Just 2.5 miles south of the motel was a sign I didn't expect
to see in Florida. I didn't know they had bears in Florida. I need to learn
more about these bears. I didn't see any.Friday, November 1, 1996
Time out: 9:05 AM. Temp. 82°.
I ate french toast at the restaurant at the Lake Placid Inn (excellent--some of the best since I cooked it myself in Michigan). Only because my conscience tells me to start tapering off my caloric intake as I near the end of my journey, did I eat only one order.
Just 2.5 miles south of the motel was a sign I didn't expect
to see in Florida. I didn't know they had bears in Florida. I need to learn
more about these bears. I didn't see any.
I passed an orange grove that went on for at least 6 miles on both sides of the highway. The orange trees were planted in sand. The entire orange grove seemed to be one giant sand dune.
I threw out my dog treats last night because I thought they might attract bugs. I'd never used them. Though a 10 year old was killed yesterday by 6 loose dogs in Lake Wales (where I was yesterday), I felt there was little likelihood of loose dogs in this part of Florida.
I can't stand bugs in my room. Folks in Florida seem to tolerate insects in their homes. I guess it is like Brazil. My wife said that people in Brazil thought Americans were nuts for using window screens: "how" they asked "are the bugs going to get out?" They just accepted them as a fact of life. At the other end of the spectrum was my grandmother, who took the opposite tact when she lived in Avon Park, Florida (near here). She decided to spray her house with aerosol bug spray until she got them all. She used several cans and sprayed herself unconscious. She was hauled by ambulance to the hospital.
I had a real problem with the heat again today: 90+ degrees (f). I stopped to wipe perspiration from my face at 6 miles, 7.9 miles, 10 miles, etc. I put sunscreen on this morning when I came out of the shower, I put lip balm on at 10 miles and later in the afternoon. I reapplied sunscreen to my face and arms several times today. I am clearly moving toward the Equator.
The folks who gave me advice over the past couple of days about US-27 road conditions said I'd climb hills (I never noticed any hills) and they said the shoulder would evaporate at Venus (it didn't). At mile 12.5 today, the soil suddenly changed from sand to black dirt and the vegetation changed from orange groves to pine trees.
I saw quite a few herons today, but I was never able to take a picture because they were all to the south of me, so any photos would be into the sun; and, they all flew away when I approached them.
I think I saw some Brahma cows.
I ate a grilled cheese sandwich and a large coke at the Palmdale Store
at around 11:30 AM. I stopped there to use the restroom--it was about as
grungy as the one near Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia. (I
never cease to be amazed at how a restaurant can permit its restroom to
be grungy and hope to stay in business. I don't usually get to see the kitchen.
I have to think that the restroom is indicative of the owner's attitude
regarding cleanliness in the kitchen.)
I wasn't hungry or thirsty and I forgot to replenish my Gatorade supply. I should have heeded my lack of hunger as a symptom of dehydration and heat exhaustion. As the day wore on, I became dry, slightly disoriented and nauseated. My eyes and lips actually stung. In retrospect, I know now that I didn't drink enough.
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I spent much of the day, riding along a drainage canal and expected to see alligators in them too, but never did.
Most of my riding today was through really desolate country. I started by passing orange groves, then some cattle ranches and finally sugar cane farms.
At Moore Haven, I crossed part of the waterway heading
south from Lake Okeechobee. The bridge was too narrow to ride across with
heavy truck traffic, so I lifted the bike onto the sidewalk and walked it
across.
Later, I had a bit of a scare when a mud splash guard fell of a semi and was struck by a pickup truck and thrown noisily toward me. It appeared to be made in part of chrome steel. Luckily, it didn't hit me.
I had the hardest time I ever had with the sun today. I could feel myself getting burned to death. I've already had trouble with basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) on my arms and face, so I need to be careful about exposing myself to the sun, but there is no escape here and the rays seem much more intense than up north. I used SPF 45 sunscreen repeatedly today, but think the sun was too harsh for even it to handle.
I made it to Clewiston at around 3:00 PM. I stopped at Winn Dixie (a supermarket) and bought nine 20 ounce squirt bottles of Gatorade (on sale for 88 cents each).
Then I checked into the Clewiston Inn, a National Historic Site owned by the United States Sugar Corporation. It is quite a place.
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I had to end my ride early today because I was told that there is no place to stay beyond this point for about 100 miles. For the first time ever, I did my web programming in the afternoon. What a nice experience.
Then, I went to the hotel bar for a beer and got talking to
Burt, a bass boat manufacturer from Moore Haven, who was waiting for his
wife Rita, with Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Burt was interested
in my trip, but we discussed all sorts of interesting subjects, and when
Rita arrived, we all went to dinner at the hotel restaurant. We had a very
pleasant evening together, and Burt and Rita were kind enough to pick up
my tab.
When I returned to my room, I attempted to upload this web page, but kept getting a really "dirty" line. I could hear snaps, crackles and pops and so could the modem. After about 15 tries without ever connecting to my 800 Number server, I gave up. I tried several times in the morning of 11/2, but still couldn't make a connection with the server.
Total mileage today: 54.
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© Ed Noonan 1996, 1997