Shek's Footprint

77.91 miles later, my bicycle is resting in the living room of my friend’s apartmnt. The bike is ready to ride back to Jacksonville. I am not.

After the middleburgh rest stop at 23 miles, the girls kept riding. They refused to stop every 10 miles or so. I let them pedal ahead and stopped after the intersention of SR 16, 34 miles into the trip. I drank water, let blood flow into places starved of it and checked google maps to find the state park. We had decided to meet at the state park.

Feeling a little refreshed, I got back on the saddle. The road looked uphill as far as the eye could see. That can be a serious demotivator if you are close to hitting your wall. A few miles through, I saw the girls resting outside a white fence of some farm. They asked me to stop but I had a good momentum going. I didn’t want to break it. So, I yelled back,” see you at the state park” and kept going.

41 miles into the trip was Golden Head Branch state park. It costs $2 to get in for a bicyclist. I did not pay and stopped by a bench near the gate. By the time I had mixed a bottle of Gatorade, the girls arrived. They seemed to be in high spirits till they saw my exquisite roast beef sandwich. They had eaten soggy tuna salad sandwiches sitting by that fence.

This stop was also my wall. I had given in all I wanted to give to this trip. I wanted to give up. My butt was hurting but recovering well at stops. My upper back and right shoulder were beginning to hurt more reminding me of all the training I did not do. My legs and quads were totally fine. No sign of any discomfort there. I must have used gears properly. After spending 45 mins at the park, we headed towards Keystone Heights.

There is a new segregated bike path that starts outside this park and goes all the way to Keystone heights. It is about 6 miles long. We passed a lot of lakes with very low water levels. I guess some neighboring big cities (Jacksonville) are sucking up the Aquafir.

The ride though Keystone Heights was the best stretch. The road was curvy and a good mix of some downhill and some uphill. SR 21 goes through downdown Keystone Heights. There is not much shoulder here till you reach Melrose.

There is no better way to see Keystone Heights than on a bicycle.

We stopped at a gas station in the 50 mile mark before reaching Melrose. I sprayed all chains and gears with a grease. The girls got ice for their water. We should have stopped longer and eaten something. All I had was a drink of water. Right after Melrose on SR 26, five miles from this stop, my stomach told me I was hungry. I stopped and watched the girls ride away. After a snack of trail mix and water, after facilitating more blood flow, I set off again. This was 54 miles into the trip. The next six miles were slow. I saw the girls at some point way out in the horizon but never caught up wih them.

At mile 60, I stopped at the intersection of US 301 and SR 26. No sign of the girls here either. Under a shady tree, I devoured some more sandwich, some sweet potato chips and 16 oz of Gatorade. I walked and stretched. 30 mins after this stop, I set off again. The stretch of 26 after 301 is also a joy to ride in. Moreover, Gainesville city limits are less than ten miles away. I powered through this section using the remaining of my quads. The shoulder and arms were killing me.

A mile before the intersection of 223 and 26, the girls called me. They had taken a turn and weren’t sure of it. That was a good call since it would have added a few extra miles to their trip. I met up with them, snacked and drank water, then set off on SR 222. This is NE 39th street which goes along Gainesille airport.

The fast riding seemed to have taken a toll on the girls here. They no longer sped away towards their destination like before. Their speed was somewhere around 6-8 mph and they kept at it chatting and singing. I was having to brake in order to stay behind them. So I took off and reached the Gainesville city limit sign. After I took a picture and called a friend, the girls arrived. We spent more time taking pictures which should show up on facebook soon. With five miles left to go, we got back on the saddles.

We turned on Wlado Rd which has a segregated bike path into the city. Our speeds were a leisurely 10 mph on the 2 miles of this trail.

77.91 miles later, I was taking a hot shower in my friend’s apartment reflecting on this impossible accomplishment.

I did not think I could do it. My appreciation goes out to the girls who after exhaustion and severe sun burn want to ride back. I am catching a ride back. I am just not masochistic enough.

Posted via email from shek’s posterous