We have to backtrack about a mile to refill on water at the gas station. We are both still feeling off and not quite full of energy. We decide to eat our lunch early. It’s my turn to haul the trailer and there’s a lot of hills and headwind. About halfway through I end up getting extremely angry. Angry at the hills, angry at myself for feeling so damn tired and weak, angry at the wind for never wanting to cooperate to make biking a bit easier, angry at Yeshi’s fat ass dragging me down instead of pulling her weight, angry that St. Pete may not work out. We stop to rest at an intersection and I get a moment to catch my breath and calm down. I eat half a nut bar and give J the other half. I drink more water and wonder if it’s possible to drink too much water. As we are about to leave the intersection, J gets another flat. The patches on his tube are not holding well. J has also been cranky today, mostly due to insomnia. As he works on the inner tube, J realizes that the hubs are going out on his bike. I take a moment to lay down in the grass and close my eyes and breathe while he fumes over his situation. I’m starting to wonder just how shitty today will be. I’m looking at the maps on my phone and we still have 18 miles. I realize we can cut through back roads and save ourselves 5 miles. We are aiming for Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management area right along the coast. On google maps there’s photographs of crystal clear rivers and swimming holes. I’m praying it’s free, easy to access, and that I will be swimming this evening.
When we are ready to go, I feel much better. I remind myself that we have done over 300 miles on our bicycles and I can deal with another 13 today. My body is rough with scrapes and bug bites, dirty and covered in a layer of sweat salt. My tan lines are growing. My body is strong and tired. I’m grateful for this body for climbing hills with 100+lbs of gear over the hills. I’ve got this.
There’s more hills but it starts to flatten out half way. About five miles from our destination, we turn onto a highway, a straight shot to the swimming holes. The head wind is brutal. It’s the strongest we’ve dealt with so far. It literally stops your bike mid pedal. I power through the first half but the second half drags. on. forever. The road stretches out so far, the sun is hot, there’s small hills where the wind knows when to hit you hardest. When I shift up a gear the wind blows harder. Shift down, it lightens up. The wind hates bicycles, I conclude. I stare at the road ahead of me and count pedal strokes to make time pass. We finally reach a stop sign and turn right then left into the parking lot complete with a bathroom and running water. I rinse my face off and sit down to finish the rest of my lunch and recover.
After looking at the maps which gave no good clue to where the swimming spots are, J and I decide to just wing it. A white beat up truck with a young couple and their husky pup pass us a few miles down the road. I wave them down and ask for a clue. The guy talks fast but I catch that there’s a river much further north and a swimming hole south. I thank and wave him off. The south hole is closer. We pedal on.
White truck is heading back toward us and they stop ask ask us if we want a ride. Yes! Our first ride with the bikes! We shove the bikes and trailer up and I’m sitting on the tailgate, watching five miles slip under my feet without breaking a sweat. I feel that blissfully content feeling for a long moment. It always works out in the end is the lesson of today.
I thank them profusely and soak in this little slice of heaven. It’s a sinkhole where divers frequent to explore the miles of underwater caves. Our ride tells us that a diver recently passed away a month ago, it’s a dangerous expedition as the posted signs warn. The water is crystal clear, which seems like a miracle after all the brown, brackish water we’ve seen the past few hundred miles. I dive in, this moment is worth every angry, sweaty, painful moment of today and the past three weeks.
It’s a quick swim since it’s nearly dusk and camp needs to be found. There’s tiny gnats and mosquitos biting us along. We ride a few miles down to get out of the swampy jungle area. It clears out to pine trees and we find our nooks. But we decide to take the weight off our bikes and ride into town for a dumpster mission. We are starving for more nutrition. There’s an Aldis four miles away and Aldi has been treating us well lately. The ride feels much longer than 4 miles, my legs are shot even though my bike feels like it’s floating. We eventually reach the dumpsters and score multiple fruit drinks, kombucha, gluten free pizza, bacon, bread, hummus, bananas, a can of black beans, and so much more. We inhale the bread and humus and gulp down a fruity drink in our picnic spot behind the dumpster.The ride back to camp is a long one. It’s way past my bedtime, usually around 9pm and I’m completely spent.
Hammocks go up, fire is made, and bacon is cooked. The pizza is fried in bacon grease and it is delicious. I pass out quick.
