Start:
End:
Miles: 188 miles
Route taken: Route A1A north
to Route 16 west to Route 121 west to Interstate 10 west to Route 41
north exit
at Valdosta.
This was my first
turn west and the realization that I am heading
home bothered me. Every trip must come to an end and there is a part of
me that
wants to return, but there was still a bit of sadness turning the bike
to the
left and coming off the east coast.
My decision to take my time these remaining three weeks was
for two reasons. The first was I haven’t seen a lot of the South and
didn’t
want to be rushed by putting some sort of demand on how far I had to
ride.
The goal was to go 200 miles or less and the second reason
that wasn’t a problem was because of the heat. It is still summer in
the South
and despite being well past Labor Day no one has told the states of
With temperatures in the low 90s and the humidity bringing it
up even higher, riding about 30 to 50 miles at a time is about all I
and
Libertad can handle. She starts to really warm up and the air cleaner
cover
against my right leg starts to leave a little red welt. The seat feels
like it
is simmering under a flame and the insides of my thighs sweat profusely
through
my jeans.
Taking a break is good for both of us and by going through
small towns there is always a gas station to pull into and get out of
the sun
for a bit. I will top off the bike with super unleaded and pour a
little water
down my throat.
It is Tuesday and the small back roads I have chosen are even
less crowded than usual. That makes me smile. It’s too hot for deer or
other
animals to cross in front of me so I can relax a little mentally as a I
ride
and let my mind wander.
Today’s topic of discussion while I ride is death. I had a
friend die recently and have two other people close to me who are
having health
problems and it got me to thinking about my own mortality.
My lifetime has not been spent taking care of myself as I
probably should and it is starting to catch up to me. I ache more than
I care
to admit, nothing serious, though I have made it so. I did have a
doctor tell
me I needed to attend to a few things so I started doing that, but the
road has
been terrible from an eating standpoint.
Each city has a specialty food that identifies that part of
the region and I have noticed that none of these delicacies are very
good for
you.
In
Not even drinks are safe in
Not exactly on the Weight Watcher’s plan and I have noticed I
am gaining weight which doesn’t make me very happy.
I have convinced myself that once I get home I’ll start
playing ice hockey again and the weight will come off, but when you
worked as
hard as I did to lose some the weight it is disappointing to see it
come back.
Of course the simple answer would be not to eat as poorly as
I am, but when you are riding it is difficult to find food that is
healthy and
to be quite honest my discipline has never been that strong to begin
with.
As I am discussing this in my mind I see a barbecue shack on
the side of the road. I pull in and get half a chicken, cole slaw and
baked
beans with cornbread and sweet tea.
I am going to have to play a lot of hockey when I get home.