Pre-trip
planning Calendar
Travel Log:
End of Trip ~
Elizabeth and
Brian had to end their bike adventure because of sickness and cold rainy weather.
They went from Houston to Austin to San Antonio by car. They then went by
train to Sedona. They spent three weeks in Sedona and then came home with
plans to start again after they come home from the Peace Corps.
Day 26– Fri ~ March 30 (Weather nice.
Distance 0. Total distance
to date - 1282 )
Elizabeth is still sleeping and
trying to recover and get back to 100 per cent.
They are planning on leaving in the morning for Austin.
Aunt Katie is going to follow with all the gear so travel should be easy.
Planning to meet with friends in Austin.
Day 25 – Thurs ~ March 29 (Weather nice.
Distance 0)
Low key days.
Elizabeth sleeping a lot. Weather nice – a little drizzle.
Day 24 – Wed ~ March 28 (Weather
. Distance 0 )
Elizabeth had a bad night.
Felt really sick so went to the doctor in the morning.
She has an ear infection. The
doctor put her on antibiotics. They
went into Houston to get new tiers for the bike.
Went to a butterfly museum in the city.
They met Carolyn Durkee for dinner.
Carolyn was Elizabeth’s babysitter when she lived in Houston.
They had a fantastic dinner. After
dinner they went to a camping store and a bookstore.
The bookstore was in an old converted theater.
Elizabeth saw a Nifas restaurant.
Day 23 – Tues ~ March 27 (Weather
Distance 0 )
Storm, rainy and cold. Finished cleaning bike.
Went to the Sea Center. It
had a fish hatchery. Heard Owen,
Brian’s cousin, play the harp.
Elizabeth said everyone is really musical.
Elizabeth was feeling sick.
Day 22 – Mon ~ March 26 (Weather
Distance 0 )
Aunt Katie toke them around
town. Went to see the school play,
Beggars Opera, which starred three of Brian’s cousins.
They did laundry and cleaned the bike. Got bike tuned up, new Kevlar
tires. Sight seeing in around Freeport, TX and Gulf of Mexico.
Day 21 – Sun ~ March 25 (Weather great.
Distance 0 )
Went to church with Uncle John
and Aunt Katie where Brian met someone named Adela who is from the same area in
Argentina where he spent his mission. They
knew some of the same people. She
invited Elizabeth and Brian to dinner at her house that night. Spent one week
with Brian's aunt and uncle, Katy.
Day 20 – Sat ~ March 24 (Weather rainy.
Distance 40. Total distance to
date - 1282 )
Have met 7 folks biking since
their start in FL. RV with sign "Biking Across America for Cancer"
60 year old couple. Man's wife died of cancer. Brian noticed every fast-food place in LA has salt, pepper,
ash tray, and Tabasco sauce. Stayed
in De Ridder. Rain, and more rain.
Brian called his Uncle John and Aunt Katie, who picked them up and took
them home to Lake Jackson, Texas.
Day 19 – Fri ~ March 23 (Weather great. Distance
59. Total distance to date - 1242 )
Found a home for the puppy with
Bonnie, a cashier at the Winn Dixie. Met
George a man in his 60’s, from Texas, who is biking around the perimeter of
the country by himself. Went to
Mamou, a totally Cajun town. Everyone
was really nice. Went to Fred’s
Bar, famous for it’s French music. They
didn’t have music when they were there. Tried
Cajun food, which has lots of spices and pork.
Rode thru Bayou country. Roads
were bad (torn up for repair.) Saw
the crawfish farms and people craw fishing.
Brian had 50 gnats caught in his arm hair. Interesting fact.
Stayed in a hotel in Oberlin, Louisiana, a really small town.
Day 18 – Thurs ~ March 22
(Weather good. Distance 74.
Total distance to date – 1183)
Chilly
start the weather turned hot. They
found an abandoned eight week old puppy in a ditch on the side of the road.
Elizabeth carried him for 10 miles to a vet in Opelousas,
a Dr. Speyrer. Dr. Spyrer
gave them a milk carton they could rig on the bike for the puppy and he also
gave them some of his special seasoning salt ( his own special mix.)
Puppy was a mutt they named Chance.
They stayed in a city park that night and the puppy whined all night.
Day 17 – Wed ~ March 21 (Weather great. Distance 60.
Total distance to date - 1109
)
Averaging 10 mph because
of headwind. In Mississippi it’s
flat, windy. They were
surprised by train (out of nowhere.) Biking on levees & bridges.
Took a ferry across the Mississippi river.
They stayed in Simmesport where they had to get permission from the mayor
to camp in the city park. Brian zip
tied the park door and the next morning a construction crew went around to
another entrance because they thought it was officially closed.
Great headwind. Mosquitoes
are out in force.
Day 16 – Tues ~ March 20 (Weather cool. Distance 47.
Total distance to date - 1049
)
Poor gravel roads.
Met a couple from a company called BackRoads who want to hire them as
bike trips guides/leaders. Had
their first porboy sandwich and
catfish in Jackson. When to
St. Francisville and the Myrtles Plantation, most haunted house in the USA.
They went to house but entrance tickets cost $8 so they decided to just
walked around. They did see the
owner give an interview to some reported and they met one on the sons.
Stayed at a hotel. Went to
Sonic drive-in but they couldn’t hook up the tray to the bike so they sat on
the ground to eat. Stayed in a bed
and breakfast.
Day 15 – Mon ~ March 19
(Weather nice till evening. Distance 85.
Total distance to date - 1002
)
Very early start.
Camped illegally between the rows of a tree forest.
Day 14 – Sun ~ March 18
(Weather really cold. Distance 80.
Total distance to date - 917
)
Really really cold. Met Roscoe and Ann, grandparents who were biking to Florida
to see their grandson. They were
really cute – had all matching stuff. Crossed
the boarder into Louisiana. Stayed
in Bougoulsia. Camped on
someone’s property.
Day 13 – Sat ~ March 17 (Weather
cold and rainy ~ Distance 79 miles.
Total distance to date - 837
)
Rained last night. Rained in the
morning. Really cold. Crossed the
state line into Mississippi. Flooded
backroads and forests. Elizabeth
said the streets kept disappearing under water.
Heard there is a big storm coming.
Day 12 ~ Friday ~ March 16 (Weather ok,
strong headwinds. Distance 59 miles.
Total distance to date - 758
)
They
were in Grand Bay Alabama and visited Dolphin Island. They took a tour of Ft.
Morgan, a fort used in the Spanish American war to protect the bay. They
met two more people who were cross country bike riders and they exchanged
stories. Throughout the trip they have encountered a head wind and have decided
that the wind blows west to east on our continent and they should have started
on the other side. Ooooops, too late now. The regional American
cuisine has afforded them the opportunity to dine on boiled peanuts. Yummmy.
Liz is still doing great and Brian's bum knee is still giving him fits.
Day 11 ~ Thursday ~ March 15 (Weather
gorgeous. Distance 55 miles. Total
distance to date - 699)
Made it
to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Ended up staying in a hotel for a second night in
a row. It's spring break so all the camp grounds were full.
They had head wind all day, didn't make great time. Elizabeth said they
had a flat tire yesterday. Brian was able to fix it very quick. They
spent time today in Big Lagoon Park.
Day 10 ~ Wednesday ~ March 14
(Weather just ok, cloudy. Distance 80 miles)
Stopping
early because the clouds are coming in and more thunder storms are on the way.
Also there was an accident on the major highway so all the truckers are using
the road they are using. Elizabeth said they were sucking exhaust fumes
for hours. When asked to tell something special that happened today the
answer was '... everything is beginning to run together. Mostly we
talk about how hungry we are, where is the next bathroom and food.' They
are planning on staying at a hotel in Pensacola.
Day 9 ~ Tuesday ~ March 13 (Weather
pretty - cloudy. Distance 75 miles)
Made
it to the end of map 1. Stayed at a camp ground about 8 miles past
DeFuniak Springs. Camped on the shore of a lake. Eighteen-wheel
trucker pulled off the road and yelled at them for taking up to much of
the road. Truck vs. bike - sounds like the truck driver guy had other
issues.
Day 8 ~ Monday ~ March 12
(
Thunder storms. Distance 24 miles)
Only traveled 24 miles because
of thunder storms. At noon they were in a hotel in Marianna,
Florida. After long hot showers planning on spending the day doing
laundry, watching TV and ordering pizza.
Day 7 ~ Sunday ~ March 11(nice
weather - clear skies. Distance 84 miles)
Called at 4pm from Chattahoochee,
right on the Georgia boarder. Stopped at a gas-station/McDonalds in
Tallahassee.
Met a couple, Jason and Kerry doing the same trip, except Jason is biking and
Kerry is following in a SUV. They are also spending every night in a
hotel. Thought about spending the night at a hotel because, as Elizabeth put it "...in
desperate need of a shower." Made it to a campground in Sneed. The
campground was full of people because there was a big bass fishing tournament.
Day 6 ~ Saturday ~ March 10
(80 degree weather. Beautiful skies. Distance
72
miles)
All is well. They
are about 30 miles outside of Tallahassee in a little place called Monticello.
They had a great meal of BBQ, coleslaw and baked beans (I personally think that
anything will start to taste wonderful to them as they continue this journey).
Brian's sunburn is getting better (it was only on the left side of his body),
and his knee is not as sore, only one knee was locking up. Liz is in
perfect condition and just keeps on pumping. Their daily average speed is
about 14 miles per hour. They met a young man, Drew, who just turned
20. He was doing the same trip, but no maps. They all traveled
together for a time. For the first time they were turned down when they
asked if they could camp on property. Elizabeth said ' as a matter of fact
we were turned down a lot.' Someone finally said they could stay on their
land, but they
had to stay out past the tree line down by the road.
Day 5 ~ Friday ~ March 9
(weather
perfect ~ Distance 82 miles)
Called from Wellborn.
Stopped at the 'Orange Shop' which had samples of all kinds of oranges.
The owner treated them to a free glass of oj. They met a guy from Alaska
who was doing the same trip, except he started from San Diego. He had
started in early January. They are both a little sore and Brian is
wearing knee braces. They had to outride a rain storm and maintained an average speed of 20 miles to
get to the campsite fifteen miles down the road. They made it just before
the storm hit and were safely and dry under the tarp with the bike. Stayed
at the Swany campground.
Day 4 ~ Thursday ~ March 8
(weather
perfect during day ~ cold in morning ~ Distance 87 miles)
Weather still perfect.
Lots of Spanish Moss. Elizabeth said they were mooing at cows and started
a stampede. Stayed on the grounds of the Rustic Inn, a B&B near High
Spring, run by Tom and Wendy Solomon. They spent the evening and the next
morning with them. Stopped at a local joint call Park Side for
breakfast. Elizabeth had biscuits and gravy. Elizabeth and Brian
both think the gravy was lard!
Day 3 ~ Wednesday ~ March 7
( weather
perfect ~ Distance 78 miles)
At 5pm they were almost to the
end on the second block on Map 1. Elizabeth called from a gas station and
wasn't sure where they were, but the weather was great, saw lots of azaleas and
palm trees. At different times today they were followed by a yellow lab
and a black lab. Asked a EMT they met about staying in a church. He
had a doublewide he rents out and let them use it for the night. They
thought they had a problem with the gears on the bike, but it turned out they
were just going to fast up-hill. When they made it to flat ground
everything was fine.
Day 2 ~ Tuesday ~ March 6
(weather
in Florida perfect (high 50's - low 60's) Total distance 62 miles. )
Everything made it to
Jacksonville. The train was very posh - were able to sleep some. The
train was a little late and they arrived at 10:30 and them were on their way to St Augustine with a breeze at their
backs. Lots of bridges, had to
walk over one bridge. Brian has a sun burn. Goal is to go to
the first two panels on the map tomorrow. Saw the Atlantic Ocean.
Met a lady who's son had gone cross county by himself. Staying in a Pirate
theme hostile tonight. Hot showers and all you can eat pancakes in the
morning.
Day 1 ~ Monday ~ March 5, 2001
(weather in Washington - mid 30's)
Elizabeth and Brian left at 4:45 pm from the Amtrak station in Alexandria
Virginia. Destination Jacksonville Florida at 8 am tomorrow. Then
start of trip by biking to St Augustine.