4:37am Marianna, Fla. (continued from above)
After the fill up at Mariana, Fla., I've got 233 miles yet to go. The GPS says about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Based on the time measured at the gas pump, that would get me to my destination just before 8:30am, with about 2 1/2 hours to spare. However, that was not the case. I had to do several things in Marianna.
1. Dumb gas pump won't give me a receipt. Gotta head in to the station to get it.
2. Fill the CamelBak one last time. It's probably going to get warm in a hurry once the sun comes up.
3. Back out to the bike; clouds looking ominous. Rain's a-coming. Better get the rain suit and the rain booties on.
4. Gotta go. Back into the station, pull off the rainsuit. Starting to sweat. Everything sticks to me. Uggghhh, why does everything have to take so long?
5. Fill out IBA trip log info. Stow the receipts in a zip lock bag.
6. Starving. Need grub. Hop on bike: scan horizon... remind self, it's 4:37am ya doe-doe: forget about fast food: back into gas station for a couple of their grotesque sausage muffin thingies.
They tasted a little funny, but it was too dark to see them, and I was too tired to care. Ha...you know you're eating something gross when it bites back...
---Finally back out on road, look at watch: that stop was over 20 minutes. Ugghh. Time for another lecture. Gotta make faster pit stops, Gary. OK, so it's about 4:55am or so. GPS says I'll arrive at around 8:40am if I don't stop. However, can the FJR go 243 miles without filling up? Maybe. But what if I get stuck in a traffic jam? What if I run outa gas? I could just see myself trying to run down the side of the road in my rainsuit pushing the FJR in a desperate attempt to get to the "finish line" on time. So the decision was made, rather than chance it, I'd have to stop for gas again. It shouldn't be big deal as long as I didn't get stuck in some traffic jam.
-- I finally finished up the imitation sausage sliders running at about 75 mph with one hand on the throttle and the other in my mouth. They didn't taste too bad actually, and at least I wasn't starving any more.
Another issue to deal with was my physical condition. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open at times. Fatigue and sleepiness seemed to come in waves. I managed once again to fight it off. I had perhaps 1 hour and 20 minutes to go when it got really bad.
I tried fighting it off,
But this trick didn't work so well while trying to hold on to the handlebars.
So I pulled off the road at Lake City for gas. I was in and out in no time (hurray???) and stopping for awhile helped to me wake up. Though I saw some sprinkles, Mark was right. He said that the rain appeared to be heading away from me, like some giant arm just reached down and swept it out of my way. Make a note: another answered prayer. For quite a while, I was riding on wet pavement through light sprinkles, just waiting to drive right into a thunderstorm. I've done that more than once in the past. However, with lighting and nasty clouds in front of me, I never caught up with the storm. It had done it's damage and left... by the time I arrived. All was well and I had about 2 1/4 hours to spare according to the GPS's predicted arrival time. And then it happened. As I neared Jacksonville, all of a sudden, traffic slowed to a stop on I-10.
I was in the middle of nowhere, and the GPS couldn't offer any detours as I couldn't get off the expressway. I strained my stiff neck and my tired eyes in an attempt to see far enough ahead to answer the questions:
1. What's the problem?
2. How long is this going to take?
You never know what is up ahead blocking traffic...
No, that's not what was holding up the traffic. But I imagined everything it could be. Traffic was inching forward, rarely more than 50 feet every minute or so. I kept looking at my watch. Is this an accident, or just normal heavy traffic that'll clear out soon? All of a sudden I remembered a little trick I learned on California highways just a couple days ago:
Lane splitting: though I never did it before, I watched countless bikes do it in California, where it's apparently legal. Hmmm, what to do? What a great way to get through a traffic jam in a hurry. I decided to behave myself as it is not legal in Florida as far as I know. Thankfully after a 35-40 minute delay, the traffic cleared out and I was on my way again.
I was feeling:
And sure enough, at about 9:30am, just to keep with the scope and spirit of this entire trip, I had to pull one last maneuver. As I neared the Atlantic Ocean just south of Jacksonville, FL, I drove right past the last gas station between the city and the beach. And just about the time I saw the water, I realized that there were no more gas stations around, and had to turn around and head back a mile or so to the last station I saw. According to the IBA rules, my ride wasn't completed until I had proof. I pulled in, jumped off the bike, stuffed my credit card into the reader on the pump, and filled my tank for the last time on my coast to coast run. When I pulled out the receipt, it read: 9:35am. I had completed my Coast to Coast run in 48 1/2 hours. But I had two more things to do.
First, I headed for the beach.
I asked a feller walking by if he'd take a quick picture of me. I needed a "quick" picture because I was parked illegally here. Huge sign next to the bike saying, "No Parking." However, I just had to get this picture. Next, I parked the FJR properly, and headed down to the beach itself. The first person I found was a young high school graduate named Angela. I told asked her if she'd be so kind as to take my picture. On the way to the beach I told her a little of my story. She remarked that it was pretty amazing and took the following picture of me...
...as I filled up my water bottle marked, "Atlantic Ocean." From that point, I had one more item to take care of. It was time to find a police officer to sign my IBA form. Less than 10 minutes after this picture was taken, I saw one of Jacksonville's finest sitting on the side of the road. I pulled over, told him my story, and asked if he'd sign my form. Check this out. He commented that he'd done this before, but that he usually signed IBA forms for guys who were beginning their trip, and were headed for California. I did it exactly backwards. Hmmm. Figures. This whole trip was unusual. Interesting thought: this was the first person involved in any way with my trip that knew something about the IBA, or had a clue about what I was doing. But that's OK. I knew what I was doing, and that's what mattered.
Aftermath:
I did a little math. The Yammie covered about 24 hundred miles from San Diego to Jacksonville Beach, including my brief Texas detour and a couple wrong turns. The FJR made just a tick under 40 mpg. The gas was a little better than 200 and the hotels were about 85. All that plus a nominal fee to the IBA buys me one 8 1/2 x 11 certificate, suitable for framing... and that's IF they choose to grant it to me. I've submitted all the required paperwork including 4 witness forms and 19 receipts. I'm still waiting to hear from them.
But for me, this journey was far more than a membership in the IBA, or the "50cc" certificate I'm hoping they'll award me. It was about doing the impossible. It was about refusing to allow a dream to die. It was about timing, sacrifice, a little $$ and a lot of sweat, a touch of luck and a great deal of prayer and the help of many along the way. The doctor told me not to do it, my friends asked me why I'd want to do it, my family hoped I wouldn't do it, but my heart told me that I must do it. And against all the odds; including the record setting heat in the desert and the limited abilities of this body of mine, I pulled it off. To some on this forum: ehhh-- just another IBA ride. But to me, it was my first, most likely my last, and it was...
AMAZING.
And just like our old buddy Forest,
That's all I got to say about that.
Gary
darksider #44