May 17, Day 57, riding day 50, Palatka, FL to St. Augustine, FL, 35 miles, 3,016.1 miles cuml.

We had our final ride today, from Palatka, FL to St. Augustine, FL. It was about 35 miles including getting to the beach and back to the hostel. We woke up to thunderstorms in Palatka, and delayed our start until about 7:30. We had a choice of two routes, and took the more direct route to have less time in the rain, shaving 10 miles off the scenic route. I had a flat less than a quarter mile from the start as a piece of glass pierced my tire. We changed it and I caught up to the peleton by 8:30, and I got to the hostel in St. Augustine at about 9:30, after negotiating the deepest puddles, deeper than my crank, due to the approximately 2.5 inches of rain and high tides that prevented drains from clearing St. Autustine streets. At least the water was nice and warm! I then went with Lee and picked up my rental car, and returned to the hostel, and got back on my bike and met the group at the appointed coffee shop near the beach at 11:30 for the last mile and photos. All of us rode in the rain except Eli who took a ride in the van. The EFI club ended at six, with Becky, Frank, Janet, Luke, Sharon and me as members. Phil certainly would have been in this group had he not been taken out last week with a broken collarbone. (We spoke to him from his home in Boise and he is already planning the finish later this fall when he is all healed up.)

We were met at the beach by Lauren (a solo rider who passed us in Texas and did the ride in 31 days, holy smokes and Karman, our Canadian pal who was with us most of the way. We took lots of pictures in the warm surf, and Luke and Lauren had a swim.

We then went back to the hostel, packed up, and met for a great final dinner with speeches and farewells. We were joined at dinner by Karman Harrop from Vancouver, BC and Emilio Dalmonte, an Italian who has worked for the EU in Brussels for years, Lauren, and Hank and Vira from Holland, who rode with off and on for the last three weeks or so.

It was a very good trip.

Some overall thoughts I collected, some relating to specific events; others are just observations:
Go beyond your comfort level
You can do it
Take it one day at a time, not 3,000 miles at a time
You can eat peanut butter 58 days in a row
Tires get flat
AT&T Wireless coverage sucks in New Mexico
Verizon Wireless coverage sucks in Louisiana
Leave early in the morning to beat the hailstorms
Arrive early to pick out the best campsights
Instant coffee is delicious
I can live in third world conditions
I can sleep anywhere
Colored Easter eggs cheer up a campsite on Easter
Google “middle of nowhere” and you get Buckhorn, NM
Google “southern hospitality” and you get Merryville, LA
Clean your chain
94-year-olds should not be driving cars nor insured by State Farm
West Texas is not a dry barren wasteland, it is a wet barren wasteland
There is in fact nothing between Phoenix, AZ and Austin, TX except Silver City, NM (cool), Ft. Davis, Tx (interesting) and El Paso (busy)
Wal-mart has destroyed a lot of small city centers
Scorpions hide under towels
Biking gives unusual tan lines
Adults can act like kids
Get a mirror and use it
Misery can be funny
Clean your chain again
Wear your helmet at all times
Don’t forget your wallet
Don’t lose your map
Read your map
There is lots of open country out there
Get a “daser” for dogs, or pepper spray, and ride fast as you can and yell like crazy, or better yet carry an aluminum baseball bat
Set a goal and do it
As my pal Bobby D says, it is a big country so get out of your recliner and get out and see it however you can, on a bike or behind the windshield
Budweiser creates the most roadside litter (except near fast food outlets)
People throw bottles in bike lanes
Don’t set your tent up on a gravesite
Don’t put your tent up under a street light
Be nice to border patrol agents along the Mexican border and they will allow you to pee in the non-detainees ladies’ room that has stall walls, no windows, no guards and no cameras observing you
Have a little fun and play “Born in the USA” on your loud-speakers while going through the border checks
Don’t pee while standing on a fire ant hill
Every downhill is paid for
Don’t use coffee on your oatmeal
Don’t make tea with the dish water
Line your tire label up with the valve the same way every time to work on flat tubes and tires
Take tweezers to pull micro-mini-sized goat-head thorns out of your tires

Bruce