Week One

January 10th, 2020
Location: Palm Beach County Library

The trip started off beautifully, as I took off from Winter Park straight into both the Lake Baldwin Trail and the Little Econ Greenway. Already, this is a massive improvement over last time, where I took FL-50 basically straight to Titusville. A very good omen for the trip. Not to mention, it was crispy 62 Degree Fahrenheit (16 Celsius), so deciding to start this in Florida in January was definitely the right call.

Of course, fate was right there to remind me not to get ahead of myself. Within the first 15 miles, Google Maps had me going off road. I do wonder how this happens. This happened about 3 times so far. Each time, as annoying as it was at first, I found myself enjoying the time gearing down and conquering the grass and mud. Definitely engaging the mountain bike part of my hybrid bike. Maybe I should've had a clue, the trail kept running me into these very narrow chain link passages.

This first day is also where I did my largest stretch of the week. 60 miles to get to the coast. Once near the coast, I was feeling it. I was able to snag a couch surf (which I'll refer to from now on as surfing, since I doubt I'll confuse it with actual surfing) with a cool guy named Joe. Joe owns his own cleaning business and also spent some time in Winter Park (we would've lived practically down the street from one another). Joe embodied everything you'd want in an ideal surf: open, immediately trustworthy and is open to either engaging or letting you get some rest. I typically always go for the former as we stayed up in talked for a good while. I wish I would've asked to get more pictures of his place. I'm usually not a fan of nick-nacks but he had so many odd things around the house, you couldn't help but feel you were on the set of some cool 90's TV show. I did manage to snag one of this dummy though:

Admittedly, I asked him for permission after the fact. But I just couldn't help it. Just sitting on the couch, watching him listen to me play Blackbird incorrectly on Joe's amazing Taylor acoustic, I wanted to capture his 1,000 yard stare into my soul. Either way, after so many miles, I was glad to have someone listening.

I decided to take up another surf in the same town that had offered up the following night. I wish I could say I was in better bike shape, but I'm not. Just coming from Denver, where I didn't do much biking due to the snow, my body wasn't prepared for the meat tenderization that is biking all day. Sure, I lost some pounds and exercised, and that helped I think my resolve, but only practicing with the bike gets you ready for the bike. As of this writing, it's getting there...but this quick picture I made describes the current struggle:

I more or less have the butt and hands figured out. Ergo grips, a Redshift Shock Stop Suspension stem and three different hand positions have taken care of hands. For the butt: a good method of liberally applying Chamois Butter', as well as using witch hazel wipes and airing out my neither regions after a long ride, have prevented saddle sores thus far. But my back is a different story. I'm almost afraid to adjust anything with fear of detouring the other two perfect systems. It's not even that it hurts, I just feel stress on it. I do stretch in the saddle and off, but it doesn't quite do the trick. Luckily, I did get a little racquet ball to do some self-massage, so I'm hoping between the stretching, the time on the saddle and the massage, things will even out.

Dean was my next surf and I was really grateful for his hospitality. I was in a pretty bad mood all day that day but then walks out Dean with his Dave Franco smile and positive attitude and I couldn't help but feel better. Dean lives in a small one bedroom right near the bridge that goes over to the A1A. He's in his early 20's and works...well, that is classified. Let's just say he does things for the government. He is as smart as a whip and smart beyond his years. You know how you talk to some younger people and they just make you feel bad for not having more together at their age? (or maybe you don't because you're soooo evolved!) Well, he's definitely one of those people, in the best way. I was greeted with fresh sweet potato fries and beets straight from the oven. Sure the fries were good, but the beets? How did he know? A love of beets is so rare in this day and age. Me and the fellow Beetsman proceeded to chow down and talk about my trip and all sorts of things.

As the night went on, we watched some Netflix documentaries and then finally turned in around 10:30 as he had to get up early to log in remotely for work. A very dreamy air mattress induced sleep later and Dean and I were up and ready to go. Dean rode with me down the lovely Indian River Road for a ways before having to turn back. We said our goodbyes and I was left with a new hope for the trip

The next stop was Melbourne, where I would surf with Ricardo. Ricardo I had met on my first tour from Orlando to Miami. Ricardo is in his mid-40's and is originally from Venezuela. We bonded last time on a love of good home cooking and trying to learn each others native tongues. Es muy dificil!

Ricardo invited me to a work event where him and his colleagues celebrated Three Kings Day. I had never heard of this prior to that day, but it was a hoot! Everyone Ricardo worked with were from different Latin countries and the name of the game was cutting open a giant piece of snake like bread (Rosca De Reyes) to see if you got a little plastic baby Jesus out of the piece you cut. If you did get a little baby Jesus, you had to bring in a dish of food from your home country to share. I even joined in and got to cut a piece...but I had no baby.

After that, we went back to his place and went a few rounds trying helping each other iron out some language peeves we had. His was mostly the past, present and future tense, and mine, well, was the same but with trabajo. I don't even want to talk about it here because I'm just so bad at everything. I've been using strictly Duolingo so, you could almost say I'm not learning a language at all. But it's better than nothing and the more we spoke, the more words came that I knew came to the surface. This was a good feeling and makes that almost 200 day streak seem worth it. At the same time, it reminds me that there is no substitute with speaking the language with a native who is open and patient about learning your language.

The next morning, he made another killer breakfast and I was back on the road.

The following days found me stealth camping, something I haven't done since my early 20's. I forgot the fun of the hunt, looking for a perfect location to pitch up for the night. So many things to consider: are you hidden enough? Will this effect anyone around you? Are there going to be power walkers in the morning? Much like with COVID, this is a selfish act, as wherever I decide to stealth camp that I didn't pay for or isn't explicitly free, it's illegal and potentially dangerous.

Admittedly, the main driver at the moment for stealth camping is cost. Not because I'm not being frugal, I am, but because I'm just that cheap. Also, the state parks were charging about 30+ dollars for a tent camping spot. Sure, the cost benefit analysis of the danger I'd face getting spooked off by a shotgun or getting robbed is definitely skewed, but if you've found the right spot, it's more about probability. Keep it low and keep your mind at ease.

Johnathan Dickinson State Park - Just going to let some of these pictures speak for themselves. I met a cool person here named Katie. She, myself and her friend all walked around killing time until the sun went down so her friend could snap a picture of it.

I've been to this place before and it's just as magical the second time. There is a Hobe Sound Observation tower where these pictures were taken. But this place also has so amazing kayaking. Alas, it was just the tower and memories this time around.

Very close by was the Grassy Waters Preserve. All of the "trails" here where concrete enforced walkways that connected together. It was very short but very sweet. There are moments you can squint and see a Michigan bog, especially given how chilly it was that day. My friend from the other park joined as well.

And on that note, my first week of the tour is over. I'm very grateful with everyone I got to meet and stay with. For all the lessons I've been learning so far. I'm hoping for more to come. I also hope to post weekly, if possible. This time around, I didn't write until the last part of the week. This is fine, but looking at this now, I realized I missed some stuff, maybe personal stuff, that could go in here. At any rate, I hope you enjoyed some of the pictures.

I only did 3 workouts this week: Chest and Back, Shoulders and Arms and Yoga X. I'm hoping that my body keeps adjusting to the bike and I'll have the energy to fit these in a bit more. I know this is a bit crazy and this section may disappear as time goes on, but I still want to give it a shot.

The hardest thing so far is working out with the bands. Some exercises are harder, some are non-existent. If anything, overall some of the workouts will be easier, like in Legs and Back, since there isn't a way to use bands. At any rate, I hope to get used to them and switching out to figure out what's needed.

In this section, I want to talk about things that have really helped me and things that have frustrated me, both surprising and expected. Here is a quick run down:

Headwinds:

• Actual headwinds - They were a pain for a couple days. This is expected, I'm near the coast. Still sucks!

• Back issues - It's a new one for me. I guess I shouldn't have spent so much time in the Laz-e-boy?

• The sun - Although, much less eye burn than my last tour, Florida sun seems to be that much brighter. Even with better sunglasses and trying to look down as much as possible, some day, the retina fatigue is real.

• Couchsurfing, Warmshowers, etc. lack of replies - This is expected, but it still sucks. Thanks to the Couchsurfing paywall and COVID, the response rate is rough.

• Mpow Earbuds - Maybe it's my fault for going cheap on these, but the Apple Beats they emulate are crazy expensive. These are good except for one thing: the touch control. It's about a 50/50 chance it does what you tell it. So many times I've nicked it with my flesh and it'll pause a song, podcast or video on me. Really just more annoying. I need to get wired headphones.

Tailwinds:

• Daypack - Using my Sea to Summit day pack for a nice easy carry for stuff like my charger, wallet, etc. It's been nice to have something this grab and go and lightweight.

• Publix Deli - For about 8-9 bucks a day, I can have some good eating. I will miss Publix once I leave Florida.

• Great hosts - I may put this one every time, or at least in areas I can stay with hosts. For now, they go in.

• Libraries - For whatever reason, my last tour I didn't stop at almost any libraries. I have no idea why. Maybe because I worked at one for so long? At any rate, this is the first thing I do now for any new city I go into. You're not forced to buy anything, they generally have good seating and the wi-fi is good.