ON MY OWN...

Well, Mei Mei had to unexpectedly return home, so Oudes and Lou came in from Philly to ride with us for a day and then whisk her back to the increasingly chilly north. After a near 100 mile day of riding that ended in Jekyll's Island, GA, our paths split and I (Raphael) headed alone to Florida to carry the Ride for Change banner through to its completion.

The first day I rode 80 miles through beautiful countryside and bird sanctuary as I passed over into Florida and made my camp on the terrific Huguenaut campground on Little Talbot Island. When I stopped at the camp office to register, I made sure to ask the ranger if there was anywhere nearby where I could watch the second presidential debate.
"Well," she responded, "another couple of cyclists just came through here to camp and asked the same thing!"

I was elated! Only a few short hours away from having left Mei Mei and already the way was filling up with wonderful folk. I met the couple, Jeremy and Catherine, who are ferociously cool and thoughtful, and are riding from NYC to Key West and then on, possibly to Alaska via San Diego.

To make a long story short, we have been travelling together ever since. On certain occasions I have said my goodbyes and headed off on my own. Like gluons (the discovery of which was just awarded in the Nobel Prize) as the distance between us increased, the power attracting us grew, and we have run into each other time and time again, spending the nights together at campgrounds, and most recently, a hotel.

I was able to show them a few bicycle tips and tricks and in return Jeremy has taught me about the amazing trick of dumpster diving. It turns out that good fresh food is thrown into dumpsters every day by grocery stores, donut shops, etc. And all you have to do is go to the dumpster and grab it out. Now I know that this seems sick, and I was only willing to try it once. But the food is often untouched, sealed, or kept clean in garbage abgs (which are like giant ziplock bags). Now with the slow hours of cycling, I have had sufficient pause to ruminate on the subject of dumpster diving and I have decided, for a certainty, that the only thing disgusting about dumpster diving is that we live in so wasteful a society. I have no qualms going through the food there, and it is both fun and rewarding.

Now I certainly could go more in depth on this topic, but I am both tired and behind on my miles for the day, so I will leave this topic with only the suggestion that whoever reads this check out a dumpster at some point and form your own judgements.

Now today we left Daytona beach which has been wracked by hurricaines. As we came in yesterday we were warned by nearly everyone that Daytona is a "whacked-out place", that is is "sketchville" and filled with "weirdos and sketchy people". It turns out, this is exactly true. The people of Daytona are fairly unfriendly and decidedly cold and stare rather than wave. A lot of them are down on their luck and have moved to Daytona for its reputation and have fallen into trouble there. Or as one fellow put it, "they come on vacation and leave on probation".

Today I will pass Cape Canaveral and points south and I am still in the process of amending my route as a great deal of the barrier islands, dunes and roads were wiped out by the storms.

-Raphael

DAYS 27-28: DEAR OLD SAVANNAH

I can't get enough of the squares. Practically every other block, there is a beautiful square where one may rest, reflect, and catch up on some American history.

DAYS 24-26: CHARLESTON - SAVANNAH

We have just gotten word that support is coming. Our old friends from Philadelphia are to meet us in Savannah and ride down into Florida to help get out the vote. It will be nice to see familiar faces (for me at least) again and at the same time, I can't wait to get to Savannah, GA. Charleston and Savannah are considered sister towns of sorts, and strangely enough, the locals here swear by the superiority of their Georgian neighbor.

Charleston, by the way, is a beautiful, vibrant town and it's a little sad to leave it behind, especially as we mistakenly take a huge series of concrete overpasses to get out of the city. Nevertheless, we manage to fix up Raph's bike (remember the broken rear rack) and head along the coast into Georgia.

Allow me to describe our next couple of days like this: we had 100 miles to cover in three days and we had been averaging over 60 prior. Needless to say, we took our time, enjoying the warm breeze and exploring little points on the map like Beaufort, SC. Incidentally, we made it into the Beaufort Gazette and ended up spending the night at Jason's house, our reporter.

DAY 23: GEORGETOWN - CHARLESTON

Yesterday started out kind of lousy, as I discovered that my rear rack (what holds my panniers) had snapped from the stress of loaded touring after too many miles. I am happy to note that I am apparently made of sterner stuff than aluminum alloy.

I went around Georgetown, which is not a particularly beautiful place, on a fruitless mission to replace the rack. I eventually took it to a metalworker in order to get the rack welded, but as it would have taken considerable money, and worse, time, Mei Mei courageously agreed to carry half of the weight that it normally supported.

So we took off from Georgetown, now quite late, and traversed the 60 plus miles to Charleston. The ride was monotonous with a good deal of traffic, and it seemed far longer than 60 miles.

Lady Fortune smiled upon me, however, and suggested that I lay in for a stock of good malt liquor by which to fortify my constitution for the rigors of the open road. Verily indeed, my friend, did said malted hops gird me with the Strength and Attitude to overcome the weary ennui of sober locomotion.

Upon reaching the outskirts of Charleston, we pulled up before what has got to be one of the tallest, longest and narrowest bridges I have ever seen. No room for bikes, tiny lanes, rush hour traffic, and nowhere else to go. Yes, my friends, we were staring at our certain doom. Mei Mei and I shared a long and loaded look and decided that there was no better way to end it then on the open road when--

A truck pulled up and offered us a ride. Helen, the driver, turned out to be an angel that had been sent to rescue us. She took us back to her place where we showered and locked up our bikes and then she took us out for some fine Southern vegan cuisine. This morning, after sleeping at her house, we went with her to an early morning meditation session that was both interesting and relaxing. Helen, thank you so much for all of your fascinating conversations and your kind help.

Today we will most likely finish with our voter registration efforts, as today is the last day to register in many states and begin out get-out-the-vote efforts.

DAY 23: CAPTAIN ANDY'S CAMPGROUND - GEORGETOWN

Last night, we camped out behind Captain Andy's truck, in the company of his many cats, and next to more than a dozen Airstream motor homes. We got a tour of his pepper garden, and in particular, the "little boy pepper". Check out the pictures when they upload and you'll understand where the name comes from.

This morning started with a visit to the famous Myrtle Beach, consisting of rows and rows of block apartments some call beach condos. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and so not optimal for playing on the beach.

By the way, this weekend, Myrtle Beach is hosting a giant biker gathering and so all day long, we were being passed by roaring motorcycles and solicitied by roadside biker girls.

Now settled into a room at the Hampton Inn (thanks for the employee discount) and preparing for the debates...

DAY 22: WILMINGTON - SOMEPLACE ALONG THE COAST

Sitting next to Mei Mei right now in South Port, NC on a beautiful day. Made even more beautiful relative to yesterday's physics-defying headwinds as Hurricaine Jeanne passed through NC.

Two nights ago, to avoid Jeanne, we stayed at a hotel in Jacksonville, NC. This friendly sounding little ville is an adorable cluster of malls, strip malls, and franchise restaurants, situated on rolling fields of asphalt lots. We got a special rate at an Innkeeper Inn, $25, which seemed to be a great bargain until I discovered, in the middle of the night, that the bed was piss-soaked.
Stop-- I know what you're thinking.

It turns out that someone urinated in the bed before we got the room but, as it was a big bed, I didn't discover that until I drifted over towards the far edge of the bed around 6 am. (really, it wasn't me. I checked)

Upon discovering the source of the rank funk, I sprang to alert the staff that their hotel was, in fact, a big stinking piece of crap. The room was comped.

Last night we rolled into Wilmington after registering voters at the beautiful campus of UNC-Wilmington. We called Billy, who we met on the ferry ride from Ocracoke. Billy took us around Wilmington and we had an absolutely terrific night. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We registered voters at some bars and went to onerly cool spot called The Soapbox for a poetry reading. Wilmington, and Billy, get big ups for a great night. And today, sunny and windless Wednesday, we hope to pass into South Carolina after taking in some fine East Carolina bbq.

-Raphael

DAY 21: OUTERBANKS - JACKSONVILLE

Rain, rain, and more rain. That is the forecast for the day as Hurricane Jeanne approaches and that is the reality out of the motel window. After much debating, Raph decides that it's time to ride and hide out in the next city, Jacksonville NC. I go ahead and after riding around miles and miles of strip malls, find the only internet place in the city - Schlotzky's Deli. Let me explain a little bit about this "city" now. There is no main street. There is only one coffee shop that is basically in the next town. When I asked about where to go for good caffeine, the guy behind the counter directed me to Dunkin Donuts. There is nowhere to go if you want to get dressed up, ever. Every restaurant is a chain restaurant. The only place where people can congregate is the mall.

So that's where we went. As we checked into the Inn Keeper Inn and prepared for the wrath of the hurricane, we decided that there would be nothing better on a rainy day than a movie...and that required a trip to the mall. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - great movie.