Yes, we still love one another

Dear Readers,

We made it! Our bikes are packed up in the back of our rental car, and today we made over 120 miles up the coast without breaking a sweat. Driving sure is easier but not nearly as pretty.

Last time you heard from us we were squeaking our feet in the quartz-heavy sand on the Emerald Coast. Walking on the bone-white "sugar sand" as it's called sounds like you're washing a window that's already clean. The steady squeaking accompanied us down to the water for our first dip in the Gulf of Mexico at Rosemary Beach.

Squeakin'

The next day, we ate breakfast at the bright pink Sunnyside Grill and rode to Port Saint Joe, mostly hugging the beach along 30A. We got to see Galen, a Potsdam friend down there, and stay with his wonderful Nana. We loved watching The Currys play a gig that night at the Haughty Heron as the sun set behind them.

The Currys are Galen and his cousins Tommy and Jimmy. We had a blast watching them play!

This kid danced until he collapsed.

On Sunday we shot down to Apalachicola, which is known to some as the oyster capital of the world, and filled up on the famous invertebrates. They deserved their fame! And don't worry, we made sure to call our moms and mom-figures. Happy Mother's Day!

Delicious oysters!

We've been averaging one hotel per state, and we decided that we'd stay in our last of the trip in Sopchoppy, FL that night... mostly so we could line it up with our weekly Game of Thrones episode. The Magnuson Hotel was the nicest of the tour and our stay was so comfortable there (they had a great complimentary breakfast!). We totally recommend it to any cyclist looking for a little respite from the intense heat and humidity.

Cruising through the pine plantations.

After a long, humid day through rural, middle of nowhere, beautiful Florida pine forests, we arrived at our favorite campsite of the tour. We were so lucky to stumble on the Suwannee River Rendezvous Campground.

I don't like camping at RV parks, and I don't like that so few campgrounds even allow tent camping these days, only allowing more lucrative site rentals to campers and RVs. Grandma Susie, as she's called at the campground, explained that although they make most of their money at the RV park, they maintain some isolated tent sites right by the river. The upside is that they still have some nice amenities usually reserved for RV parks. Thus, we got to swim in the crystal clear Convict Springs by ourselves and then warm up in a really nice, clean hot tub.

Wildflowers- our constant companions. The species changed, the flowers hung on.

Historical note! Convict Springs was named as such because it used to be the site of a prison work camp. The prison was closed because the area was so hot and muggy that it was considered cruel and unusual to require hard labor there. Outside of the cool refuge of the spring we can attest that yes, that part of Florida is hot and muggy to the point of cruel- even by mid-May.

Suwannee River Rendezvous Campsite. Can you find the tent in the lower left quadrant?

We rode a short day to Ichetucknee Springs State Park on Tuesday and floated down the river for about 90 minutes surrounded by pileated woodpeckers, turtles, and cypress trees. I highly recommend it! We rented some rafts from a nearby RV park and ended up spending an ant-covered night there before riding to Gainesville on Wednesday.

Floating in the Ichetucknee

Cypress trees, like some other swamp trees, frequently have weird "knees" poking out of the muck. Their function is likely gas exchange but is still argued.

Once in Gainesville, we drank Gatorade (invented for the Gators football team) and hung out with a long-lost cousin on Will's side, then stayed with a family friend, Jonathan. We ate an amazing dinner and drank some tasty Florida beers at The Top (thanks Jonathan!), then had a great night's sleep before our LAST DAY!

I didn't know what my emotions were going to do as we rode into Saint Augustine. It was one of the hottest days of the tour, and riding was more comfortable than standing still. At least we got a breeze while we moved. Luckily, we had a smooth and shady bike path to lead us the first 20 miles out of Gainesville. The road got steadily worse as we approached our final destination.

Gainesville bike path

The bad roads culminated with the closest near-miss we have had with a car as a driver lost control of her vehicle and swerved off the road and into the ditch. She was covered in mud as she emerged but everyone was alright. We were again faced with how lucky we have been, and how safety is nothing to take for granted. Drive safe out there.

Saint Augustine's city gates.

So we rode. My eyes stung as we approached the beach. Maybe it was sweat, maybe not. We smelled brackish water.

Finally, the moment of truth. We dragged our creaking bikes across the sand and dipped our tires in the surf. No trumpets sounded, no parades came through, but we were there. We were done. We leaned the bikes against one another and jumped in the ocean.

We did it!

Stay tuned! Our tour is over, but we'll add details of our packing list and other information of interest to prospective bike tourists. We're so grateful to all of our hosts including Gloria and Steve in Saint Augustine, Bob and Charlotte in Savannah, and soon Melissa in Greensboro, NC. What a ride.

-SLL

4 States, 4 Days

Leaving New Orleans in high spirits we faced fair skies and long days.  Each day brought us to a new state and a step closer to completing our cross country voyage.  It really feels like we are nearing the end.  Less than 1000 miles now and the impossible has happened: I'm not getting nearly as hungry as I used to...  On our ride out of New Orleans I couldn't even finish a $7 po' boy!  I think that we have reached the stage in our tour where our bodies have gotten as fit at what we are doing as they can get, and no longer need the extra fuel to build and strengthen.  The timing is probably good (we won't need 6000 calories a day when we return to normal life) and this new development will be the best for our wallets in the end.  We really enjoyed Louisiana- the ecology and human culture made up for the rough roads and lack of shoulders.  

We had a night of ghost camping in Mississippi City after a 80 mile ride from New Orleans. Ghost camping, also known as stealth camping, is a popular solution for the thrifty bike tourist.

The next night we made a huge day of 105ish miles to Gulf Shores State park in Alabama.  The day was highlighted by a 3 mile long bridge to Dauphin Island followed by a 45 minute ferry ride to Fort Morgan.  We were grateful for the break to stretch and refuel.  The bridge and ferry also let us bypass Mobile, AL which we have been told is not the greatest city to bike through.

Shadowfax on the Dauphin Island Ferry

From Gulf Shores we were within striking distance of Fort Walton Beach and our first family connection since Tucson, Arizona!  Three of my dad's cousins live within 10 miles of each other along the Floridian coast and we got to see two of them!  Karen put us up for our Cinco de Mayo noche and served up Coronas and a Mexican casserole to boot!  We got to learn about family history and got to meet her son Mark who had a lot of knowledge that will help us with the rest of our journey to the Atlantic.  

The next morning we headed across the bay to Destin, FL where we had lunch with Diane and company.  A beautiful day led to some jet skiing in the bay by her house, a first for Sarah and me!  I am now writing this from a warm shower's host on Florida's "emerald coast" where we finally swam in the Gulf of Mexico!  We are looking forward to the rest of Florida and the weather is looking great.  St. Augustine here we come!

The quartet of states:

The family hosts!

Karen!

Diane and family!

The Emerald Coast 

-WJT

The Big Easy

What a crazy, explosive, thunderous couple of days we've just experienced!

When we last wrote, we were waiting out a thunderstorm on Pecan Island. Little did we know that our Louisiana experience would entail a lot more thunderstorm patience. We're with Beyonce though- give us lemons and we'll make lemonade. 

We rode through some real bayou conditions on our way from Pecan Island to Lafayette. Lafayette, LA is known for being the heart of Cajun country, and although it wasn't on our initial list of places to visit, it only seemed right to spend some time in such a cultural center while passing so closely by it.

Pelican Elvis

Another reason to visit Lafayette is that it's the home of many a Potsdam, NY transplant! We rolled into town and headed to David's house for some refreshing drinks and relaxation on his porch. We hadn't met him before, but he knew Will's parents and made us feel right at home. Josh Lazo, a family friend of Will's, has called Lafayette his home for the past few years too. He brought us over to Walter and Mary's place where we would spend the night.

We shouldn't be surprised by southern hospitality anymore, nonetheless I am always taken aback by the kindness and generosity extended our way. Walter and Mary treated us to red beans and rice, a Louisiana classic, and we lounged with them on their back porch as musicians began to pour in. Before we knew it, Josh, Walter, Ashley and Hoagie were treating us to a jam session/ debut of their new band. They don't have a name yet, but once they do I plan to look them up! 

The next morning, Josh took us to Lake Martin, a rookery near town. We marveled at spoonbills, alligators, and ibis. We hit up Hub City Diner to fuel up for our impending voyage half way to the Big Easy. It was there we ate our first (and NOT last) beignets. 

Lake Martin

We rode to Morgan City mostly on 182. We headed right for the Red Roof Inn, where they gave us a great deal and a nice clean room (only $40!). Everyone we met told us that we needed to get crawfish before we got as far east as NOLA. Who are we to disagree? Susie's Seafood was right down the road and came high recommended. We ate 8 lbs of crawfish that night. They were unbelievable. The waitress taught us how to eat them and later complimented us on our skills. You learn fast when you're hungry. 

8 pounds

Covered in spices

Very happy!

  

On Friday we rode into New Orleans following 90, more or less. We came in on a beautiful bike path along the levy, but eventually had to face reality. The Mississippi River was between us and our eventual beds, and we'd need to cross it, Friday rush hour or not.

Huey P Long bridge. Emphasis on the long.

We crossed the Huey P Long bridge into town as cars raced by, the sun pounded down, and sweat flowed into our eyes. Another levy bike path led us into Audubon Park, then through the park to Saint Charles Avenue. Huge mansions and enormous oak trees banked our route. Then we briefly rode through Bourbon Street. It was only 6:30pm, but nearly impassible. Drunken crowds deterred us and we found smoother sailing to our destination in the seventh ward neighborhood.

Storms. Many storms.

Our hosts in New Orleans are Kelsey, Luke, their sweet baby Mary, and sometimes Luke's son Roscoe. Kelsey and I go back to our rabble rousing days at SUNY Binghamton and it was great to see how her life has grown and changed since she moved down south. 

No rest for the weary! We missed my uncle and his wife while they were in NOLA earlier in the week (the aforementioned thunderstorm slowed us down too much), but we got here in time to meet up with my best friend since age three, Sienna, and her friend Kara. These two teachers were kicking back on their spring break, and we all had a delicious dinner and drinks at the Rum House. 

Saturday morning we got to relax with Kelsey and her family, eating breakfast and catching up. Then we all piled into the truck and went to a few garden work days to celebrate Permaculture Action Day. We explored two great urban farms and did some transplanting, weeding, hanging out, eating, and meeting excellent folks.

That afternoon it poured. It was a great opportunity to rest and read a bit at Kelsey's house as we recharged to go out again later. It rained so hard that the huge New Orleans Jazz Fest had to cancel its two main headliners for the night- Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg.

Once we had built up our energy some more, we went out with Will's friend from high school, Salem. He went to Tulane for college and stayed for medical school. He's about to leave for Florida, and we're glad we caught him while we could. He brought us to the famous Jacques Imo's restaurant. We were really rolling the dice on this one- the restaurant is known for its long waits even during the non-Jazz Fest season. We got to stroll around the neighborhood with some drinks while we waited for over two hours, and we had built up huge appetites by the time our table opened up.

It was worth the wait! Even the free cornbread muffins they brought us were extraordinary. Will's barbecue shrimp, my fish with mussels and shrimp, and Salem's lamb were so delicious that the wait didn't matter anymore. I was also not surprised in the least to see our first famous face of the trip. Maybe Jazz Fest brought him in, maybe it was the food, but I was super excited to see Craig Robinson (he plays Darryl on The Office).

On Sunday we got breakfast with Kelsey and Mary at the Buttermilk Drop Cafe and were walking home when we encountered Kelsey's friend who works for RUBARB Community Bike Shop (Rusted Out Beyond All Recognition Bikes). They had free tickets to Jazz Fest, and the torrential rain had scared off some of their participants, so she gave us some extra tickets!

Walking with Kelsey between storms

We waited for the rain to clear, but it quickly became apparent that if we wanted to go to Jazz Fest we were going to have to be alright with getting soaked. So be it! We donned rain gear and grimaces, and walked over.

Neil Young was playing to a crowd ankle deep in mud and water, and we couldn't get close enough to see him at all, barely close enough to hear him well. That was alright by me- I was more excited to splash over to the Blues Tent and see the great Mavis Staples. It was pretty dry under the tent and the crowd was giddy with joy- grateful to be out of the rain and awestruck by Staples' incredible voice.

We saw a few more acts but couldn't hold out too long. The rain, the chill, and my burgeoning head cold had us walking home after only a couple of hours, but we feel so lucky to have gotten to go at all, let along for free! Thanks, RUBARB!  We capped Sunday off with a prime Game of Thrones session with Salem at his place uptown.  What a day!

Beyonce's NOLA house!

On Monday we finally had a clear day and hit up some of the NOLA sights. We went to Camellia Grill for breakfast, then Humble Bagel for brunch. Don't judge us, we're touring. We rode by Beyonce's New Orleans mansion in the Garden District, then Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee with Salem. We walked around the French Quarter with Salem, checking out the market, some crazy antique stores, and went to the top of the Omni Royal Hotel for some amazing views of the Mississippi River and the city.

Compulsory Bourbon St. drink on Saturday night

View from Omni Royal

We finally had clear forecasts on Tuesday and hit the road. We send a lot of gratitude to Kelsey and Luke for hosting us, feeding us, and showing us around their neighborhood. I'm so glad we got to meet Roscoe and little Mary!

Mississippi, here we come.

-SLL

Moar benya plz

90 miles, 2 Bridges, 1 Ferry, then 0 Elevation Change

With fresh legs and full bellies we pushed off from the 105 Cafe in Conroe, TX.  Our sights were set on Beaumont, TX some 93 miles down Texas route 105.  With no turns to make and hardly any hills to climb we put in our right-side earbuds and tuned into our new favorite app:  NPR One.  Our favorite podcasts, hometown stations, local stations, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me, Nerdette recaps Game of Thrones! Radiolab! TED Radio Hour!... the list goes on.

We pedaled through pine forests, past lakes, along farms and through small towns such as Moss Hill, Sour Lake, and Batson.  We had a nice picnic at an abandoned restaurant and finished our near century ride by 6 PM.  Our Warm Showers hosts Joe and Catherine were ready with a hot shower and a beer as soon as we arrived!  To our great delight one of our first conversation topics was Game of Thrones.  They had HBO and were excited to watch!  Joe had even read the books.  We shared a terrific meal, some beers, and a wonderful hour of swords, Arakhs, spears, Valerian steel, and hounds.

The outskirts of Port Arthur were heavily industrialized

We had another early morning, cycling 23 miles south into the gulf breeze to Port Arthur, TX, hometown of Janis Joplin.  We took a couple hours to explore the Museum of the Gulf Coast.  Before we even gazed across the gulf we learned about its natural and human history.  From Port Arthur we had possibly one of the last hills we will have on our ride:  The Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge.  With stiff winds off the gulf we pushed along and with another smaller bridge exited Texas and entered Louisiana!

More like see ya!

The Ferry to Cameron

Thanks to Rosie Rivezzi (my mom) we stayed in the only motel in Cameron, LA and ate some great food at Anchors Up Grill.  We arrived at the Cameron Motel after a short ferry to get into town.  The motel provided a nice clean room, an escape from the humidity, and a place to tuck into our burger and po' boy from Anchors Up!

Fine eats and beautiful skies

This helpful map shows the yearly rainfall in Texas.
That is 6 inches on the far West and 58 on the East!

I am now writing this in the middle of a severe thunderstorm band that is racing along the gulf coast.  We are in Pecan Island, Louisiana with the terrific Juanita from Warm Showers.  She has been a WS host since before she even knew what it was, calling cyclists off the road and showing them true hospitality, whether that meant beer, a meal, a bed, or all of the above.  We abandoned our original plan of camping at a nearby state park when we heard about Juanita from fellow bike tourer (and fellow Surly Long Haul Trucker) Nic!  We met her during our lunch break and had plenty to talk about.  She is headed west, we are heading east!

With our sights on Lafayette and our eyes on the radar are waiting out the storm in comfort!

Till next time.

-WJT

Tribute to Janis Joplin at the Museum.  She was born in Port Arthur.

Bike Twins!  Nic and Sarah with their LHTs

Living the life at Juanita's

Homemade hot sauce swag!

We saw a bunch of gators.  This one was the cutest!

Keep Austin Weird

Let's catch up, friends. It's probably been my favorite few days of the tour so far.

Jimi, Alan, and me. Thanks to Alan's map, we had an incredible ride between San Marcos and Austin.

We left San Marcos on Wednesday, April 20 and our gracious warm showers host, Matt, and one of his tenants, Alan, biked us out of town past the start of the San Marcos river, and along the Blanco River. Alan frequently rides the ~40 miles between San Marcos and Austin, and he made us a really detailed map so we could take the prettiest ride possible.

Signs get shot in Texas. Just how things are.

Hung out with these Texas longhorns for a while, kinda scary, kinda AMAZING.

We rolled into Austin with Jimi, our companion for the preceding week, and said our see-you-laters. He's planning to stay in Austin for longer than us and after our visit, I totally understand why. It's because Austin totally IS the Texan utopia that you've heard it is. It's Portland, OR but not so rainy and way hotter. It's big, southern Ithaca.

Beia explains- "I love Austin because THIS is what people graffiti here!"

We hit up Cycleast, as per Matt and Alan's recommendation, and dropped off our bikes for the night (#separationanxiety). Then we caught a Lyft to our buddy Eric's house. It was great to see a familiar face! We got to open a package from our wonderful friend Jimmy full of treats, play some board games, and eat some really tasty ramen.

On Thursday, we woke up to rain and had a nice relaxing morning. Eric brought us to Taco Deli then headed off to work. Will and I went to the Capitol Building and discovered that it was the anniversary of Texan Independence- San Jacinto Day. We had a free tour of the historic building and were reminded multiple times that it's taller than the US Capitol building. We were able to tour the senate chambers and I totally nerded out about seeing the site where Wendy Davis did her historic filibuster against the restriction of abortion rights in Texas Senate Bill 5.

Spain, France, and Mexico all once held claim to Texas. Their crests are represented here alongside the Confederate and United States crests.

Hey, have you heard that the Texas Capitol Building is taller than the US Capitol Building?

After checking out the building (bigger than the US Capitol Building!!) and the grounds, we walked back over towards the bike shop. On our way there we stumbled upon something that I had heard of but hardly dared to believe truly existed- A CAT CAFE! The Humane Society sends a few lucky felines over to the Blue Cat Cafe to snuggle with folks. It's a vegan cafe and you're welcome to adopt the cats that you fall in love with over cream-less coffee (irony not lost).

Once we were fully covered in cat hair and pining over our cat back in Binghamton, we walked over to La Barbecue and met up with another Binghamton buddy, Beia! She's been living in Austin for a little less than a year and taking full advantage of all the awesome offerings of the city. Beia recommended La BBQ by describing that its brisket is "life changing". True. Get there early because their fare tends to run out and lines are often really long. We had short lines, but the only meat still available was brisket. No problem. Between brisket, chipotle coleslaw, potato salad, white bread and pickles, we were happy, satisfied, and full of new perspective on Texas BBQ.

Getting the Surly in top shape for the second half!

We then headed back to the bike shop. Cycleast opened up fairly recently, but is already just incredible. Russell, the tall, amazing proprietor, gives a great deal to cross-country cyclists. He spent about an hour helping fit me to my bike, addressing any and all questions I had about form, cadence, and more. It was the most incredible, patient customer service experience I have ever had! I would recommend this bike shop to anyone in Austin and anyone riding through.


Beia took us down to Congress Bridge to see a phenomenon that I had no idea existed in Austin. Every night at dusk, tens of thousands of bats pour out from underneath Congress Bridge in huge, flying spirals. I loved watching them, but I was equally enamored by the folks who chose to spend their evening crowded on a bridge marveling at the bats.

Na na na na na na na na BAT CROWD!

A statue dedicated to Austin's "favorite parttime residents"

We got to hang out with the best of Binghamton, Austin edition, on Thursday night. We had a great time with Beia, Eric, and his sister, our friend Ann.

Binghamton buds

Moring siblings!

The next morning, Eric took us down to Voodoo Donuts and we got a $10 bucket of day old donuts, ate our fill (plus 4 "road donuts"), and then brought the rest to the bike shop to share. We picked up our bikes and said goodbye to Eric and hit the road.

Many miles, many donuts

Friday was maybe my favorite day of riding so far this tour. We had a bike path for the first hour or so out of Austin and then had to ride on I-290 for a little while. Thanks to the gracious shoulders, that wasn't a problem. We got great barbecue at Southside Market in Elgin and then spent the afternoon on sometimes paved, sometimes dirt roads through the countryside.

Happy in the land of BBQ (Will is eating the last morsel)

A great Warm Showers host near Burton that night named Carol treated us to an evening in a quaint country bunkhouse, and we awoke rested and ready to ride the over 80 miles to Conroe on Saturday.

The ride to Conroe had us on some larger roads, but knowing we had another host to stay with that night helped us cruise on through. We arrived outside of our hosts' home and were warmly greeted by their golden retrievers... and a more surprising sight. A yearling doe ran out with the dogs! She didn't approach us quite as readily, but she lingered really close. When Sheila, our host, followed the menagerie out to greet us, she didn't seem phased at all by the deer, so I asked.

Sheila explained that she helps with wildlife rehabilitation in the area. Someone got caught trying to raise the doe as a pet, and it was Sheila's job to reacquaint the wild animal with what it meant to be wild. The doe wouldn't take the hint. She prefers hanging with the dogs. Sheila was also nursing a baby raccoon and some opossum babies back to health. Sorry for the lack of photos. Sometimes wonder, comfort, and exhaustion get the better of us.

We spent that night relaxing in a hot tub and chatting with George and Sheila. This morning they treated us to a great diner breakfast before they headed to church and we hit the road.

It's hard to explain the feeling of being over halfway done with our trip. I'm looking forward to seeing our friends and family, Zoola the cat, and to having a consistent place to rest my head. In a way though, this tour has become LIFE. This is what we do with our days. There's no question, there's just miles. I know when I wake up that I'm going to be riding miles and miles with my husband, and I know that we can do it. Shorebirds, crawfish, and bayous are on the horizon though, and all things must pass.

Shadowfax and Santiago, clean & healthy bikes. Thanks again to Russell and Jacob at Cycleast!

-SLL