Stupid Hurts

I headed out watching the sun set over Birmingham, Al. And I drove west. Crossing through towns like Brilliant and Gu-Win before passing into Mississippi. Luckily the drive was really uneventful, well until I started to hallucinate outside of Salisaw, Ok.

12 hours of driving later I was near her home town watching the sun rise over my shoulder.

And now we nap!

[tag]Orlando[/tag]-Hernando

I decided to go ahead and make my first day a high mileage day, probably not the best idea on earth. But then again neither is riding a [tag]bicycle[/tag] 600 miles.

My original route was going to take carry me up state road 441 until I reached Georgia. Unfortunately much of that road is under construction and lacks a shoulder. After an hour of worried if I was going to get mirror checked by a passing car I stopped and spoke with the awesome people of Sun Cycle Center. One of the clerks there had made the same [tag]ride[/tag] in the past and had a slightly more pleasant but little longer route in mind. So instead of shooting for Ocala for the evening. I will Instead be heading through Inverness and picking up a converted bicycle trail that runs to Dunnellon with should be nice since it is glass smooth and has no car traffic at all. Due to the change in plans it does mean I will be camping out tonight instead of staying with some, but after already bending my rear rim to the crappy roads of the 441 I think smooth [tag]trails[/tag] should be worth it.

I had decided sometime after 2 that I was going to stop for lunch at the next place I saw. Sometime after 3 when I finally came to a place I decided I couldn’t really afford to be picky and I should take what I could get. So I figured I could do worse and then cycled into the Colonial Fairways [tag]Country[/tag] [tag]Club[/tag]. Surprisingly enough they actually served me. The food wasn’t half bad either. But I have to admit the best part of lunch was hearing an old lay say “hard penis“ talking about her husband and then realizing I was sitting across from her chuckling to myself.

From there I continued westward until I got a little bit past highway 75 were I found a rarely used dirt road. Here I stopped for a bit and caught a nap, what can I say The miles caught up with me. It was also important I set up my tent once in the daylight first before attempting it at night. A few hours later I was back in the saddle and eventually reached Inverness where after stopping to get one of my favorite performance enhancers [tag]CAFFEINE[/tag]. I picked up the bicycle trail that runs north The trail is perfect: scenic well groomed and really smooth. I was able to turn my headlight off and ride by the moonlight while listening to the sounds around me for a few miles. Once I passed [tag]Hernando[/tag] on the bike trail I pitched my [tag]tent[/tag] and called in a night.
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Daily numbers
Miles:101
Average Speed: 13.6
Top speed: 27.4

Oh fu…. (cue internal monologue)

This must be what a lawn dart feels like. I look down at my feet and I see clouds between my shoes, I don’t want to look above my head. I already know what’s waiting for me. How did I find myself here I wonder. That’s right I wanted to ride my bicycle to the beach. I must have zoned out a bit back…….

WHOOMP!

Well that sucked. Let’s see, can I get up? Check.

Can I walk? Check.

Hmmm where is my bike? Good. Nothing seems broken, well back at it then .

It never feels good to hit the ground, at least this time I was lucky enough to land in the fairly soft dirt that caused me to hastily dismount my bicycle in the first place.

Sixty some odd miles later I did eventually make it from Orlando to Cocoa Beach. While watching the moon rise over the waves I had time to reflect. Honestly there wasn’t a feeling of accomplishment or anything. I had more fun pedaling out to Cocoa beach than I did visiting the beach. After a bit the fact I had just pedaled 80 miles sank in and I started to give thought on what to do next. Eventually I chose to ride back to Orlando that night. Unfortunately I learned that my limit for one day is about 120 miles before I collapse. So after a brief nap on top of a re-elect someone for something campaign sign I managed to pedal to a bus stop where I caught a bus back home. And I had time to recollect my thoughts.

Total mileage for the Weekend. 138
Total saddle time: 9 hours 48 minutes
Total signs defaced; 1

And further proof all the good names are taken. Cocoa has the worse name ever for it’s public transport. The Space Coast Area Transit. Who really wants to ride something called the SCAT.