December 10th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 22.7 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 7.6 mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 3h 00m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 788 miles (plus 266 miles)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
I think I slept about two hours last night. In about ten minute intervals. I could only sleep in the foetal position (not comfortable for me), and the ants/noseeums were biting all night. In the morning ants were all through my backpack, trying to get into my food bag.
Lesson learned: Don’t sleep under the Indian Key Channel Bridge.
As a result, today’s skating was tough stuff. Construction along the US1 highway didn’t help. Had to walk 2 miles. No, that doesn’t count towards the world record.
But I did meet some great guys at a kite-surfing/skate shop in Islamorada. I hope they email me with the name of the store. We had a chat for a few minutes while I waited for the rain to stop.
Chris, the guy in the middle, is originally from Mexico, and has contacts there and in Texas. He offered to help out with people to stay with when I got to that area. Thanks Chris!
From Islamorada to Key Largo, there is fairly major road construction going on, and I didn’t feel safe skating on the highway. This meant an hour long walk along the side of the road over rough gravel.
Coming into Key Largo, however, things improved a little, with a rough cycle path appearing.
Once in Key Larog I called Amy, a friend of Janet from the Scout Troop from two days ago. Janet had called her to let her know that I would be coming through Key Largo. Amy was happy to hear from me, and we arranged for me to stay the night at her family’s home. After an hour skate through Key Largo (a very long town) I arrived and met Amy and her family.
Amy is a part-time nurse in Miami. She works three days a week, so makes the 60 mile drive to Miami and stays there for the three days she works, then drives back to Key Largo for her days off. Her husband, Jack, is a marine supply wholesaler in Key Largo, and services mainly the powerboat industry here. Their two daughters are in middle school and high school. Their house is comfortably homely. Papers, magazines, and books lie in neat piles on tables. Megan and Erin, the daughters, arrive home from school and head straight for the pantry for an afternoon snack. Today’s was pre-made Chinese-style boiled wantons. A healthy snack by all apprearances. Later in the evening, Megan pulls out the Wii. The next generation of gaming machines, apparently. I’d never heard of the thing. Out of the loop, I guess.
Jack treated me to some great local food at Mrs Mac’s Restaurant. I chose the Monday Special – the meat loaf. A plate filled almost to overflowing with meat loaf, mashed potato, and green beans. Very good indeed. The walls of Mrs Mac’s were covered with licence plates from all over the country. I thought the Iranian licence plate I found on the road in Turkey would have fit in quite nicely.
Thank you Jack!
December 9th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 28.9 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 7.1 mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 4h 06m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 765 miles (plus 266 miles)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
Dry and flat with headwinds. Yes, the same as yesterday, more or less. I felt good in the morning after a good night’s sleep in the Castaway Cottage, and the Green Way cycle path out of Marathon was just what I needed in the morning. Sheltered on both sides and smooth ashphalt.
Before heading out of Marathon, I stopped by Radio Shack to have a look at mobile phones. I am considering getting a prepaid cheapie for my time in the US, as payphones are scarce, and many people have been asking how they can contact me on the road. Of course, up until now, this website has been the easiest way to get a hold of me, but I get the feeling that a mobile phone could be useful here in the US. I didn’t get one today, but I did have a look at the options.
Net 10 seemed to have the best deal for someone like me. I’ll only be in the country for about four months, and only want a real cheap thing. However, if anyone reading this has any advice on phones, then please feel free to comment and let me know!
The long bridges continued today along side US1 Highway. Despite the headwinds, the surface was smooth, and I plugged on along the Keys.
During the day I had to loosen the laces on my shoes all the way. I felt pressure on the bottom of my big toe joint, and I could feel the tell-tale heat of a forming blister. Taking the pressure off seemed to help, so I hope nothing bigger forms over the next few days.
By 5:30pm, I was shattered. I am definitely out of shape. Not even 30 miles logged today. There was nowhere to crash for the night except under a bridge. Cramped and noisy. Ugh.
December 8th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 33.5 miles
Average speed / 平均速度: 6.9 mph
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 4h 51m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 736 miles (plus 266 miles)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
Easterly winds of fifteen to twenty miles and hour. I was happy about that forecast yesterday. Tailwinds for Rob, I thought. I mean, I’m traveling west, right? Wrong. To get to where I can start going west, I need to skate up US Highway 1 through the Florida Keys, which goes east. Right into the wind. Not the most inspiring weather conditions. Flat and windy.
Good news was awaiting me after a mostly sleepless night on a hard concrete slab however. Check this out:
http://www.keynoter.com/articles/2007/12/08/news/news02.txt
Kyle from the Florida Keynoter newspaper interviewed me on Wednesday before I left Key West, and my story was published on the front page of the paper on Saturday! As a result:
- $2 received for Lowe Syndrome from a random stranger outside a convenience store
- $10 received for Lowe Syndrome from a driver who stopped as I was skating along US1 highway
- invited to lunch at a Scout Camp on West Summerland Key
- invited to dinner at Castaway Restaurant in Marathon
- place to stay in Marathon and Key Largo
So let’s start at the beginning. I spent most of the morning once again battling against the headwind coming straight ahead of me out of the east. It was somewhere on Big Pine Key where I met Janet, a leader of the Boy Scout Troop 573 from Big Pine Key. She saw me skating past the convenience store she was in, and she rushed out, calling for me to stop. Janet is about 150cm tall, and full of energy. The energetic Mum type. Gushing friendliness and concern.
“I saw you in the paper this morning!” she spouted.
A lanky guy on a bike, who was happened to be passing just as Janet was introducing herself interrupted. “You’re the guy skating from Key West to California?! Good luck to you man,” he said, shaking my hand.
Janet continued, saying that she had read the article in the Keynoter and had hoped to meet me along the road, to invite me to come and meet her scout troop. The troop was spending the weekend camping on West Summerland Key, just seven miles up the road. We arranged for me to stop by for lunch.
I continued into the wind, and arrived at the Camp Sawyer Scout Camp at around 12:30pm. Security was tight. A 2 meter high automatic gate blocked access to the driveway, with high wire fences on each side. Signs warning against unauthorised entrance adorned the fence every few meters. A sign on the gate advised guests to call the camp manager for access. I had no cell phone on me, so I waved to try to get someone’s attention - to no avail.
In the end I found a small opening in the fence and sneaked in. No one seemed concerned at the intruder. There were a few scout troops using the camp ground, and after asking around, I found Janet and Greg and the scout troop. All the usual quesitons ensued – how many miles a day, where did you start, how many wheels do you go through…
Codie, a fair hair youth of about fourteen or fifteen made me a Codie Special Taco for lunch. Beans, minced beef, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Delicious. Greg, a slightly balding, middle aged but clearly active and fit man, was baking ‘French Bread Pizzas’ in a dutch oven over coals in the fire pit. These too were delicious.
After lunch I showed the scouts the contents of my backpack. The most interesting item, it seems, was the Redbull Can Stove (see Scott’s Pepsi Can Stove for where I got the idea from). This lightweight stove runs on alcohol, and would be a worthy project for a group of scouts.
(With Scouts John, Codie, Zak, Aaron, and Daniel)
So a real big thank you to Scout Troop 573 from Big Pine, in the Florida Keys. Fantastic food, great guys. In particular thanks to leaders Janet, Greg, Donna, and Tom. Janet was very generous and even supplied some funds for my travel expenses – these I think will go towards a cell phone for the time I am in the US. It will make communications with media, sponsors, and other groups much easier.
Janet, apparently a bit of a networking genius, sneakily contacted some friends in the towns of Marathon and Key Largo, while I was talking with the boys. She arranged for me to meet Janis Short, and John and Arlene Mirabella from Castaway Restaurant in Marathon later in the evening. She also called some friends, Amy and Jack from Key Largo, and arranged for me to stay with them later on in the week when I traveled through that part of the Keys.
Between West Summerland Key and Marathon, there was one rather daunting challenge. The Seven Mile bridge. This bridge is, you guessed it, seven miles long, and joins Little Duck Key and the town of Marathon. It was hell. No trees to block the strong easterly wind, and the bridge has a hump in the middle. Height = wind. Not pretty at all.
Now, the fact that there is a big lump in the middle of this bridge would be a great thing, had it not been such a strong headwind. I had to push down the bridge, despite the grade being quite steep.
The traffic was heavy, the shoulder was covered in small stones and general road debris. Tough work.
I was glad to arrive in Marathon, and make my way to Castaway Restaurant and Sushi Bar. Here I met Bob and his friends from Sebring, in central Florida. They were a great help for my planning a route through Florida. “Sure, Alligator Alley is cool, but once you’re on the west coast of Florida, you’ll be in the urban sprawl,” they advised. The best bet, they said, was to head up highway 27 through the middle of Florida. Less cars, more open country. Perfect, I said. Looks like I’ll be heading up that way.
At 7pm I met with John, Arlene, and Janis. John has a great restaurant there at the Castaway Restaurant and Sushi Bar – excellent sushi, and it’s a bustling place.
John is having some major re-construction work done on the place, and it is sure to be an even better place to eat at once it’s all finished.
John kindly provided my meal for the evening. I tried the Spicy Tuna Sandwich - a tuna mix sandwiched between nori and rice on the outside. Delicious. I stayed the night in the Castaway Cottage, a small apartment next to the restaurant. I was able to do some clothes washing, and had a great night’s sleep. A massive thank you to John, Arlene and Janis, and the few locals I met at the bar. It was great to get a better understanding of what the Florida Keys are all about, and about possible future routes through Florida.
December 7th, 2007 | categorizilation: all categories,USA (FLorida)
Today’s distance / 今日の走行距離: 19.8 kms
Average speed / 平均速度: 13.2km/h
Time on skateboard / 走行時間: 1h 28m
Total skateboarding distance to date / 今までスケボで走った距離: 1132.04km (plus 428.5km)
Ascent / 上り: negligible
Descent / 下り: negligible
So, the trans-US skateboard trip begins. Set off from Key West at about 10am, and got about 4kms before spending a few hours at a shopping center on the edge of town shopping for shoes. As comfy as the Crocs are, they are not really the greatest thing for skating in. Bought some cheap skate shoes and hoped that they wouldn’t cause too many bad blisters. Bought way too much food – I am out of practice.
I was however stoked to find that tortillas are cheap here. Ready to eat wonders! All I need to do is find a store around lunch time to get some refried beans and some tomatoes, and I’ve got a quick easy meal.
Reality hit soon and hard however, and I realised just how much fitness you can lose in two months of doing not much at all. For more than two months I have been either sitting on a boat, or sitting around waiting for a boat. The lack of activity became apparent after only about 10km on the board; sore legs, sore feet, heart working overtime…
The road surfaces didn’t help in places, the shoulder of US1 often stony. Wide enough, but heavy in traffic also. In places, the Florida Green Way was a reprieve - a smooth cycle and pedestrian path that will eventually stretch all the way up Florida.
It was getting dark at 5:30pm, so I stopped for dinner – instant Idao mashed potatoes. I think the No-seeums (tiny bugs – smaller than sandflies – that bite) did better than I did for a nutritious dinner however. They ate me alive as I cooked. I slept under the eves of a closed roadside cafe.
