The Snake in the Lake

It was our second day at the Hostel in the Forest and we wanted to swim in the much talked about lake located in the rear of the property. We walked down the dim path with thick brush on both sides of the boardwalk. I was glad it was a boardwalk in place because people liked to walk to the lake at night and there is no telling what could be stepped on in the dark. We came to an opening that revealed a beautiful, alligator free lake. It could be debated to be a pond due to size but that really didn't matter to me. The mosquito's had been feasting on me all day and I was covered in sweat and dirt. I quickly tore all the clothes from my body and stepped carefully into the gleaming water. You can't do things like this in Florida or the south to be exact. Any body of water,  even the sea (in south Florida) most times is inhabited by these ancient creatures. As I disappeared into the water a sense of clam fell over me. The sun was beaming down and my skin invited the heat of the rays and coolness of the water. Fish were quickly interested in me. I suspected because of my dreads. They pecked at the ends of my locks to see if there was any nutrition to be had. It didn't bother me though, it was kinda cool even. I swam all around the lake. One lap, two laps, three until I made it back to where I got in. I had been swimming for over an hour now and needed a little rest. I wasn't successful in my attempts to get Gaby in the water at all.Now at the point of begging, she did decide just to wade. Once again the little minnows came up to me. I poked my tongue out to see if they would come nibble and free some dead skin off of me. I know that many women pay for this kind of treatment in a spa setting. Now my back was to the bank and Gaby was in front of me.She made a beautiful addition to my panaramic view. I continued to let the fish come eat. They were coming from every direction now. Suddenly their pattern changed. They all swam from my left to my right in one big school. I thought to myself that it was very odd that they were doing that. Just at that moment Gaby said to me in atone of  voice I had never heard come out of her mouth, "T, there is a snake right behind you." I felt an impending feeling inside me then I heard hsssssssssssss. It sounded like the snake was close enough to tell me a secret in my left ear. Knowing a little something about snakes I didn't want to upset it, plus I didn't know what kind of snake it was. So I eased ever so slowly in the water in the opposite direction of the mystery guest. I turned gently to see a snake that I had never see  before. I tried to look at it's head but it was moving around so much it was a little difficult to identify if it was a sort of pit viper. I did see that it had no rattle but did have a very big head and and some impressive girth to it. The four footer seemed to hesitate coming closer but didn't want to leave either. I felt anxiety running from my toes to my head. I thought to myself these kind of creatures can smell fear, and immediately I felt my heart rate slow. The snake was within striking distance from the second Gaby saw it, lond enough to where we had enough time to talk about our strategy for escape. Gaby asked what we should do.The thought of spalshing around quickly entered my mind but if it was an aggressive snake I didn't want to piss it off and encourage it to have a go at us. I suggested swim slowly( doggie paddle) to the floating dock but she wasn't going for that. She determined on her own to wait for him to be a clear distance from her then she bolted for the bank. I waited until I couldn't see him any more then exited the lake. The nerves had settled and I wanted to stay in but it was clear ( from Gaby's face and tone) lake day was over. Later when we looked at some pictures of snakes we determined it was a water moccasin. I didn't think he was moccasin because I thought all "cotton mouths" were black. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. Some one once told  me that I was protected by my ancestors and from the things that have happened to me in the past few years I do believe that. Maybe the snake in the lake knew it too.

Sunshine in Baxley, GA

             It's been awhile since our last post which was meant to catch you up. We are getting used to the flow of bike travel now and should be writing a lot more. The fact that we are in Baxley, GA and everyone seems to be angels has made it a lot easier for us to get Internet access. When you ride into Baxley the first place you see is a brand spanking new KFC but after that is City Hall. We were warmly welcomed by Raven and when we asked to speak to the mayor she says,"sure he's at his other job at peoples bank two businesses down." We went there and got our first mayors signature. I'm feeling pretty good about that I think we will cont. to do it. It also helped that he was nice and gave us some info about the Baxley. He also let us no maybe the newspaper would do a write up. We haven't made the time for media but everything in Baxley seems so easy and nice. It was right across the street. We went over and what ya know he did an interview and took our picture right then and there. 15-20 minutes tops.  Left there and walla in between the City Hall and the mayors job is the public library. The lady at the counter was awesome and let us simply use the computers since it wasn't that busy. All of this leads to me writing this post right now. I gotta say I'm digg'n this city.

This past week has been great. I have to say I wasn't sure about Georgia but I am very sure now that GA is a beautiful welcoming state. We are only half way through GA and I've met so many great people from Kingsland to Brunswick (where I had the experience of a life time) to now in Baxley.

Now we are on the road. It felt good leaving from a familiar place. We wanted to leave from Key West originally but it would be much easier on our nerves and wallets to leave from a place of comfort. If any problems were to arise we would be able to call for some assistance. Our path for the day was to take the Pinellas Trail to Clearwater Beach. It was a 30 mile bike ride, taking it slow was the plan. We knew some people that we would be able to stay with to save money. The temperature was around 93 degrees, this was about average for the Florida sun. One mile became five and five became ten. When got to our 15th mile we decided to stop and have lunch. We took shelter under a huge oak tree and munched on vegan jerky, liters of water and fresh fruit. The extra energy was welcomed dearly by our bodies. As the breeze streamed over our heads we smiled at each other at the fact that we had started our much anticipated journey. We climbed back on our bikes and kept riding. Now we had come to a spot on the trail that we had not yet reached. I didn't know there were so many bridges to cross. All-in-all there were roughly 10. We didn't want to push it too hard and expend all of our energy, many of the overpasses became underpasses. No need to build up lactic acid I reasoned. We trained for the tour but not very hard. Plus we never rode with our gear. Between the two of us we were toting about 60-80 pounds. Shear will and muscle memory would start us off. There would be plenty of time to build up in mileage.


Now we were at a point where we needed to get off the trail in order to get to Clearwater Beach. We upgraded our phone to include gps to aid us in our journey. We also saw a fellow biker who gave us directions to the beach. We were getting to the point where we just wanted to be there, rest was needed. We got off the trail and headed into down town Clearwater. I quickly recognized landmarks and knew which direction to take. I think my hunger was leading me as well. We made our way around a curve and there appeared the bridge to our destination, a damn big bridge. My thighs quivered at the thought of going over another incline but it had to be done. As we ascended we saw our path was hampered by a broken down golf cart that took up the width of the pedestrian part of the bridge. Some one was pushing it along. We happily hopped off the bikes a walked to the top. The ride down was incredible. The fact that we finished our first day after months of delays meant so much to us. This was the first day of sweat, triumphs, trials, smiles. We were just happy to be on the road doing what we set out to do...help ourselves and other people.

Pre trip jitters

                I cracked my eye lids to reveal just a glimmer of light seeping in through the blinds directly in front of my bed. I knew I had to get up early today but I could not help the sense of sadness and joy I was feeling. I knew that this would be the last time I slept in this bed, in this house possibly in this city as a St. Pete resident. I felt like there was so much to do even though the only thing there was to do was to ride. My mom got up a  little earlier that day, I knew that she would not get a good nights rest.She was worrying herself sick and us too. She tried everything she could to get us not to go but we had to do this, we wanted to do this.Any way she opened my door and let little Gaby in. LG as I call her was a energy filled boston terrier that adored me I and I her. She jumped on the bed and began to lick off all the traces of sleep from my face. Smokey, my dog of  7 years sensed the excitment and jumped on the bed to join the fun. She being the alpha dog gave Gaby a lilttle nudge so she could get all the places that LG didn't get. They like little kids began a sort of play wrestling but quickly sprang off the bed when they heard the leashes come out for their morning walk. Now it was time to get going. I brushed my teeth and put on my biking gear. The only thing there was to do now was to pack up the tent and wait for my dad to get home so he could see us off. I would have left the day before but it didn't feel right with out getting a hug from my daddy. We laid all our gear by our bikes and did a final check to make sure we weren't leaving any thing behind or taking anything extra that would slow our progress. Smokey back from her morning stroll knew what was going down. I had left her before to live in Hawaii for half a year and she knew the routine of preparing to leave. She laid down next to my bike with a distant look across her face. I'm sure some of you may think I am crazy but Smokey is a keen, emotional creature. But I had to go, no matter how hard it was for me and every one around me. My mom was keeping her distance this morning. I knew this was very hard for her. She tried to keep it from me but a daughter knows her mother like a mother knows her daughter. She came up to me and gave me a deep hug and said her goodbye's. I quickly ran for the camera to capture the moment but as quickly as it came...she was gone. Quick bye-bye's are the way to go with her. No need to show tears. Now we were packing up our bikes and the anxiety was building as high as the Rockies. All we could do was look at each other and smile and ask over and over, "Are you ready". If there was a time to turn back it would have been then. But we both knew we couldn't wait any longer to start our journey. In pulls my dad into the driveway. "Ya'll ready" ? "Of course", I replied. He examined our bikes and the way we had them set up. It looked as if he was trying to find a problem so we could delay our departure. But there was nothing negative to say. We took some pics, exchanged hugs amnd said see ya later. He was off to tennis camp and once again we were left with our nerves. I had mine in check. I never felt too nervous when I knew that things were going to be in my favor. Gaby was as nervous a 18 year old boy on draft day. The time had come. I said bye-bye to Smokey and little Gaby, took a deep breath and pushed off. We couldn't leave right away though. We needed to stop by the bike shop to get some air in our tires and a computer for my bike. We entered the bike store to see a nice familair face. Dave, the guy who had helped us in the time leading up to the trip. He filled our tires, hooked up a gadget to measure various things and installed an extra light on my bike. Exit the bike store and our trip begins. I immediatley wondered if the last pedal would feel as good as the first.

Goodmorning!

Here is our route plan. So far we are on track. We started in St. petersburg, FL and have worked our way up to Jacksonville, FL where we have been for three days. Today we will bike 70 or more miles to brunswick, GA and then head for Atlanta, GA. If you know anyone on or off this route that could host us for the night or who may need help with their diet please let us know.

The journey has begun!

Its been a while since we've posted and theres so much to say! Pictures will be uploaded as soon as we get our computer in brunswick, Ga which is our next destination. It's been a week and a half and we're already crossing the Florida Georgia line. I'm trully excited. There has been so many emotions from the night before we left up to the second that I'm writing this blog for you.

Bike touring is amazing! It's the only way to really see a place other than walking it. I would say to anyone atleast do a county. There have been great people and jaw dropping situations. Things all my planning couldn't prepare me for, like 5 flats in a day or not people able to stay in a city because of my color. I want to keep you posted as often as possible so atleast once a week there will be 2 to 3 posts. It would help if you let me know what questions are most important to you and it'll keep me motivated to find internet access.

          Anyhow remember to stay safe and enjoy life as healthy and fit as you can be.