I knew I smelled sea salt,lime and TEQUILA. 388 miles - 8 days... Zoom in real close on the Marquee sign. It says Congraulations Cliff.. Chattanoogd to Panama City Beach. Still had to pay for my drink though. Had a flat tire 8 miles from finish. Next time Continental Gator Tires... Made with extra Kevlar. Old man signing off!
I can smell sea salt. Lime and something else... Heat relief stop at Gulf Community College Lynn Haven Florida. Feet are on fire. Heat Index in the 90s. May take a nap.
Top of only hill for the day... Still averaging 14.4_MPH. Short break to hydrate and then ride some more. 7:52 central... Starting to get warm I can smell sea salt from here in the air.
Third city in Florida... First stop of last day
Mile 8.85 and 42.5 to go. Flat is wonderful. Average speed at this point is 16 MPH. Won't last though because I have the only hills of today's ride coming up between miles 9 - 13. After that though things will get flat again. No cell coverage at all on T-Mobile or AT@T, so I'm sure live track only worked for a short while out of Chipley. Gotta go ride.
Compare this photo to the Google Street View photo I posted in today's blog. The road is actually better in Alabama. Note to Ed... I never found anyone in Alabama who had heard of you but they all knew Bo Jackson and Can Newton. Go figure!!
Mobile home was my shade at border till they came and took it away. Alabama movers drop it at the state line then these guys from Florida pick it up. Saves on licenses etc
First rest stop of the day- tried to get as much in as possible before heat sets in 8:22 am central. On a bench next to the cricket cage. Charging myself and one of my two cellphones. In Rehobeth... Isn't that Biblical?
South of Dothan off Shady Lane. I think this station was operational when Bill and I came by here in the 80s. Jimmy and Wayne eat your heart out.... He takes cars to Barret Jackson each year.
Grandson is named Calvin Clifford. Missy named him after Calvin Coolidge and me. Two people she most admires
Sunday,south of Abbeville Alabama, the extreme hills and mountains melted away into flat terrain as I came into Dothan. That wasn't the only thing that melted. The "feels like" temperature reached into the 90s. Gummy vitamins melted into one big blob, honey packs exploded, insulated water bottles became thermos bottles for hot Gatorade, navigational electronics started to fail, 70 spf sunscreen gave up, and I withered. I'm afraid the next two days will be more of the same. Only thing I can do is leave at first light and pray for overcast skies - even a light rain shower. On the plus side is the flatness! I had 12, 8, and 9% grades coming into Abbeville yesterday. Today's ride has one maybe 3% grade. The world is flat! Gotta go ride.
Pretty little town. Ate lunch at Huggin Mollys Cafe. Didn't. Expect it to be open but they just started opening on Sundays with a buffet. First time Ive eaten a real lunch on this trip. Dont know if that will be good or bad! I've got 22 more miles to go.
Stopped at 15_miles - again, lucky little tiny church. In fact church is going on now. Couple of members invited me in but I begged off. Just talked with an old gentleman named Ken who retired from Combustion in Chattanooga. Goes to church here. Gotta go ride now.
Yesterday I flirted with dehydration. I was trying to do 10 miles and then rest and rehydrate. It was hot and I let myself run out of fluids. Today, I'm going to do 5 miles and rehydrate. First 5 ended at a Walmart Supercenter. Lo and behold mile 10 put me at this really cool public park. Shade and restrooms. This place was destroyed several years ago by a Tornado. Army Corp rebuilt it. Legs are stiffening up but I remember the feeling from 30 years ago. I think its a build up of lactic acid in the muscles. Gotta go ride 5 more miles. Asked several people here at the Park if they knew Ed. Nobody did.
