I first entered Florida 2 weeks ago to the day, and after doing many varied things, today I start the long ride back home.



We have driven 7748 km since leaving Edmonton and exactly 1700 km since leaving Key West, the most Southern point of our trip. The day starts ominously as I put my foot through the ****** of my riding jeans while donning them. The ******/inner thigh material suffers the most as it is in constant contact with the gas tank that vibrates at a very high frequency.

Now you might think that having your junk crammed up against a vibrating gas tank all day would be a pleasurable experience, but I assure you it is not. It is quite the opposite in fact. It gradually spreads a deadened numbed feeling that extends from the arm pits to the knee pits, that can take several days to dissipate after the trip is over. Much to the chagrin of all parties concerned!



So I put them on anyway, no one is going to see me while I am on the bike, and a few gas station attendants won't matter. As it turns out the additional ventilation is quite welcome! I make 3 stops today, and at each I look for/ask for a small sewing kit so as to effect repairs, but without success. Sadly as the day wears on the opening begins flapping in the wind and getting bigger, by days end it exceeds even my own generous tolerance for wardrobe malfunctions like this. I will need to wear my 'good jeans' from now on. When packing for a bike trip you need to look at the clothing you are taking because it is guaranteed it is going to be destroyed!

When I pick up my leather jacket, having not worn it since the day I came home from Fort Lauderdale I find it has finally completely dried, sadly shrank a bit and is hard as a rock, it needs a bit of work to loosen up once I put it on. It is also lighter than I remember it ever being. I depart the mo'tel that has been my home for 6 days. If I was smart I could have ordered some GoPro camera accessories and had them delivered here.

We are heading northbound on I-95 which runs parallel to the beach until we get to the Jacksonville bypass, then we pick up I-10 running westbound to Alabama and Louisiana. It is my intention to go through New Orleans so I can drive the bridge over Lake Ponchartrain. This elevated highway is 23 miles in length and 8 miles of it is out of sight of land.

My daily mileage quotas will be slightly higher than on the way down, we took 7 days to get to Atlanta doing 650 km/day, but my departure point is about 900 km farther east & south. I have 8 days to get home and want to do at least 700 km a day. I would like my last day, as always, to be a short day, maybe from my favorite town of Nanton.

The day's ride is quite uneventful, I fall into the riding routine very quickly. Within a few minutes on I-75 I am doing 140 kph, settled on the bike, comfortable, noise cancelling ear buds in place, Alan Parsons on the iPod.

About midday I cross into the Central Time zone, I will be chasing the setting sun each day so my riding days will be longer as well. Around 1700h I pull into the obscure town of DeFuniak Springs, FL about 130 km from the Alabama state border for a fuel stop. As I am pumping gas I notice an Econo Lodge over my shoulder and a restaurant bar advertising an all you can eat seafood buffet. It is a natural trifecta! I have travelled 720 km so all conditions are met!

The seafood buffet is a little bit of a let down, they in fact do not have a liquor license and the crab legs are the smallest I have ever been served, but hey, it was $15.00 bucks! I eat a mountain of crawdads, and have a bowl of a very passable gumbo. The nice lady keeps my glass of unsweet tea full to the brim and it turns out all right.

I am back in my room by 8:00 PM to do some serious catch-up blogging as I have fallen far behind. With this morning's entry about yesterday, I have caught up to myself, yeah! Also this morning the blog has exceeded 1000 hits, thank you for the support!

Talk soon!