Nice Green Bay Packer salute in Fanning Springs, Florida.
It’s official!
Found my Florida license plate!
Rain, rain…..go away
SUNDAY, 2:30 p.m.
Rain delay. Standing under overhang at BP gas station.
Me...
and a bunch of flies.
Sunday – Mangled mango – or not?
We’ll see how well a mango travels.
Saturday – Arrival in Orlando. Feeling “antsy.”
No chance to jump in the shot – I was busy putting out fire ants.
After 5 hours of delays, finally made it to Orlando,FL at 12:58 Friday night. Wait… make it 1:58 a.m. – – time change. Built a table fort in the corner of baggage claim and slept with a symphony orchestra – volume at level 8. Every 10 minutes there were friendly updates: ‘In accordance with Orlando law there is no smoking in the airport.’ There were also warning about the dangers of unattended luggage.
Got going around 5:40 a.m. Consulted with Murrell, a nice-looking TSA, with regard to directions. Murrell seemed locked on me jumping on a bus. When he left I jumped to Sidney. He was more reasonable. He shot me north out of Orlando International, over to Hwy 436, then 528 and onto Sand Lake Road and up 435 to Apopka.
Sidney also advised I leave on the second level, because if I went to the first they’d charge me to exit.
Welcome to Disney.
Took a quick photo in the wet grass at the entrance to the aiport.
Welcome to Orlando.
I kept my eye peeled for alligators, although I should have been more concerned about the fire ants. Dang, they’re fast…
Hwy 528 turned into a four-lane toll road, so I heaved the bike anvil over a 3-foot cement median and got on a frontage road. The Jamacian clerk at a car rental business across the road was watching the show.
I told him it only took me three elephant-heaves to get it over the wall. I clarified my directions while knocking down those nasty fire ants. The clerk caught on right away and every time I pinched one he’d say, “Fire ant, huh?”
We were on the same page.
No wind, very humid, overcast but no rain … yet.
Friday – Starting out with delays….
Started out with a one-hour delay in Milwaukee, and then a two-hour delay in Kansas City due to big storms. Stay tuned…
2012 Tour begins Friday, June 8
WEST BEND, WIS. – A couple days and counting before I fly to Florida to begin my annual bicycle tour. I’ve dubbed this tour ‘UGRR 2012’ – it will include three weeks of biking from Orlando, FL to Wisconsin via the Underground Railroad.
My initial plan is to head up to the panhandle and cross over into Georgia with my sights set on Monroeville, Alabama. I’ll play it by ear, talk to the locals and I’m sure they’ll point me in the right direction. It’ll be a fantastic.
My only other goal is to visit the Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois before returning home.
Early indications are the route is between 1,700 and 2,000 miles. I’ve already got my bike in a box, I’ve secured my maps from AAA and I’ve cleaned my house like my mother – I even wiped the drops out of the kitchen sink.
My flight leaves Friday afternoon from Milwaukee, I’ll land in Orlando around 10 p.m., put my bike together, catch a quick couple hours of unsettled sleep at the airport and then take off early Saturday morning. I can’t wait! Currently the 10-day forecast in Orlando is calling for rain and temps in the 80s.
Back in Wisconsin…
MONROE, Wisconsin – Aging red-wood barns, fields of corn, and grocery stores named Piggly Wiggly… I must be back in Wisconsin.
Cycled across the Illinois/ Wisconsin state line this week; a little behind schedule but that’s what happens when you have a plan – Mother Nature always wins.
Rain delays have forced me to seek shelter; in those times of urgency anything will do. Normally I prefer being indoors, but crossing through Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri I cooled my heels for about two nervous hours under an open-sided pole building across from Hillbilly Park.
It was a junkyard of sorts that sold itself as antiques.
It’s these kinds of places and the people that make the tour unique.
Hospitality & History
Riding a bicycle cross country makes it easy to stop or veer slightly off course and look at the sights. We’re the people that actually read the historical markers along the side of the highway.
I also find bicyclists are approachable by the locals. The bike is a common denominator, it helps break down barriers, and everybody wants to share the high points of their community.
In Freeport, IL a man with a bicycling background insisted I stop at Union Dairy. “It’s a Freeport tradition since 1914,” said Tim. The Union Dairy on E. Douglas St. was a worthy break. The two-sided diner, with an extra seating in the back, was a throwback to the 1950s with a front counter full of silver fountain-drink mixers surrounded by individual mushroom-size, stools. In the middle of the seating area, waitresses scooped sundaes, ladled hot fudge and squirted a tower of whipped cream on just about everything.
The menu at Union Dairy played off the neighboring historical site that marked the location of the second Lincoln/Douglas debate; a debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas that occurred in 1858 and focused primarily on the issue of slavery.
From the grill there was the Heated Debate – a burger topped with Pepperjack cheese and homemade hot and spicy sauce.
There was also the All Feta Up burger which was made with Feta cheese, black olives, and mustard.
And, of course, the Lincoln/Douglas burger topped with fresh prepared horseradish, Havarti cheese, ketchup and a pickle.
The ice cream portion of the menu featured treats like Dirt Sundae, Mint Melt Away and Razz-A-Mack which was two scoops of Mackinac Island Fudge, red raspberries, whipped cream, pecans and a cherry.
Those gut-busters ran about $5, not counting the Original Holy Cow which featured 12 scoops of ice cream and all toppings for $24.
I think the best recommendation I received was the peppercorn sweet potato fries. Orange and crispy and seasoned with a mix of salt and shavings of sharp peppercorn.