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The Freedom Pedaler train is still chugging along!   We are at 1,658 miles and feeling great.  Everyone is happy and healthy and looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead.

We Survived Gear Carnage 2015!  In the last month, this has happened…

1. We attempted duct tape surgery, but we lost a tent due to Biscuit’s ferociousness in protecting the family from scary monsters during the night [B: You are welcome]. A future post is coming related to how the situation was resolved, stay tuned.
2. The right shifter on Mark’s bike stopped shifting, which as you might assume, is its primary function. It also defaulted to the hardest gear possible, and stayed there.  It’s a good thing he’s a beast (or just held it in place by tightening the screw way beyond specs, you pick). Luckily, the Coral Way bike shop was able to get us a new part and back on the road in only one day.  Such fast and awesome service!
3. Left pedal on Mark’s bike started sounding like he was making popcorn. Popcorn is great and in fact, sounds really tasty right now.  Mmmm, popcorn.  But sadly, the pedal was simply exploding very slowly.  The Infinity Bike Shop in Melbourne was able to get us a warranty swap!  Again, great service!
4. Georgia’s dynamo hub began to make a grinding noise, then a grating noise, and then was perfectly quiet. Ahhh, quiet!  Quiet also meant completely dead, so we had to have it swapped out by Downtown Cycles in Ft. Lauderdale.  And once again, great service!  We have been very lucky in finding three awesome bike shops to help keep us rolling.
5. One of the inflatable sleeping pads began to excel at deflating. Two dunks in a hotel bathroom didn’t turn up the leak. Luckily, buying things via REI means no-hassle returns, so we are back to sleeping on air.
6. The bicycle panniers have suffered multiple attacks from squirrels and raccoons, two resulting in holes just big enough to sneak out peanuts and oatmeal. Duct tape to the rescue! Also, one of the bags started to separate at the seam in a warranty defect, so the manufacturer sent us a new one while out on the road.  Great customer service!
7. We had to replace the rear tire on Mark’s bike after just 1,200 miles. The weight combined with the trailer really shaves off the tread in a hurry.  We replaced both rear tires with a sturdier version and they have been holding up just great!

That’s a lot of stuff, most of which have just been odd one-off situations. It hasn’t impacted our trip and we have continued to roll on.  Just speed bumps, no more, no less.  There will always be circumstances that arise to get in your way.  You have a choice.  Hurdle it and move on, or get stuck and stop your progress.  We say, #justride.

We are almost back up to St. Augustine and will soon be heading west to new territory!  Oh boy, we can’t wait!!

For any of you not on Facebook, the Jupiter Courier via Lori Griffith published an article about our trip. Give it a read!  She did a fantastic job of capturing many aspects of the adventure.

www.tcpalm.com

Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit

 

1. The sun bleaches leg hair.

Well, only the hair on the top side. Mark sort of looks like a walking household laundry accident.

2. We activate stop lights.

You will see a lot of cyclists run stop lights because they don’t weigh enough to activate the signal pads.  We have enough junk in the trunk, it’s no problem.

3. Reverse tans.

Before anyone else gets a chance to give this type of tan a name, we are going to officially call it the Reverse Tan!  Any guesses on how this happens?!

4. We look like we are wearing socks, even when we aren’t.

Soon, we should be able to draw little seams on our toes and complete the illusion.

5. Salad tastes better when consumed in grocery store parking lots.

Maybe it’s the atmosphere, but the vegetables are crunchier and tastes more vibrant.

Summary

After a break visiting family (so fun!) and doing a little bit of income-generating work, we are back on the road!  Our original plan had us visiting the Florida Keys, but for various reasons we only went as far south as Miami and are now heading back north.  Once we get to St. Augustine, we’ll head west.

We plan to spend Thanksgiving on the panhandle, followed by New Orleans in mid-December.  It will be a chance to see some friends and well, take it easy in the Big Easy.  Since our plan is to stay south all winter, we don’t want to be in too big of a hurry riding across the Southern Tier states.  From New Orleans we’ll cross Texas, stopping in Austin, then on to Phoenix before turning northeast and aiming for Utah and Colorado sometime around April.  There is so much adventure ahead!

If you are along our route and are interested in meeting up with us, please let us know!  We are always looking for hosts and for folks to just chat with and swap stories!

#justride

Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit

 

 

 

Total Miles: 1,308

Summary

After 52 days on the road, we have arrived in Fort Lauderdale for 9 days of R&R with family.  We have an aunt from Washington, a sister from Iowa, and a mom from Kansas!  We are very much going to enjoy being at rest and soaking in some quality family time.  The pups are also very happy, as 10 hands to pet dogs is certainly better than 4.  Hopefully we don’t all get soft during this little break!

We are both trying to figure out how we traveled 1,300 miles by bicycle. With two dogs!  It seems like we did everything in such short spurts that it couldn’t possibly have added up to that much.  We are also shocked at how fast time is going…two months down already!  It’s crazy, but it’s been crazy good too.

We thought some of you might have some of same questions we commonly receive these days.  Here they are!

Has it been worth it?

Yes, absolutely, and without a doubt.  We put in a lot of time, effort, and money into getting ready for this trip.  If the trip ended today, it was all worth it.  At least for a little bit, we were free.  We chased dreams.  We have lived our lives in the moment, while having incredible memories to relive and so many fun things in our future.

Do you foresee yourself finishing out the entire year?

Bring it. YES! We can’t think of a single reason to stop.  If we encounter a physical issue we can’t resolve, perhaps, but we have so many fun stops in our future, we don’t want to miss any of them.  Plus, who are we going to meet tomorrow?  What is their story going to be?  Yes, let’s roll on.

Do we argue?

No.  Is that surprising?  We work daily toward common goals, and those goals are very simple.  Food.  Water.  Shelter.  We have to be a team, all four of us.  For this trip to be successful, we have to support and care for each other.  Plus, we don’t have time or energy to argue over petty things.  How many folks argue over TV channels, toilet seats, and taking out the trash? Or even more serious things, like finances, jobs, and buying a new house?  We don’t have a TV, toilet, and no plans to buy a house.  We don’t have jobs.  And our finances are contained to 25 lines on a spreadsheet.  What is there to argue about?  Nothing important, so we don’t.

What is next?

After this visit, we’ll continue south and go at least partway down the Keys before heading back north and then west across the panhandle.  More cycling adventure to come in about a week!

• Mark, Georgia, Junebug and Biscuit