Day 52 Marianna to Tallahassee , FL 80 miles
Day 53 rest Day. Last one taken in Tallahassee .
Before I get into the details of the rides for the past two days, I wanted to probe a little towards an answer to a question that a lot have asked. Actually, no one has really asked about this, but that is not the point I guess as I want to edge in here a little anyway with some thoughts. The area being, what do you think about during the hours of riding. You obviously have conversations, my riding buddy Gabe and myself have covered many a subject, but there is still a lot of time when it's just you. This personal time is not unique to just this trip and is actually one of the things that I like most about riding, there are times when it's just free flowing thought and just your world for the moment. I hope this doesn't sound selfish, it is really not and is hard to explain. But a sound, a smell, a view, so many inputs can trigger differing thoughts, memories, ideas, questions, etc.Indeed, this physical world of bike exploration can so easily and quickly lead to a vast variety of mental world travel also.
I enjoy these moments. You might be back in high school, reliving a good movie or book as I did with Lonesome Dove and Judge Roy Bean. Think of family, friends, issues, whatever. It is living the moment through the ride merged with those things that are simply you.
You have to be careful; maintain road awareness is foremost, but avoid getting a stupid song in your head, asking a trivia question that you can't answer, (Internet access helps here), thinking about the sheer mechanics of riding and how many times you have to complete the pedaling rotation in one day, (wears you out more quickly). When tired, I am convinced one foot goes around faster than the other, not a good thought pattern.
Here is an example of this thinking. I was thinking more about the argument that I had mentioned at Dauphin Island where I interjected a note about my mother in law. Wanted to once again repeat what a great MIL I had, BUT...I remembered this one whispered conversation at our wedding. The service was about to begin, I looked over and then overheard bits of conversation. "This could be a mistake...Are you sure...I tried, but...etc". I thought about this when riding and then remembered that was my Mom talking to Tina! Not my MIL, see it works. Thinking is good.
The ride. I combined these 3 days as they really didn't end. We left Crestview with map instructions that we haven't heard since west Texas. Leave motel, turn tight, stay on US 90 until destination. So we traveled 90 (miles ) on 90 (highway) with the temps in the 90s with the humidity in the 90s it seemed. Long, hot day although there was a breeze that you really noticed when it wasn't there. At those moments, ouch, we were in the sun a long time.
Route 90 doesn't change. Trees, fields, farms, ranches, see yesterday's blog. We enjoy the day and riding, but few new stories. We did find a store with freshly baked, home made, donuts. The ride ended at the Mosquito State Park. Why do people wear long sleeves and long pants and hats when it's hot? Find the answer in this park built apparently for breeding mosquitoes and then luring human food supply to come visit.
Dinner good, but quick. To the tents and DEET baths. Hot, humid and smelling of Deet, sleep is as slow of coming as the next morning's storm was quick in its arrival. Paul woke us up at 5, advised us to pack up and wait out the storm in the park's bath house. Severe storm warnings and tornado watches tend to do that. I was not sleeping anyway, I had seen the radar at 4:00 AM and could only think of the disfigured, weakened looking tree next to me.
The storm hit and then didn't go away. So, what do mature, mentally sound folks do? Ride anyway. 80 miles. The rain did ease, the lightning seemed almost distant and I had rain gear, so why not...actually many good answers to that, some of which I may need the next two days as rain continues. 5 more days to ride and 2-3 of those days wet. Where did we go wrong? Lots of thinking time ahead.
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