from
Anacortes, Washington to Key West, Florida
The Cast: Dan, Catherine, Bill, Dana, David
Anacortes, Washington to Key West, Florida
The Cast: Dan, Catherine, Bill, Dana, David
Date | Start ✔︎ = DONE
----------------+------------------------------
Jun 29 Stage 1 | Anacortes, WA; 462 miles ✔︎
Jul 16 Stage 2 | Sandpoint, ID; 342 miles ✔︎
Aug 03 Stage 3 | Cutbank, MT; 544 miles ✔︎
Aug 17 Stage 4 | Dickinson, ND; 413 miles ✔︎
Aug 30 Stage 5 | Pierre, SD; 485 miles - ✔︎
Sep 13 Stage 6 | Council Bluffs, IA; 559 miles ✔︎
Sep 28 Stage 7 | St. Louis, MO; 570 miles ✔︎
Oct 12 Stage 8 | Tishomingo, MS; 454 miles ✔︎
Oct 25 Stage 9 | Mobile, AL; 570 miles ✔︎
Nov 23 Stage 11 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 189 miles
Nov 29 End 12 | Key West, FL; End of Ride
DanTrikeMan - Spokes Fighting Strokes:
Nov 10, 2014
"Road to Margaritaville"
Attitude is 90% of life, think positive! "Fins Up"
DanTrikeMan
David Babcock - CrazyGuyonaBike:
Day 138: Capernaum Inn & RV Park to Pioneer Creek RV Resort
Thursday Nov 13, 2014, 46 miles (73 km) - Total so far: 4,879 miles (7,852 km)
We had another quiet night at the park last night. Nothing much exciting happened which is just fine with us. We like it when we are the noisiest campers since we don't make much noise. As the driver today I got to send the riders off and then finish packing. Dick the park host came by to say goodbye and wish us well on the rest of our trip.
I had a list of stops I had to make this morning. The UPS store to ship a package, the grocery store for supplies, a gas station for diesel for the van, a bank ATM to get cash, and a Walmart Supercenter looking for a particular item at the Beauty Salon.
While in the Walmart I had an interesting conversation with an older couple. They had seen me drive up and saw the placard on the side of the van and wanted to know what that was all about. I started to explain the trip but they were especially amazed that we could get all the bikes in the toy hauler.
It took a while but I finally realized they thought we were riding motorcycles. Which also explained why they seemed disappointed in how far we were going each day. Having clarified that little detail I headed back out to the van and drove over to the route.
I was in Lake Wales at the time and it was about 10-12 miles from our starting point so I figured the riders were already past me by then. I started driving the route and called Bill to see where everybody was. He informed me that they were only about 8 miles from the end. I knew it had taken a while to run all the errands but that seemed pretty fast for them to be that far along.
Turned out that Bill, Catherine and Dan had set a pretty fast pace and never stopped much during the morning. That plus the flat route and slight tailwind made for a very quick morning for them. Dana had dropped back some but was still quite a ways up ahead.
So I set the van's GPS for Bowling Green and worked my way through the countryside. Turned out my route was almost the same as the riders since there weren't that many roads in this part of the state. As I came up to Highway 17 on the outskirts of Bowling Green I saw a large Marathon gas station and convenience store so I pulled in.
As I walked up to the store I saw Dana by her bike at the front of the store. She had stopped in to use the facilities and pick up her favorite snack - chocolate milk and chocolate donuts.
We talked for a bit and she confirmed that Bill was already up at the RV park on the other end of town, and she thought the trikers had stopped at Smokin' Joe's BBQ next to the turnoff for the camp. We had spotted this place yesterday evening while perusing the route on Google Earth. And when we looked at the street view on Google we saw their sign said they served ice cream, so that became a prime destination for them.
I arrive at the park just before noon, which may be the earliest we've come in on a regular riding day so far. The park is large with a mix of overnighters (like us), part-timers and full-timers. They have a lot of activities at the park including pickle ball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, crafts, wood working, stained glass classes and water aerobics.
Dana decided to check out the heated swimming pool while Dan and Catherine worked on her trike. I took a walk around the park and then stopped at the recreation building to use their excellent WiFi connection. While there I got to talk to several people as they came and went.
Tomorrow we will be within shouting distance of the gulf side of the state again. The town of Port Charlotte is our destination and I will be going out to dinner. Long-time friends who used to live in Arizona are coming to our camp and picking me up. It will be nice to see them and "go out on the town".
Thursday Nov 13, 2014, 46 miles (73 km) - Total so far: 4,879 miles (7,852 km)
 |
| Another interesting sign on the route. <-- ???? --> |
I had a list of stops I had to make this morning. The UPS store to ship a package, the grocery store for supplies, a gas station for diesel for the van, a bank ATM to get cash, and a Walmart Supercenter looking for a particular item at the Beauty Salon.
While in the Walmart I had an interesting conversation with an older couple. They had seen me drive up and saw the placard on the side of the van and wanted to know what that was all about. I started to explain the trip but they were especially amazed that we could get all the bikes in the toy hauler.
It took a while but I finally realized they thought we were riding motorcycles. Which also explained why they seemed disappointed in how far we were going each day. Having clarified that little detail I headed back out to the van and drove over to the route.
I was in Lake Wales at the time and it was about 10-12 miles from our starting point so I figured the riders were already past me by then. I started driving the route and called Bill to see where everybody was. He informed me that they were only about 8 miles from the end. I knew it had taken a while to run all the errands but that seemed pretty fast for them to be that far along.
Turned out that Bill, Catherine and Dan had set a pretty fast pace and never stopped much during the morning. That plus the flat route and slight tailwind made for a very quick morning for them. Dana had dropped back some but was still quite a ways up ahead.
So I set the van's GPS for Bowling Green and worked my way through the countryside. Turned out my route was almost the same as the riders since there weren't that many roads in this part of the state. As I came up to Highway 17 on the outskirts of Bowling Green I saw a large Marathon gas station and convenience store so I pulled in.
As I walked up to the store I saw Dana by her bike at the front of the store. She had stopped in to use the facilities and pick up her favorite snack - chocolate milk and chocolate donuts.
We talked for a bit and she confirmed that Bill was already up at the RV park on the other end of town, and she thought the trikers had stopped at Smokin' Joe's BBQ next to the turnoff for the camp. We had spotted this place yesterday evening while perusing the route on Google Earth. And when we looked at the street view on Google we saw their sign said they served ice cream, so that became a prime destination for them.
I arrive at the park just before noon, which may be the earliest we've come in on a regular riding day so far. The park is large with a mix of overnighters (like us), part-timers and full-timers. They have a lot of activities at the park including pickle ball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, crafts, wood working, stained glass classes and water aerobics.
Dana decided to check out the heated swimming pool while Dan and Catherine worked on her trike. I took a walk around the park and then stopped at the recreation building to use their excellent WiFi connection. While there I got to talk to several people as they came and went.
Tomorrow we will be within shouting distance of the gulf side of the state again. The town of Port Charlotte is our destination and I will be going out to dinner. Long-time friends who used to live in Arizona are coming to our camp and picking me up. It will be nice to see them and "go out on the town".
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