5 years later – Finishing the Southern Tier

Easy 273 mile day but that’s because I drove those miles in a car.

Still it felt Like it was full of adventures. I’m traveling on the adventure with my friend Bob, the most easy going guy in the world. Im not sure how I met Bob but we’ve known each other for years through shared bike rides and my friend Maggie too. Bob is my equivalent of the my first friendships with the boys on my block on Silver Lake Place. — my brother Charlie, jimmy kelly and jimmy Dunne, Chrissy Englart, and Kevin and Greg Connelly and Tommy Malecki. It was street full of boys and me, and we played kick ball and hide and seek and went ice skating on Lofts lake.

Back to Bob, he is one of the just two people in my bike world in Athens who also has done bike touring, and it’s Bob who I turned to for advice when I did my 2015 cross country bike ride after retiring. So, it’s appropriate that it’s Bob who is joining me as I finish my second bike ride across the country, Across the southern tier from San Diego to St. Augustine that ended abruptly (long story) in Tallahassee five years ago.

We are staying tonight at the Bike House In Tallahassee, equivalent to Bike Athens in that their main focus is to rehab bikes to get them to people in need. Here, though, they have space for bike travelers too. We had reached out to them about a month ago after I saw their name listed in the adventure cycling southern tier maps and they said they’d have space for us. Today,

Though, as we called to check in, we never got a response and when we arrived the place was locked up. For awhile we contemplated which patch of grass

we could set our tents up on but were wary of the local police or local homeless population giving us trouble. Bob reached out to another bike shop with hopes he could make a connection to the guy who runs this place, while I checked out the local Motel 6. Fortunately, Bob lucked out and before we knew it Cassie showed up and opened the place up for us. A bike wonderland in side with the best vegan restaurant and music venue right next door. Cassie may come stay in Athens with me on her own bike tour to a July family reunion near Augusta.

And so the world goes —- new friends and adventures await. 🚴🏼‍♀️💗🚴🏼‍♀️💗🚴🏼‍♀️🌸

Crazy truck called a Gladiator

With two motorcycles on it.

Blooming aloe

The Bike House

Cassie arrived to let us in

Bike wonderland

Mural

Vegan restaurant and music venue The Bark