Day 43 – 71 Miles

Apalachicola, FL to Panama City Beach, FL

Total Miles: 2168

So yesterday didn’t turn into quite the barrel of sunshine that I thought it would be. I had planned on camping in one of the city parks which I was assured by my new friend Kevin was totally ok. I mentioned this a little later to the bartender when I was having myself a beer and she told me I should talk to the Sheriff first just to be sure. When I called and asked, the first thing the woman said to me was, “It was Kevin that told you that, right?”. Umm, yes? She proceeded to launch into this endless tirade about the guy and his propensity for “good deeds” and from the way she was talking he didn’t seem like quite like the savory fellow he mad himself out to be. She said I’d do well to not associate myself with him. Yikes. Ya think you know a guy… So my free camping night turned into a $70 motel night but on the bright side the night life on a Sunday in this town was very entertaining. A lot of terribly awesome local bands singing their respective country hearts out coupled with cheap, cold beer made for a very interesting night. Such is the life of an adventurer 🙂

I woke up this morning not really feeling in the mood to ride. My alarm went off at 6 but I slept in till almost 8 before I figured it was either ride or just put down roots and live there forever. It was cool, humid and cloudy so I again elected to ride shirtless, if I could only devise some method of ensuring adequate sunblock coverage on my back I’d do this literally everyday. I breezed through the first 20 miles or so and decided to stop in at Mickey D’s for a little second breakfast of sausage egg mcmuffins and orange juice. It’s like no matter how much I eat my body just wants MORE FOOD! It’s quite disturbing sometimes.

McDonalds is definitely my safe space

15 more miles and it was time to stop in and get some gatorade and refill my water bottles. I looked at my phone and I was surprised to see that it was only 9:30. Wait, what? My mental calculations were not adding up. 35 miles in an hour and a half? There is no possible way I was going that fast. But then it hit me. New time zone! It was such a good feeling, and not just because it meant that my sleeping in was effectively canceled out but that I’m finally, after all this time, seeing proof that I’m heading in a westerly direction. I’m heading your way, Oregon!

Cloudy but still the ocean!

I don’t really have much to say about the remaining miles. It was hot. I got a little sunburned. The roads were good. Idk. Everyday can’t be an explosion of super awesome excitement. I pulled into my campground around 3 and flopped myself directly into the pool the cool off. Such heaven. Time to do some laundry, maybe get a haircut (I’m seriously beginning to look like a real homeless guy) and relax. Stay tuned for the next edition of James and his Bike!

2 Replies to “Day 43 – 71 Miles”

  1. Danielle says:

    You should leave your hair long and then start doing a man bun right on top!

    1. ???

Comments are closed.