alabama was wonderful - most had shoulders and all were smooth, recently re-surfaced roads. 

We went over a lot of bridges today - a lot of bridges.

The white sand beaches here are very nice



For me today felt more like a training day than a touring day.  Usually we ride at an effort level just below the point where you begin to really work.  I couldn't find that point today - felt like I was working hard all day - just couldn't get into the groove.  Besides that thought, it was a perfect day for riding - great roads, perfect temperature (about 65), started the day with a tailwind (it was nice to work with the wind for once, even if it was only for 15 miles) and great scenery. 

My rear tire gave up today.  I put new tires on right before we began this trip.  The rear tire had worn so thin that it split right down the middle in a 2-3" gash.  So, I threw on a spare tire that I brought along and Dad went to a bike shop to get two new ones.  I guess 2,500 miles is the limit for a bike tire! 

We ended up in Milton, Florida - logging exactly 100 miles for the day.