North! Finally

I'm not sure how we did it but somehow we all managed to get up at 630 am after only a few short hours of sleep.  I woke up on a couch yet again.  This one was about 4 feet long and my body was aching from yesterdays ride and sleeping in a folded taco position on the couch.   Adam and Jason were already moving.  I'm not sure what kind of Jedi mind tricks they used on me to so that they each could have a very large comfortable looking bed which I paid for but it certainly worked.  We got our stuff together and stumbled out into the daylight.  I pounded a couple of espresso shots at Starbucks and packed up the bike.  Adam and Jason got moving because they were in a rush to work, apparently playing hookie two full days in a row was bad and they each had meetings that morning.  I had a 8 ish hour ride ahead of me.

The ride leaving the keys was bitter sweet for me.  I wanted to stay and play for a few more nights with my friends but I also wanted to get this Northerly stuff to start happening.  The rains weren't letting up either but I didn't care.  I had an interesting layer of Bourbon, glitter and rainwater on me within the first few miles or riding.  All I knew for certain is that today is going to be a long and hot day.

The video will work from a PC

I decided at the spur of the moment to skip alligator alley.  Alligator alley (the lower route)  cuts right thru the Everglades to the west side of Florida.  Its scenic but I think it's almost a hundred miles of perfectly straight and boring road.  I took a new route that I've never been on but I highly recommend.  It cut diagonally to Tampa and skirted the giant Lake Okechobee

I took the route in yellow

Most of the day was spent hauling at between 60-80mph on mostly desolate state roads.  I had no idea that Florida was so involved with sugar cane.  I must have seen 300 sugar cane trucks and tractors doing whatever it is they do.  Sure I saw orange groves, you cant get very far in Florida without seeing an orange tree but the sugar fields went on for so far that I could actually see the curvature of the Earth. If the whole way North looked like this I don't think I would bring a camera.  I probably wouldn't go to be honest.

I rolled into my brothers house at 4 or 5.  His wife and twins came outside to great me just as I rolled into the driveway.  His kids are young so the sight of me on the bike rolling up their driveway gave them a shock.  They screamed "Uncle Danny" when I took off my helmet it was pretty cute how they went from scared to happy as hell to see me.

My Brother has been tracking me on an app called "find my friends". If you want to see where I am along this trip download it for free at the app store and just type in my email address.  danloebel@gmail.com  I'm pretty sure it'll work the whole trip as long as my phone is on.

So I spent the rest of the night playing with the twins.  A complete change from last nights shenanigans in the Keys in a completely different part of Florida.  I can get used to this.