On The Road Again

Yesterday’s full day at Universal Studios meant that this morning would require an early start if I wanted to be on the road at a reasonable hour. It could be argued that I didn’t really WANT to be on the road at all as that would bring about my departure from Quest Air. Despite my desire to stay longer, I did in fact rise early. There was much to do and little time to do it.

My day officially began at 5:30. It was still dark. The first thing to do was post yesterday’s update. Actually, the first thing to do was write yesterday’s update. Writing was not on the top of my mind by the time we got home from Universal Studios last night.

Fast-forward a couple of hours and my update was posted and I was ready to move onto the next task. Packing. After two weeks at Quest, my things had become more than a little disorganized. Complete and utter disarray would probably be more accurate. Over the course of my stay at Quest, pretty much all of my panniers had been emptied for one reason or another and there were only a few things that were actually where they belonged.

Piece by piece I sorted through my belongings – frequently wondering why I was travelling with so much stuff. I had no answer. But by 9:30, all that stuff had been once again packed tightly into its appropriate pannier. As far as I could tell there was only one thing missing – my cycle computer. I had taken it off my bike when I arrived at Quest but I have no recollection as to where I put it. Probably somewhere safe so I wouldn’t lose it. Sigh. I wasn’t about to unpack everything to find it so today I would travel without it.

With the bike once again fully loaded, I returned to the clubhouse to get some breakfast before saying my goodbyes and beginning the journey to Key West. Despite it only being 10:30, breakfast was a couple of burgers on the barbecue – it was the only food I had left. Well, there were also a few Yuengling lagers still in the fridge but I figured I’d leave those behind.

By 11:00, the time to leave had come. I said my goodbyes to Mark, Kim, Adam, and Matt who were all hanging around the office. I then made my way up to the clubhouse for my goodbyes with Tracy and Greg. A bittersweet moment to be sure. The past two weeks have been so much fun but now I could put off my departure no longer.

At 11:15 I was on my bike and pedalling away. Minutes later, Quest Air was officially behind me and I had to switch my focus to the road ahead. My destination for the day was Lakeland – only 72 km (44 miles) away – where I would be visiting my aunt and uncle. In talking with Greg before I left, he gave me directions to the Van Fleet Trail – a paved trail which is about 50 km (30 miles) long and would keep me off the narrow, yet heavily travelled, Highway 33. The trail did not disappoint. And the strong tailwind didn’t hurt either. My first day back on the road was shaping up to be a very easy ride.

Much of the trail ran along the edge of the Green Swamp and I was hoping to see some wildlife along the way. Sadly, there wasn’t much wildlife to be seen today. And my search for my first alligator sighting went for naught. Two turtles was the best I could do.

The rest of my ride was very easy and very uneventful and by 3:00 I arrived at my aunt and uncle’s where I received a very enthusiastic welcome – and a Yuengling lager! It got even better when I was shown to my room where there was a large bag of M&Ms waiting for me on the table next to my bed. Not a bad way to end the ride.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out, talking about Florida, my trip, upcoming plans and more. Plus I got a Halifax history lesson (my aunt was born there). It’s really too bad I didn’t get the full Halifax experience when I was there as I was too busy recovering from dehydration at the time.

The evening ended with an excellent spaghetti dinner – complete with caesar salad, garlic bread and pumpkin pie for dessert. An excellent end to another great day on the road.

I don’t know what the rest of the ride will be like but so far the hardest part about getting to Key West has been leaving Quest Air behind. Clearly there are worse problems to have – but I still miss Quest.

Today’s Estimated Totals:
Distance travelled: 72 km
Time on bike: 3:04:18
Average speed: 24 km/h