I finally made it! I pedaled all the way across the United States! My trip started on January 6, 2012 in Yosemite National Park and since then I’ve ridden my bike 3,714 miles.

I want to sent out a huge thank you to everyone for your help along the way. I never would’ve been able to do this if it wasn’t for the support of all my friends and family.

I just measured my route for tomorrow and only 102 miles sit between me and the Atlantic Ocean. At this point, tomorrow can’t come soon enough. Just like the night before I left my home in Mammoth to embark on this journey, I don’t think I will get too much sleep tonight.

Today was a pretty easy day of only 73 miles to Gainesville, FL. The highlight of the day came right as I was finishing lunch and looking outside the restaurant. A familiar looking vehicle pulled into the spot right in front of me and two long lost faces emerged. My parents! They drove for most of the last 1.5 days to make it down here in time to see me finish. Although they had originally intended on showing up down here along my route as a surprise, they let me in on the secret about a week ago. I’m pretty glad that they did. If I had been riding along and came upon them randomly on the side of the road here in Florida, I think I would’ve probably had a brain aneurism.

I’ll finish my cycling tomorrow (hopefully) and then spend the day with my parents on Monday. Mom has to fly home Tuesday for work leaving my dad and me to take a little road trip back to Minnesota. We’ve discussed a few options including going down to Fort Myers for Twins training camp or heading west along the Gulf of Mexico through Alabama and Mississippi.

As I said up top, tomorrow can’t come soon enough! I can practically smell the ocean already!

 

 

I had to go west for about a mile this morning where I caught this cool sunrise shadow pic

Yup, I’m in the deep south.

Every single cow in this field was crowded under this tree to escape the heat.

Look who I found!

Fantastic bike lanes leading into Gainesville!

My riding buddy Bryon leading the way.

After pedaling all day, it’s practically impossibly to go past a Krispy Kreme store without stopping for a quick snack.

Almost there.

I made it another 83 miles today leaving me only 176 miles from St. Augustine! If all goes well, I’ll only have two more days of riding. Tomorrow I’m planning to stay in Gainesville somewhere with my parents. Mileage-wise, that means I’ll have nearly 100 miles to cover on Sunday. Go big or go home, right?

Today wasn’t quite as hot as yesterday so the riding was a little more pleasant. When I pulled into the town of Madison around 1pm, I discovered the five best syllables I could ever hear: KFC buffet! After polishing off seven pieces of chicken, I hit the road and the rest of the day flew by.

After camping near Monticello last night I have only 3 days left, including today, of pedaling until I reach the Atlantic Ocean! I’m in disbelief at how far I’ve come. In a little over two months I’ve logged 3,453 miles on my bike and I only have about 250 miles to go.

My parents left Minnesota last night so I’ll probably see them on the road tomorrow morning. It will be wonderful to see some familiar faces!

Yesterday I pedaled through Tallahassee and man was it hot. These are definitely the hottest conditions of the trip so far. There was a great bike path leaving the city that ran for about ten miles. After riding on roads and watching for cars all day, bike paths are a breath of fresh air.

I had my first experience at a Waffle House yesterday. It’s a restaurant chain here in the south and I’ve been biking by them for weeks now. My hunger finally got the best of me and I decided to make a pit stop for a mid-day snack. OMG! They served the best waffles I’ve ever had in my life (sorry Mom). Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that they were covered in chocolate and peanut butter chips. It was perfection.

This is Interstate 10. I pedaled on it the day I left San Diego and I’ve been zig zagging past it all the way across the country.

I made it to Chattahoochee, Florida today. It was a nice mellow day with beautiful scenery, smooth roads and not too much traffic. It was incredibly hot and muggy though. I must’ve polished off a dozen water bottles.

I’m still keeping my eyes peeled while passing every river or swampy ditch with the hopes of spotting an alligator. I’ve never seen a wild one so it would be fun to see (from a distance of course).

Here are a few pics from today.

I made it to Florida! I’m on the home stretch now. Only 424 miles to go until I hit St. Augustine and the Atlantic Ocean.

This is Donald, another cyclist we came across yesterday. He’s the honey badger of cycle touring. He’s been out for 19 months now of continuous cycling. He was just cruising along wearing crocs, no helmet and heading wherever the wind pushed him. He’s currently heading to the Mississippi River then heading north to visit Wisconsin.

We came across this German couple early today. They are heading from Florida to San Diego and then down through Central America.

And while talking to the Germans, this woman came along who was also heading east. Kind of strange to encounter two other groups of touring cyclists within minutes.

No hands!

A great quote that was brought to my attention recently (thanks Stephen Krcmar).

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” ~Ernest Hemingway

Despite a relentless wind today I was still able to make it 89 miles to the city of Gulf Shores, Alabama. My route brought me out to the Gulf of Mexico today including a ride along the Gordon Persons Bridge out to Dauphin Island. From there it was a ferry crossing over to Fort Morgan and another 22 miles or so into Gulf Shores.

Last night I got some incredible and unexpected news! Turns out I’ll have some familiar faces around for my finish into St. Augustine, Florida. My parents are planning to cruise down from Minnesota to cheer me on for the last day or two of the trip! I don’t even know how to describe my excitement!

I just did 400 miles in 4 days. Only 552 miles to go!

I’ve had a few big days and I’m really hitting my stride. Today was my third 100+ mile day in a row!

Yesterday morning I woke up to the strongest rain I’ve seen on the trip. It poured nonstop for a few hours, finally letting up around noon. The problem with biking in the rain is that no matter what, you’re going to get wet, either from rain or from sweat.

I met up with another rider, Bryon, heading east a few days ago in Eastern Texas and we’ve been peddling together for a few days now. It’s great to have another rider out there to draft off of and to chat with. There is no way I would’ve been able to do three 100+ mile days in a row on my own.

Today was much nicer with partly cloudy skies and moderate headwinds most of the day. After staying in the town of Bogalusa, Louisiana last night it was only a few miles to the Mississippi border this morning. Tonight I’m in a campground in Vancleve, Mississippi.

One thing that I’ve noticed about biking through Louisiana and Mississippi is that nobody ties up their dogs. I’ve been chased by at least 50 dogs in the last two days.

Tomorrow I’ll make my way into Alabama and down to the Gulf of Mexico trying to get to either Dauphin Island or Gulf Shores.

As I get deeper into the heart of Louisiana, I’ve noticed a few things…
-Every single store in this state sells crawfish.
-According to my rough calculations, half of the state is water.
-Graveyards are above ground. Presumably so the bodies don’t float away when it floods.
-Mosquitos are just as bad here as they are back home in Minnesota.
-Counties are called Parishes.
-Almost every small town has a skating rink.
-Every single road in the last two days had Mardi Gras beads on it. I could’ve easily filled up a paper grocery bag if I had stopped to pick them up.

I’ve encountered quite a few touring cyclists in the last few days. About seven by my count. I’ve bumped into one guy twice in the last few days who is heading the same direction as me and we both happen to be staying at the same cyclist hostel tonight. The “cyclist hostel” is actually a family’s house that welcomes cyclists. It’s a beautiful home that is finished almost entirely with wood reclaimed from old houses.

Since my last update I’ve travelled:
-3/7/12 – DeRidder, LA to Chicot State Park – 89 miles
-3/8/12 – Chicot State Park to near Jackson, LA – 102 miles

Today I saw lots and lots of headwinds and a few good bits of rain. The highlight of the day was definitely crossing the Mississippi River on the Audubon Bridge!