August 1, 2012

By Matt Stoltz

Florida–Florida has been great to me so far! I’ve been pedaling for the last few days through more triple digit temperatures, but believe it or not, I’ve gotten used to the heat. Don’t get me wrong, it still bears down on me and completely drains the energy from my body. Though, I have been fortunate enough to be riding quickly the last few days in order to ensure I stay cool.

This is only my second time in Florida, the only other time coming back in 6th grade when my family did the Disney World excursion. It’s a hot state, but definitely different than Wisconsin! I was fortunate to ride past the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium on my way through downtown. I pedaled my way towards the coast, and saw the ocean for the first time on the trip!

It has slowly begun to hit me the vast distance I actually have biked over the last four weeks. One day at a time, one pedal, one mile, it all adds up and I can really feel the distance shrinking rapidly as I near my goal of West Palm Beach, FL!

I was able to stay with many great hosts, Travis and Shaula in Folkston, GA and their many cats were a lot of fun to talk to and get to know. We talked everything from Bulldog football to watching the olympics. They were great hosts, and very generous to us both as we stayed at their place.

Typically, larger cities are difficult to navigate with their many streets, odd intersections, and busy traffic. However, I was extremely impressed with Jacksonville, whether their well marked intersections, and clear directions I was able to bike efficiently through the city.

Once I reached the coast, I called it quits for Saturday. It was a hot day, and reaching the ocean was just about the perfect mileage scheduled for the day. We had an appearance at the Pig Bar-B-Q as well as Billy’s Boathouse Grill both had very nice and helpful staff, as well as AMAZING food. I ate well for the night and headed to my warmshower host, Al’s place for the night. He trains service dogs, and at the time had two puppies staying with him. They were a lot of fun to get to know, and Al had plenty of great fishing stories.

Today, I pedaled down A1A which basically runs right along the coast. It was a beautiful ride, and I encountered many other riders working out for the day. Though the sea breeze did cool me off a bit, it was a headwind and made the riding a bit more difficult for the day. I had some other delays with a draw bridge, and trying to find a bathroom. Apparently it takes 5 gas stations before one actually as an operable restroom.

The ride through St. Augustine, was picturesque with the historic aspects of one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was a beautiful city with lots of small shops and attractions. Highly recommend it to anyone travelling to Florida!

These last few days have probably been the toughest for me as I would love to be back in Wisconsin for my cousin’s wedding up in Marinette! I have three young Norwegian cousins, as well as my aunt and uncle Teresa and Jason visiting. I rarely get to see them as they live many miles away, and the young kids grow up so fast! It is always a blast to be called names in Norwegian by the youngsters.

After I finished my ride of about 60 miles, I was able to go for a swim in the ocean for a bit. Which was absolutely great! I had an appearance at Captain’s BBQ which also had splendid food.

My warmshower host Hugh had a great dinner waiting for us when we got to his place that filled us up even more! That is one of the best aspects about this trip, I can pretty much eat anything I want, and overall on the trip I have lost four pounds. It is unbelievable how much I eat. I eat, eat, eat, and then wait some time, and then eat some more. But hey, I can’t complain, it’s good food!

I am currently about 1500 miles into the trip and am nearing the final destination. The next few days are slower in mileage, and I am getting exuberant to encounter the rest of the east coast of Florida. I am off to bed for another early morning. Keep the donations coming at iays.org!

Just keep pedaling!