Bike From Gainesville to Micco; 250 Miles

In the winter break of 2011, Lunchbox and I decided to mount the fixies and trek across Florida. We biked from Gainesville, FL to Micco, FL, a little over 250 miles. The original goal was to ride to Miami, but due to an unfortunate injury suffered by LB, we had to cut the trip short. No worries; that just gives us an excuse to try again another time ;) This trip was even crazier than the last. What didn't happen this time? We each flew off of our bikes at least once, camped in a tent, stayed in hotels, got lost as hell multiple times, relied on the kindness of strangers, received directions from a couple of lesbians in a big ass truck, wandered foolishly into some hunting grounds in a forest and encountered a guy with a rifle who luckily didn't mistake us for game, got a ride through a route that was impassable via bikes from a guy who probably originally thought that we were terrorist trying to contaminate the water supply for all of Cocoa, FL.... It was quite the trip.

Here's the route on Endomondo: Gainesville to Micco

Here are the pics:

Heading out





Okay, the two pictures above: we were unfortunate enough to get lost here. As the story goes, Google maps (as it so often does) tried to lead us through a swamp. Granted we didn't know that's where we were headed, but we could still tell that the directions were sketchy. So we had no choice but to stop here and try and ask for directions. We spent a while debating whether we should go up (I mean, the signs aren't exactly welcoming). Once we finally decided to, we walked up as close as we dared and yelled. Some kids walking about a mile down headed towards us and just as they neared, they stopped near a home. I yelled, "helloooo, can we get some directions, please?" And then a voice from inside yelled back, "No!! Get inside!." That was that. We continued on the path which led us into the woods (and keep in mind that the terrain up until and into the woods was not ridable, so we were walking this). We continued for a while into the woods until we got to a fence. We finally decided to turn back. As we walked our bikes back, a figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere; a man dressed in camo hunting outfit with a rifle. Besides the kids that never helped us, this was the first person that we had seen in about an hour or more; we both stopped and thought we were dead for sure. I was like, "um, excuse me...where are we?" He said, "huntin' grounds" and kept on walking. We hurried out of there as fast as we fucking could. We made it back to the road (dark as hell by this point) and encountered some lesbians in a big truck. We told them where we had come from and one said, "Oh, you DO NOT want to go that way. That's leads to a swamp and there are bears that way. Yeah, you DO NOT want to go that way." She was speaking about the woods that we were just in. She was adamant to let us know that we didn't want to go that way even when I tried to tell her that's where we were. In any even, they gave us directions and sent us on our way.



A site for sore eyes after riding 75 miles the first day and getting lost in those fucking woods.


Directions for the first day.


Morning #2



Dam's Diner in Ocklawaha, FL. We met a woman here that gave us directions, because Google maps again tried to take us into some sketchy woods.


Across from the Diner



Spent about 7 miles or so on this road (SE 182 Ave Rd) adjacent to the Sunnyhill Restoration Area. While taking these pictures, a car stopped next to us and a woman warned us to be careful because there was a black bear about half a mile down from where we had come from.



As I fixed a flat tire, we saw the first cyclist we'd seen on the trip.


Burger King in Orlando, FL, day #3


At a park called Emery Hamilton in Orlando, FL. Beautiful park with a bunch of amenities which included a skate park and a bmx park.



The picture above: so our directions told us to take Wewahootee Rd to Cocoa Water Plant Rd to 520. There is so much wrong with this. First of all, the majority of the first two roads cannot be ridden on track bikes. Second and even more more important, a majority of Wewahootee Rd and all of Cocoa Water Plant Rd is restricted area which one cannot get past the gate without clearance. This was a major obstacle for us, and we spent about an hour on the phone trying to somehow get clearance to go through here. There was absolutely no other way to get to where we wanted without adding 20+ miles to the trip for the day, and it was already getting dark. Long story short, we convinced a sympathetic man that did have the clearance to give us a ride. Once he realized that we weren't trying to get TO the water plant, just trying to get THROUGH the water plant to get to Melbourne because that's what the dumb directions told us to do (and after asking us if we had any guns or weapons), he agreed. About 14 miles he took us. Bless his soul.


Pitch black wilderness. Imagine about 30 miles of this. We got stopped by the cops twice because there were gun shots (and of course there were barely even any cars out in this wilderness, so two guys on bikes looked suspect as hell). This picture sums up our last night of riding.


Roughin' it in Melbourne, Fl, day #4


On the first day of the trip, LB took a nasty spill in the middle of the pitch black road. We took a second, recuperated, and continued on without thinking anything of it. A day or 2 later, he felt as if he had sprained his ankle, though he didn't exactly hurt his ankle in that fall. Curious. I'll explain the rest in an upcoming picture.



This was monumental! We reached the spot where Faden hitchhiked from in the first trip (Bike from West Palm to Orlando). The gas station at US1 and Malabar Rd.


The final picture (outside of a Ruby Tuesdays in Sebastian, FL) Remember how I said LB felt as if his ankle was sprained? That morning I gave him an Ibuprofin, we wrapped it up, and we continued. He road for 25 miles before the pain become absolutely unbearable. There was no way that we could finish the trip. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but it was undeniable that his left leg was swollen. We walked about a mile to a shopping plaza and made arrangements for transportation to a nearby motel. The next morning, our good friend, Zack, came and rescued us and took us home to Miami.

Though we didn't get to finish our trip, we still accomplished a great deal. We'll definitely get it the next time.

Bike from West Palm to Orlando

DAY 1 RECAP: Yep, that's right: I rode my bicycle 184 miles from West Palm to Orlando!! It was a great two-day adventure. My boy, Faden, and I caught the tri-rail in Golden Glades at 6:18 on Sunday morning (8/14/11) and took it to the last stop which is Mangonia Park. We commenced our ride at around 8 AM. The trip was no easy feat. We trekked a hard 100 miles the first day which included getting completely drenched by pouring rain while crossing a bridge in Fort Pierce with winds so heavy that they blew the glasses off of my face (luckily not into the water below). After drying our clothes in some shelter we found and waiting out the rain for 2 hours, we continued. We got to Wabasso around midnight or so and were more than ready to crash. We set up the tent in a grassy spot near a gas station and knocked out.

DAY 2 RECAP: We were awoken by a cop at 6:30 AM. He was pretty nice though and offered us directions once we told him about our trip. He suggested that we leave, but we slept another hour or two once he left. We eventually got up, used the utilities in the gas station, packed up our camp, and set out for the last day. We trekked for about 20 more miles before Faden had to throw in his towel about 6 miles away from Melbourne. With a commendable 120 miles under his belt, he managed to safely hitchhike the rest of the way to Orlando. Determined to finish, I rode on. Day 2 included another drenching in Rockledge, though it was not as bad as the first day. I found shelter in a house for sale and waited out the rain. As soon as it was clear, I headed out. My favorite stretch of the trip had to be the last big 23 mile stretch when I started heading West toward Orlando on State Road 520. I was so excited to be heading West that I was pumping myself up by yelling and singing and verbally patting myself on the back to let myself know how awesome I was. I'm sure it was quite a sight for the drivers passing me by wondering how I got out there on a bicycle and why I was talking to myself, ahaha. I cycled hard and fast in that stretch, just anxious to reach Orlando. I made it to my destination at 7 something that night, almost 8, to be greeted by Faden and Lunchbox! We ate, and then headed to LB's pad in Gainesville where we spent a few days before taking a bus back to Miami :)

TIPS/MORE RECAP:
1. Plans to obtain a camera for the trip fell through last minute, so I was just going to use my phone. Unfortunately, it got fucked up in the rain on the first day and turned off completely until sometime in Gainesville. Be sure to keep your phone in a waterproof area, because when the rain starts coming down hard out of nowhere, you may not have time to put your phone away safely.
2. I'm dumb and I forgot the directions at home in a rush to catch the train. My iPad saved our asses! We used my phone to take pictures of the directions from my iPad, and then we used cardboard strips to write down the directions when my phone fucked up.
3. Its a GREAT idea to recalculate the route every now and again to make sure that you are still on track. I found this out the hard way when the directions we had were a bit askew and we added an extra 2 hours/about 20 miles to our trip.
4. We used the bicycle feature on Google Maps to map out our route. For the most part, it is extremely accurate, but I must stress again to recalculate every now and again to make sure that you are still on track!
5. We brought about 12 PB&J sandwiches, about 10 bananas, trail mix/dried fruit, and some granola bars. We each had half a PB&J, a banana, some mix, and maybe a bar each time we stopped (about every 2 or 3 hours depending on how we were feeling). We had food left over, so maybe we'll bring a little less next time.
6. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! Keeping hydrated is so important just to avoid cramps and to keep your body running smoothly. We got free ice at gas stations and then filled our bottles multiple times from the sinks of said gas stations and various water fountains. This worked until 6 miles from Melbourne where the sink water was yellow (the attendant even warned us not to drink it). I'm not sure what was up with that.
7. Be sure to keep in touch with someone that has your route in case of emergencies, especially if you're by yourself (my sister in my case).
8. I need some cycling shorts for my next trip; saddle sores are a bitch.
9. Everyone up north is strangely nice. And the mansions are fucking incredible!

EQUIPMENT: M-Wave 3-Piece Traveller Pannier, M-Wave Pannier Rain Cover, M-Wave Alloy Bicycle Carrier Rack (Standard), Coleman SunDome 7-Foot by 7-Foot 3-Person Dome Tent (Orange/Gray), Incase Skate Messenger Bag, Windsor The Hour fixed gear bicycle (Rick), and Windsor Clockwork single speed bicycle (Faden).

ROUTE: I tracked the whole thing with Endomondo, my favorite app that tracks running, cycling, swimming, etc. It tracks it live, so LB and Faden were watching "me" ride as I neared my location so they could come pick me up. I paused it every time we stopped, for accuracy. The Endomondo route is HERE (includes top speed, average speed, elevation, etc.) and the original Google Maps route is HERE if you would like to compare.

PICTURES: As I said, my phone got fucked up in the rain the first day of the trip and I had no other camera with me. The first two are pics from my phone before it went out of commission, and the rest are pictures that LB took with his cam.


My bike, fully loaded, at our first stop of the trip in Juno Beach.


Crossing a short bridge in Jupiter.


Faden and I upon my arrival to the Walmart in Orlando, both grimy as hell








It should be well known that Faden is an exhibitionist. His untoward behavior is usually at the expense of those around him. In this instance, he invented the naked flex where he strips down when you're not looking and flexes when you turn around -.-


















LB

Aerospoke

Sup with this brand new Aerospoke on deck?! Hahaha.



Well as the story goes, I got cut off by a car while riding in Gainesville during that trip a while back and ended up wrecking. I was completely fine, but my rear wheel was bent and couldn't be ridden. Maybe it was for the best because I ended up buying this rear Aerospoke. Shit is so goddamn smooth. I kinda want a front one too. Who wants to get it for me??? Lmaoooo

Gville part 2 x Talla-nasty

Made a video edit of a trip I took with some friends this past weekend to Gainesville and to Tallahassee. The 'Ville was to chill and Tally was for Fresh Fest 4. A successful weekend imo, though I didn't get a chance to really check out the skate plaza in Gville. Next time. Here's the edit and a couple of clips from the Tallahassee show:

Doppleganger

I swear this dude and I think way too much alike, haha. This was taken in front of Wayward Council (which if you'll remember is the dope little record store that I encountered during my first visit to Gainesville) during my second trip to the ville which was just this past weekend. I think some pics and/or some video(s) will surface of my band playing a show there, so I'll be sure to post that up when I get my hands on 'em!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Da Ville

First trip to Gainesville for the 4th of July weekend:
(Sorry for the quality; some were taken with my phone, and I had to resize almost all of them.)

Lunchbocks and I went to the Lowbrow show at this record store called Wayward Council (played with Hey Buddy, Gretzky, and Fleabag)

Hey Buddy


LOWBROW


Val made us all Hello Kitty waffles for breakfast while LB took care of cutting up the Mango


After breakfast, I decided to let the pyro in me come out to play

Val got scared when the flame got really big and poured a pot of cold water on it thus cracking the glass all the way around

LB found the matches that Val had hidden and I went back to town

We started getting nervous when the glass continued to crack, so we put that shit out

Lunch at Chop Stix Cafe

Eli joined us for lunch :)

Next to the raspberry flavored Italian soda that I had at Maude's, this Thai Iced Tea was the best drink that I had while I was there; SO GOOD!

Val & LB


We went to Maude's later which is a cafe that has a shitload of games like Apples to Apples and Connect Four

I slept over Eli's apartment that night. This is what happens when you forget your PJs

Went to a pool party/barbecue on the 4th. This house was so dope; a lot went on there from entering a secret room on the roof that had model trains and shit to accidentally having a mortar shot at me from the top of a school bus, ha ha

Eli, Evan, and Jen jumping off of the roof. I jumped off, like, 5 times; too fun (pictures of me jumping off soon--hopefully, lol)

Back to Val's that night to shoot fireworks and play with these long ass sparklers. Almost got into a fight with some dudes on the basketball court too, ha ha


Can't wait 'till the next trip :)