It started with the idea of a bicycle trip to Kentucky. I’d hit up every skatepark I could along the way, and finish in a big hurrah at the Louisville skatepark, a 24 hour world famous park. But I’ve got too many awesome friends, so I never ended up leaving Florida.

It was a late start. I wasn’t on the road until 3PM my first day, with a 56 mile bike ride and an hour long skateboard session planned in Fort Myers. I could have just done some more pedalling and waited until the next day instead of trying to push things, but I was too anxious to move.

My route up north to Tampa from Naples was entirely on US41, getting off only to skate a few parks or stay at a friend’s for the night. I got about 10 miles out on US41 before I realised just how bad of a road it could be.

There were sidewalks that just ended nowhere, potholes everywhere, a shoulder sometimes, other times not. Construction everywhere, and no place for a bicycle. Taking a trip is supposed to be relaxing, but it’s difficult to relax when you’ve got mack trucks passing within inches of you at 55 miles an hour. Yikes. Biking would turn out to be a whole lot more different than hiking (what I’m used to).

When you’re hiking you can go into autopilot, relax and just let your consciousness really go. Just really get inside your head and think about everything. Your body takes care of itself, just putting one leg out in front of the other, and then you get to your destination. Not so with a bike.

It’s 100% attention all of the time. There’s constant danger - potholes, cars, exhaustion, dehydration. You’ve got to be aware and present. It was nerve wracking at first, but I got used to it, and now I like it.

In a few hours I was in Ft Myers, skating the local park. It’s a great one, with a euro, a half-pipe, hip, just lots of transition. Did a few nosegrinds, a few 360’s, and just overall had an awesome skate. The park has some serious flow. Thanks to the guys at Ramp Doctors for building that one.

I left at 6:00PM and I knew I was in trouble. It was going to be getting dark soon, and I shouldn’t have taken that hour to skate. I would be riding in the dark or camping on the side of the road tonight.

In between Ft Myers and Port Charlotte there’s a stretch of US41 where for 22 miles there is nothing. Just long stretches of trees and nothing else. And 65 mile and hour speed limits with a small shoulder. I was about 4 miles into this stretch when the sun started to set.

One thing I’ve learned from trips, it’s that when things look their worst, you need to push through anyways. So I pushed. Hard. I did the last mile just as it got dark, and then I was back into the city, and could go on in the safety of the sidewalk and streetlights.
I made it to Jessie’s house at around 10:30. My good friend Quinn was coming down from Colorado and he was on his way to pick him up. Party tonight.

And that was just the first day.

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I’ve learned so much from the past few weeks of riding my bicycle around Florida - the generosity of strangers, of friends, and what it is to be hungry and broke. Most importantly, though, was the power of positive decisions, no matter how grim things seemed like they were.

There was a point, after a 85 mile ride with nothing to eat except for some grapefruits taken from a wild tree, that I was so very close to giving up on my ride. The whole goal of going anywhere, of doing anything big just seemed futile and immature and rash. I still had another 65 miles to go the next day before I saw my friends and got a meal. And then I just collapsed.

It was right outside of a country club. Little old broke me, riding my bike around with no money for food, and there’s this giant display of everything I didn’t have. A home and money for food and my friends and family with me. No, just me and my bike. I walked my bike up to the fountain and just laid down. Thought hard.

Nothing. Just hunger in my stomach and dehydration in my head. Fuzzy unclear thoughts, and a whole lot of me wondering how the hell I got into this mess. And then for some reason a part of the sermon on the mount pops into my head… “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?…” “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

I’m not a christian, but remembering this passage made me feel better. I got on my bike knowing that I was going to get a meal. Not from where, but I rode my bike up the road a bit, and saw a small (very small) ice cream shop. I asked an older couple standing they would buy me a meal, and explained my situation. They turned me down. For some reason I was unfased.

I walked up to the counter of the shop and rang the bell. A cute young girl ran up and gave me a big smile. I smiled back.

“I know this sounds weird, but I’m broke and traveling, and I was wondering if I could do some dishes for a meal…?”

“Hold on.”

I sat there waiting, saw her go back and talk with a woman, and then come back.

“We don’t have any dishes.”

Heartbreak. A little.

“But what do you want?”

Fish.

They brought out a huge coke and two pieces of fried fish and french fries with ketchup and tarter sauce.

I sat in their parking lot and had the best meal of my life.

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