January 5th, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 7.8 miles / 12.6km
Average speed / 平均速度: 8.6mph / 12.6km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 45 minutes
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1414mi (plus 266mi) / 2276km (plus 430km)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N30.25.08.5, W084.34.20.1
There comes a time when my body says STOP! Physically and mentally, traveling, buy any means, is hard work. With a more stable life comes patterns, regularity. With traveling, every day is a new environment. Constant adjustment is required. Add to this up to 100km a day skateboarding with a loaded pack, and the body needs time off to recuperate. And I mean, really lie in bed all day. Do nothing. I isolate myself from people, and just rest.
I stumbled upon the perfect place to do this, at Hall’s Landing county camping ground. Hot showers, quiet, secluded area, open fire pits, trees, a lake view…and best of all, free. Not a dime needed.
Such great circumstances undoubtedly attract more than just your random tourist on a skateboard. While long-term stays are not allowed, the campground was a temporary home to a handful of drifters, not too dis-similar to myself.
Charles, a gentleman of about 50 years old, who moved with a slow shuffle from a childhood bout of Polio, and sporting a few titanium rods in his neck from spinal reconstruction after a 42 foot fall from a power pylon two years ago while at work, is cycling around the circumference of the US.
Lee, another guy in his late fourties, is between work, having worked in Australia, Alaska, South Africa, and other destinations around the world.
Rich, pictured below, has been helping out at the campground for the last few months, and has his own home entertainment center well and truly sorted out in his converted panel van.
So in all I spent two days at the camping ground – three nights. I was entertained by stories from lifetimes on the road. Stories from ‘Nam…
January 4th, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 46.6 miles / 75km
Average speed / 平均速度: 8.5mph / 13km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 5h 21m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1407mi (plus 266mi) / 2264km (plus 430km)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N30.27.17.4, W084.28.53.9
Yet another smooth bike trail appeared, allowing me to get off the main road from near St. Marks to Tallahassee – the St. Marks Railtrail. Some signs on the trail didn’t exactly fill me with joy and excitement, but it was a welcome respite from the main road and continuing chilly northerly wind.
I didn’t get mugged, and arrived in Tallahassee late afternoon. I had to make the trek into Tallahassee, despite my dislike of large cities, to pick up a warm down vest that has been the focal point of a wee bit of a saga for the last week. The vest was ordered from Backcountry.com and paid for by Carlos Fernandez, of Key West. My thanks to him again for his support of my journey.
The issue came about just after Christmas, when the vest arrived in Tampa. Backcountry had sent the wrong size. I sent the vest back, and arranged for a replacement to be sent to a contact in Springhill. I would pick the replacement up when I arrived there. When I arrive in Springhill however, a completely different item had been sent to me. To their credit, Backcountry.com arranged for another replacement item to be sent ahead to Tallahasse, shipping of course paid, plus free return of the wrong item.
The saga continued to unfold when a few days later, Patrick, my contact in Springhill, called to tell me that Backcountry had sent the proper item to his place, rather than the Tallahassee UPS Store, where I had instructed them to send it. I had to ask Patrick to send the vest, at his expense, to the UPS Store in Tallahassee.
Now, when I arrived at the UPS Store in Tallahassee, there were two packages awaiting me. One from Patrick, and one from Backcountry.com. They had sent two vests out, one to Patrick’s address, and one to the UPS Store.
This messing up of the order was not the greatest first impression of an online outdoor retailer, I must say.
So, after picking up the vest – thank you to Steve from the UPS Store for his assistance – I headed west again. It was getting dark by the time I spied a sign indicating a rest area near Lake Talquin. I followed the sign to a state camping ground. US$26 a night was the going rate.
“There’s a free camping ground just up the road,” the camp host told me, “about three miles away.” He eyed my mode of transportation.
“But that’s a little far on a skateboard, I guess,” he said.
“Just pick a spot, and don’t bother me. You can move to the other campground tomorrow.” He kindly allowed me to stay the night for free.
Later in the evening, some more campers arrived, four Dutch travelers touring Florida by car. We took a ride back into Tallahassee, sampled the culinary delight that is Taco Bell (fast food at its generic best), and generally enjoyed telling stories of our respective observations of the US American Race.
This date last year: Day 165 – TURKEY: In Posof
January 3rd, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 52 miles / 84.8km
Average speed / 平均速度: 8.5mph / 13km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 6h 13m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1360mi (plus 266mi) / 2189km (plus 430km)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N30.10.29.3, W084.00.30.8
Brrrrr. I am glad that I was inside a warm trailer last night…below freezing temperatures in the morning this morning.
It was tough leaving the warm confines of Greg and Donna’s home.
It was a cold headwind once again until I got back onto highway 19 near Perry. The extra 10 miles worth of detour via Steinhatchee was well worth the warm locals and smooth roads, despite the cold wind.
The jerky Greg gave me was fantastic. He cuts and cures the meat himself, using hot coals. It is not overly chewy like some jerky can be, and full of flavour.
It kept me going along highway 98, the first real westward stretch of road so far in the US. I am finally heading west!
I have been listening to NPR radio on my little portable radio a lot these past few days. Keeps my mind occupied with current topics while I skate. Constantly counting from one to fifteen as I push alternately with each leg can get monotonous…
I found a nice secluded spot off the highway in some woods tonight. Another cold night, but snug in my warm sleeping bag and cosy tent.
January 2nd, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 42 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 6.8mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 6h 21m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1307mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: n/a
I spent last night in a very chilly campsite in my tent in some woods just outside of Cross City on the north side. Within moments of getting out of my tent, the condensation on the inner walls of the rainfly on the tent was frozen into a layer of ice. This morning is the beginning of the cold snap that was forecast earlier this week. I was quickly wishing I had more layers to wear, and imagined all the nasty things I could possibly write to Backcountry.com, concerning the mis-shipping of a down vest that had been ordered on my behalf by Carlos, an avid 14degrees Blog reader. The wrong size has been sent to me (no fault of Carlos), the replacement item wasn’t even a vest, and the correct item has been sent to the wrong place.
I wrapped up as much as I could, however, and despite my cheeks and nose feeling as though they would freeze off, once the sun came up I was feeling better about life.
The strong north-west wind was brutal all day, and despite the sun, I had trouble staying warm throughout the day. I began battling the headwind front-on along highway 19, but after an hour of that carry-on, came across a smaller road heading west that was just to inviting to pass up. Brand new black-top, sheltered on both sides by thick pine plantations, the road was not even indicated on my map.
The road, County Highway 358, led me to the small settlement of Steinhatchee, on the banks of another brown tannin-stained river. I stopped in at the only grocery store in town, and got a large cup of hot chocolate to warm myself up with. As I was sipping it outside, sheltered from the wind and in the sunlight, Greg, the grocery’s chief meat cutter, struck up a conversation. He was finishing work at 12 noon, and would be back home in Keaton Beach, about 17 miles from Steinhatchee for the rest of the day. He told me to come by his house on my way past and pick up some jerky he had made himself. With the headwind against me, I told him it would take me about three hours to get there. I wasn’t too far wrong – it took me all of three and a half hours, including breaks, to cover that 17 miles.
Halfway to Greg’s place, I found some shelter behind a state park warden’s hut near the highway, where I had lunch – peanut butter sandwiches. Two state park wardens were there, measuring up a very recently dead black bear that had been hit by a car. The black bear is protected in Florida, so any incidents such as this have to be recorded. The occupants of the car were halfway through skinning the bear when the wardens came upon the incident.
By the time I arrived at Greg’s place, it was almost dark. He invited me in, and I met his wife Donna. A semi-retired couple in their late fourties, they live in what is called a mobile home. If they really wanted to, they could put wheels on the house and have it towed to a different location. There are many of these homes in this area, some more ‘homely’ than others, Greg and Donna’s place certainly being one of the more homely ones.
A deck has been added out front, and a screened in patio out the back. Inside a modern kitchen is where Greg spends a lot of his time, doing most of the cooking at home. In the above photo, the warden on the right is Dan, from Perry. He had offered for me to stay at his place tonight, and at the time I was certain I would make it to Perry by nightfall. However, by the time I was going to head out the door at Greg and Donna’s it was already dark, and they offered for me to stay in their trailer outside – a large 23foot behemoth of a camping trailer. This sounded a much saner proposition than having to skate in the dark, so I ended up staying at Greg and Donna’s.
One thing that I have noticed in this area, is that all the houses are on stilts. Even large apartment blocks like the one in the left of the photo below. This, I have learned, is because if the tidal surges that come along with hurricanes in the area. The house has to be up off the ground, or it will be flooded. All new houses must be built this way here. Locals I have spoken to think that it doesn’t really help; the tidal surge washes away the foundations, causing the house to collapse anyway. With houses at only 1 or 2 metres above high tide line, I can see why any extreme weather would threaten real estate here.
January 1st, 2008 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 29.4 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 9.2mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 3h 12m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1264mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: N29.39.09.5, W083.09.44.7
I had to say farewell to Skip and Bob and their families this morning after a wonderful New Years celebraiton last night. Thank you guys! Perhaps someday I might even have to take up your suggestion that I make the switch from skateboard to Harley…
I spent all of today’s skating on the greenway trial that slithers its way from Chiefland to Cross City. This beautiful smooth asphalt cycleway meanders through forest and across rivers, including the Suwannee River.
December 31st, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 34.3 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 10.2mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 3h 21m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1235mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: oops, forgot
Had I just been able to skate along US19, it would only have taken about one hour to get to Chiefland from Gulf Hammock. As it was, not being able to travel along US19 because of here being no shoulder, I had to take a 30 mile detour. It was well worth it however, with state park and beautiful forest.
Quiet spring-fed streams flowed beneath the road.
A ribbon of smooth black-top stretched out infront of me. Jolly nice indeed.
I arrived in Chiefland at around 1pm, and gave the two bikers I met yesterday a call on my cellphone. Not sure if they were actually serious about having me over (New Years eve – supposed to be a family time!), I hoped they would take the call.
To my delight, Skip had already left two voicemail messages on my phone, and when I called Bob, it seemed that they were very happy to have me over. 15 minutes later they were in town in Bob’s big pickup to pick me up. Skip and Bob the bikers – great guys.
Legendary hosts, I was treated to a great New Years feast with their families at Bob’s 5 acre property on the outskirts of Chiefland, and an awesome fireworks party afterwards.
Once again I am amazed at the hospitality complete strangers have shown me so far in the US. Bob and Skip have the adventurer’s spirit, and what a great night it was.
Factoid: Did you know that in the Levy County in Florida, in order to be able to purchase fireworks, a form must be signed stating that the intended use of the fireworks is to scare pests away from your property. I can tell you, we did some serious scaring of the pests! All in a very responsible manner of course…
Thank you so much to Skip, Bob, and their families for a wonderful start to 2008.
By the way, here’s how I spent last year’s Christmas and New Years:
Christmas: Day 156 - GEORGIA: T’blisi to M1 Highway 50km mark
New Years: Day 160 to 163 – GEORGIA: From Atsukuri Village to Georgian New Years Madness
It was a tad bit cooler last year in freezing Georgia!
December 30th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 33.2 miles / 53.4km
Average speed / 平均速度: 10.6mph / 17km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 3h 08m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1201mi (plus 266mi) / 1932km (plus 430km)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: oops, forgot
Great tailwind blew me all the way to Inglis on US19 today. That was the fun part, along with great unadulterated mud bath wonder at a mud pit just outside of Inglis.
Unimaginably high, jacked up 4x4s pitted themselves against the waist-deep mud. There was a US$12 entrance charge to the event, but the gate people let me in for free for a peek.
After this however, the day sort of went downhill. No shoulder on US19 after Inglis meant that I was more or less risking my life on the highway. Speed limit was 65mph. Not fun. After an hour of carefully making my way along the highway, a State Trooper by the name of Scott saw me and pulled me over. After explaining what I was attempting to do, he said “And I was going to write you a ticket!”. Great guy, and very helpful. It was getting dark at that stage, and I was keen to get off the highway. Officer Scott gave me a map of the area, and suggested alternate routes. He also offered to give me a ride to the next intersection where I could pick up a less busy side road. It was very tempting, but I declined the offer. I walked the remaining three miles to Gulf Hammock.
There is a small petrol station at Gulf Hammock, and it was here that my luck changed. Enter Skip and Bob. Two loud, boisterous bikers with Harleys, kitted out apparently to make as much noise as possible.
I was in line at the petrol station store, buying two quarters of a pizza displayed in the food heater. Skip made the usual small talk, looking at my strange skateboard. “You gone far on that thing?” he asked. The usual amazement ensued as I explained my journey.
We were holding up the line in the store, so Skip, Bob, and I headed outside where we continued to talk. One thing led to another, and I was invited to spend New Years with them in Chiefland, 12 miles up the road. We swapped phone numbers and they left me to camp for the night at a small picnic area.
December 29th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 26.3 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 9.7mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 2h 46m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1166mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: oops, forgot
Thank you to Patrick McInnis and his family for the greatly entertaining stay last night. Nick and Hannah are very into magic tricks. they both had a few tricks that had me completely baffled. Luckily I had a couple up my sleeve that had them equally baffled.
From left: Nick, Rob, Patrick, Colleen (back), Hannah, Connor
The McInnis’s place is a lake-front property in Springhill. At least, it used to be. As with many other lakes in central Florida, for the last few years they have been receeding, to the point where many people who once were able to swim from private docks, now find their docks high and dry. This phenomenon is nothing new, apparently, with lakes drying up in cycles of about seven years.
It was smooth skating along the wide shoulders of US19 all the way to the Homosassa Wildlife Management Area where I stopped for the night. I must say thank you to Bones Bearings for supplying me with some super fast and smooth Bones Swiss ceramic bearings. The difference between my old steel bearings and these suckers is immediately noticeable. They roll much longer, and feel much smoother. Time will tell if they are indeed more durable than their steel counterparts which lasted 1,350 miles (with three cleanings and re-greasings).
Also, at last I had the opportunity to try out my new tent, donated by Carlos from Key Largo. Much smaller than my last tent that I used on the Asia leg of my trip, this little MSR tent is more like a framed bivvy bag than anything else. It is roomy enough however, and is well worth the weight savings over a larger tent.
I started the day with a mild headache and sore legs, however these ailments subsided as I skated through the day. Started reading the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The book was given to me by Eric in Tampa. Interesting read so far…
December 28th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 34.5 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 10.1mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 3h 24m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1140mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: oops, forgot
Mmmmmmm. Cycle path. Sooooo smoooooth. But no batteries in the camera, so no photos from the wonderful Suncoast Trail.
But here is where Winston and Jimmy from last night live. Right on the golf course. This is the view from their respective back porches.
I ended up staying with a wonderful local family tonight. Patrick heard me on 620WDAE Sports Animal radio show a few days earlier and had contacted me, figuring that I would be passing through the area. We arranged for me to stay the night.
December 27th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 18 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 8.8mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 2h 05m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1105mi (plus 266mi)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
End-of-day GPS coordinates: oops, forgot
Didn’t get away from Rick’s place until 2pm, but smooth roads today eased my transition from rest time to skate time. The tough skating to get through Tampa was made up for by the smooth Upper Tampa Bay Trail, which I followed for about five miles to its end near the outskirts of town.
The Upper Tampa Bay Trail dumped me out onto Gunn Highway. Gunn Highway is busy, narrow, and has no shoulder. I had to walk for two miles to find some back roads to make my way towards the Suncoast Trail trailhead – my goal for the afternoon. I figured that I would be able to camp out at the trailhead and start in the morning.
Things became interesting just after the nice security guards at the Chival gated community on the TPC Tampa Bay golf course let me take a shortcut through the community.
I was skating through the quiet neighbourhood, getting a little lost, when I happened upon Evan, Dane, and Alex riding their new Ripstiks.
I asked the guys which was it was to the trailhead, and before I knew it, we were swapping boards and having a great time skating up and down their street. The Ripstiks were easier than I had imagined, and I was scooting along in no time.
Enter Winston and Jimmy. Winston came across as a real life Home Improvement next-door Winston type. Friendly and energetic, he happened to be walking by as I was telling the guys about my trip, and why the heck I was inside a gated community. I told him that I was heading for the Suncoast Trail trailhead to camp, and he would hear nothing of it. “That’s just around the corner,” he said. “Stay here tonight, and start off in the morning! Unless you really want to camp, of course.”
The offer was too good to pass up, and Winston treated me to a great dinner cooked by Winston himself.
The evening was not complete without a visit to Winston’s neighbour, Jimmy. Jimmy is in the liquor business. He’s the kind of guy who smokes cigars, listens to jazz, drinks wine, and knows people. “If you ever get in trouble anywhere across the US, I know people,” he told me, giving me a serious look.
We sat up until far too late in the morning exchanging stories. Thank you guys for a most memorable evening!
