Check out some funny out takes from the road
Check out the entire collection of articles and videos from the DailyCamera
Now that I’m done, I need a job, someone please hire me!!!
Check out the final Daily Camera video, A1A to Key West
Yesterday I was enjoying the beach and today I am (not) enjoying the snow. Get me back to the warm weather!!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Here is the credit roll for everyone who hosted us on this trip:
Maine-Larry and Diane, thanks for the Lobsta!
Mass, Carl-Thanks for the amazing backyard
Boston-Morgan and Melissa-Thanks for being so cool
Rhode Island-Mark, thanks for taking to the ‘Middle of Nowhere cafe” Best pancakes ever!
GreenPort Long Island-Roberta and kids-You are great!
Queens NY-Melitza-Gracias por rescatarme en la lluvia!
Princeton NJ-Nate and Kaley-You were a bright spot amongst otherwise ugly NJ
Philly-Melissa-Great tour guide in a fun city
Delaware-Frank and Carmela-I will never forget those grilled Cheeses
D.C.-Brett-You should be the president
Fredricksburg VA-Judge Cox and Carol-Thanks for rescuing us off the side of the road
Dunsville VA-Connor and family-I will never forget our night in the barn cuddling up with Black Widows
Chesapeake VA-Lilly-I know I smelled bad when I arrived, thanks for the bath and the Bloody Marys
Jacksonville NC-Craig the Marine who scooped me up and saved the day
Topsail NC-The Hurst Family-Thanks for the beach house, I promise we didn’t break anything.
Wilmington NC-Nick at the bike shop-thanks for letting us ‘crash’ at your house
Myrtle Beach SC-Marty- your accent was as sweet as the food
Charleston SC-Billy and the boat-Thanks for the JagerMeisterdrinks
St. Augustine FL-The Wilkes! You are wonderful people, thanks for giving us your brother’s house
Daytona-You suck
Melbourne Beach-Charlie-You saved the day with your beers and great stories
North Palm Beach-The Wise Crew!-It felt so good to be part of your family, thanks for the Ranch dressing
Miami-Lovedy and Guillermo-You don’t live in Miami but thats ok, we love you anyway, your dogs are cool too
Plantation Key-The Blickenstaf’s-Thanks for a cozy night, the hot tub and a boat ride to breakfast
Big Pine Key-Bob,Lynn and Shelly at the Long Hair Ranch-You are the coolest high tech hippies I’ve ever met!
Key West!-We love you beach! I wouldn’t mind some cheaper drinks though, busted my back here.
These are just the people who hosted us, there are hundreds of others who helped in other ways along the journey.
Good Night and good luck….Until the next adventure…
The sun hung high in the deep blue sky as a slight ocean breeze ticked my face. To my left and right were oceans of turquoise water as far as the eye could see. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I pedaled across the final bridge heading into Key West.
My chain squeaked and sputtered as if to tell me that it had had enough. “Stop Ryan! Give me a break!” I promised to give my bike and body a rest in three short miles, once we reached the end of pavement on highway 1.
As we neared our goal, I cold see the bulky monument marking the southernmost point in the continental USA. I felt like a kid racing into a toy store, my excitement overpowering my tired legs. I stood tall on the pedals and pushed it like the racers screaming down the Champs de Eleyes. We made it!
We snapped a few photos on the beach looking toward Cuba and suddenly I felt a wave of emotions. I had been dreaming of this moment for months, but now that I was here, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Should I scream out with joy? Cry? Do a goofy victory dance? I did what my body wanted me to do, I plopped myself on the beach and gave my legs a much needed break. I looked out at the sea, listening to the gentle waves crashing on the powdery sand. In this moment of clarity, I began to think about all the amazing people we met along the way who made this trip unforgettable.
Our goal was to experience life at 15mph and this is exactly what we did. The slow speed allowed us to connect with people from every background. Rich, poor, farmers, southerners, northerners, beach bums, hippies, truck drivers, single moms, Baptists, Atheists, foreign, old and young. We met them all, and each interaction has a special place in my heart.
We set out most mornings not knowing where we would end up by days end nor whom we meet along the way. It was always a surprise and this is what made the trip exciting.
I never worried too much about how things would play out, I always had faith that around every corner, someone would show up and save the day.
Most times, we didn’t need to search for long, kindhearted people always seemed to come to us. This past week I met Bonnie, and after two minutes of knowing her, she was on the phone to a friend who had extra room for us to stay. In her sweet voice she said to me, “You look like you are my daughters age, and I would want someone to help her out is she were in this situation.” Hooray for moms, I love you!
I am incredibly thankful for all the people who graced our trip with their presence. Without the personal connections we made; it would have just been a simple bike ride. Pedal pedal, sleep, pedal pedal eat. The bike was just a tool that allowed us to discover the world at a slower pace.
When I look back on this trip and think of my favorites moments, they won’t involve my bicycle. The physical challenge was exciting, but it’s my new friends I met along the way whom I’ll remember most. I owe so much to these people for taking us in, feeding us, helping us when we got lost and giving us inspiration to continue riding.
The East Coast gets a bad wrap for unfriendly folks but we seemed to have found the best of the bunch. Not once did we meet an unfriendly face.
I was told many times by all sorts of people that what we were doing was an inspiration to them and that we were living our dreams. It’s true, this trip was a dream and I’m overjoyed that so many different people played a role in making my dream pass all expectations.
I will cherish all the special moments, from the countless smiles and waves we got from the road, to sitting in Connor’s rain soaked barn as he described in detail all of the ways I could be killed by a spider. It’ll take time for it all to sink in and as my horrific tan lines soon fade away, the memories will stick for a lifetime.
We made it, we made it! What a great feeling it is to be here. Maine feels so far away now, actually it feels about 2400 miles away. We pedaled through cities, through countrysides, in rainstorms, with headwind, tailwind, slept in barns, slept on train tracks and met countless wonderful people along the way. What an adventure it has been, something we’ll never forget (Our tan lines and sore asses will will fade away far quicker then the memories)
Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible and who warmed our hearts with kindness. There are so many good people in this world!
There will be more to come later, I have a Margarita with my name on it somewhere on Duval Sreet.
Hello folks, we are now on mile marker 90 and this means that we are 90 miles away from our final destination, Key West!
Yesterday’s ride took us through orange groves and all sorts of other fruits as we escaped out of the big city of Miami. By the way, Miami drivers are nuts, they honk, speed, disregard redlights and are just plain a**holes! Florida is winning on number of honks we have gotten. Hooray florida.
Yesterday marked a big moment on the ride. From now on, there will be no more getting lost or taking wrong turns. Why? Well, there is only one road to Key West, Highway 1 heading south. It’s island hopping from here on out.
Went through Key Largo yesterday, not nearly as nice as the Beach Boys made it out to be. I was hoping to hear steel drums on every corner and everbody sitting under palm trees drinking Margaritas. Maybe further down the road…
Now we are on Plantation Key staying with Ellen and Ron. Once again we have found wonderful people to share their house with us.
90 miles to go…I’ll be home by Thanksgiving and will be ready for some burritos.
Aren’t they cute? Our hosts in Miami, Lovedy and Guillermo, could not have been more accommodating. Last night they took us to South Beach and introduced us to the world of scantily clad Latinas dancing on bars. It may have been a dream but they all seemed to be wearing Cheetah outfits, rar! I could get into a lot of trouble in a place like this. Good thing we are leaving today.
This is our final triumphant leg of the trip, the part I’ve been dreaming about since Maine. Today we head out to the Keys along highway 1. It will take us out from the mainland to a world of little topical islands connected by one road, the road to Key West! 150 miles of ocean views in every direction.
I’ve got the Beach Boys song already stuck in my head, “Key Largo, Monetgo, ooh I want to take to to……
Thanks Lovedy and Guillermo for such a great time in Miami, I’ll be back someday and expect another visit to Mangos.
Click here for the new video in the DailyCamera
Ok, you’ve been waiting for it a week and here it is! The sixth installment of ‘Life at 15mph’ in the DailyCamera, hooray.
The video is at the bottom of the article, just scroll down to the bottom if you want to skip the reading and go right to the fun stuff. ready, set….click here to read the article.
You may thinking, Ryan said he is going to finish in Florida right? Isn’t the adventure over now? No! We are heading all the way down to Key West, the southernmost point in the Continental USA. Should be there in a few days.
Palm Beach was wonderful and once again, it was hard to leave such a fun loving family. They are full of good energy. Big thanks to Carol, Mark, Kellie, Blaine, Ted and everyone else who made our stay so special. Hooray for the North Palm Posse!
We rode alongside mansions all day long. From West Palm, through Del Ray, Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and into Miami, it was mansion city. Not to mention yachts, saw plenty of those too.
Getting into Miami, I noticed that we had entered the Latin world. Signs in Spanish, Meringue music blasting from cars and lots of ladies in high heels, why do Latinas love high heels so much? Fine by me.
After enjoying the scenery, it began to rain, and didn’t quit for two full hours. When I say rain, I mean intense tropical rain that doesn’t let up and instantly floods the roads. The riding was a little sketchy, especially in the Miami traffic. I had hoped that we were out of the rainy days but this storm blind sided us. Take a look at my poor little fingers, all pruned up.
After getting sufficiently drenched and plenty dirty, the sun decided to come out and save the day. Moments later, a gigantic rainbow appeared in the sky. How can I stay mad at the rain when it produces such beauty like this?
Now we are at the home of Lovedy and Guillermo. Lovedy is the sister of my friend Sarah, two small town country girls from North Carolina with big hearts and bigger accents. Hey Ya’ll! Anyway, they have a pool, and 5 minutes after getting to their home, I was in it, I obviously hadn’t had enough wetness for the day.
Tonight they took us to a Miami Heat game where I finally got to see just how big Shaq really is, even from high up in the third balcony the guy looks like a giant. I wonder how far he can ride a bike? Time to enjoy Miami.
To Infinity and Beyond! Found this little guy off the side of the road, pretty impressive sight. It’s amazing to think that this hunk of metal has been to the far reaches of space. Gives me hope that my hunk of aluminum can make it to Key West.
You’ll be happy to know that we survived our exciting camping experience at the construction site in Daytona. I couldn’t get out of that city quick enough! One of the major benefits of camping at a construction site is that they have Port-O-Potties! A great comfort for those early morning poop parties I seem to be having. Too much info? Too bad
Yesterday we went by the Kennedy Space Center, I saw a real live rocket ship and was even offered a ride to the moon. I almost took it but my mom wants me home for Thanksgiving. We also saw the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Coco beach. This place is open 24/7 and is huge, ugly and seems to cater to dorky tourists…dorky tourists like me! I was right there with em’ taking photos and pretend surfing on the benches out front. We were later treated to lunch by Dwight and Denise Wilkes (Our great hosts in St. Augustine). I guess they couldn’t get enough of us and felt the need to drive 100 miles to say hello again. Actually, they were driving home from an event and happened to be on the same highway. Wonferful people, I didn’t want to say goodbye.
That night we camped in Sammy’s backyard at Melbourne Beach. (his real name has been changed to protect his identity) Scott met him at a bike shop and he offered up a patch of grass and even threw in a few beers. Now listen to this, I thought that I loved bikes, but ‘Sammy’ takes the cake for true bike love. He once shot a guy for stealing his bike, really, true story. He chased the dude down in his car, and shot the little theif right in the foot. Suppossedly this all went down right in front of city hall, now that guy has balls.
Even after the story, I still felt safe, especially with all the Yoga and Zen books around his house. I easily fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean and the gentle breeze blowing through the palms. It is warm now at night, no need for the tent, I just stare up at the stars and dream myself to sleep.
Today we cruised 100 miles to North Palm Beach. Much of the day was spent riding on golf cart paths along A1A. I swear that Florida is one giant golf course, all the grass looks perfectly manicured and ultra green along the highways.
Tonight I’m staying with cousins of Billy (see Charleston) The entire family (sisters, brothers, cousins, nieces..etc) live within walking distance of eachother and they all came over tonight (Carol’s house) for dinner and a chance to see my great tan lines. By the way, the lines are getting even more sexy, if you can believe that. It is great fun to be included in all their family fun, they are a happy bunch.
I’m within 100 miles of Miami and the Latin vibes are pulling me in. Aj aj aj, el duzer viene con ganas de bailar. Photos coming soon.
