Florida. Smells just like Singapore. Once you get away from the main highway it looks amazingly like a lot of vietnam war movies, you can almost see the filthy orange flowers of napalm blooming against the deep green of the forests. Maybe I've been watching too many movies recently though.
Exotic roadkill of snakes, armadillos and vultures tells me that I'm in new territory, more so than the american movie trucks, cars and accents, and the peculiarly different american road signs, telling me not to pass instead of not to overtake, not to mention the bilingual spanish spattered everywhere. No ID, No Cerveza.
Roadkill smells the same wherever you are though.
The flight went smoothly, the bike fitted easily in the boot/trunk of the huge taxi, and I find myself in a hotel room next to the pool, surrounded by about 20 frat kids, seemingly the only people in the hotel. The extreme heat and jet lag give me a low point before breakfast, am I really going to keep riding for 8-10 weeks when I can barely face going downstairs? But some food, and building the bike, put me back in the right frame of mind and I take my first ride on US soil. I resisted the urge to salute the flag and cry, but it felt good.
Taking a deep breath I plunge into the urban dual carriageway outside the hotel, wondering what the american drivers have in store for me, luckily they seem mostly to have courtesy and laid-backness. A scary looking bridge with no hard shoulder puts me off and I follow the pedestrian footpath sign, which takes me into the shadows and concrete below the bridge, with some people hanging around out of the sun. A guy in the shadows with a beach bike does a double take and salutes me, we have a chat about his bike - bought new that day - and my route, before wishing each other well.
Eventually I reach the 'top cycle' bike shop for some much needed bits and pieces - a new chain, a sun hat, and some bike gloves. Patrick, the bike shop dude, gives me good advice, and his number so I can ring him when I get to Okeechobee to let him know I made it ok. It's a good start.
Chilling in the 'sprinkles' cafe for a smoothie and sandwich some girl cyclists get chatting, this sure is a friendly country!
Next day sees me diving into rush hour city traffic with an overloaded bike. The city traffic is ok though, and I'm soon into the countryside on the 710 Beeline Highway, headed for Okeechobee. The road is bordered by high trees and berms so not much to look at, and the 70 ish miles goes smoothly, although a bit of a struggle with the heat.
Eventually I reach the KOA campsite, "Hi there, it's a great day at K O A Okeechobee, my name is Tammy, how may I help you sir?"
Well, definitely in America then.
The site is full of 'sunbirds', grey haired northerners with massive RVs, all busily playing shuffleboard and riding around in golf carts. One of them nearly rides into the lake and has to be hauled back up the steep slope by some children.
A pink/red/white british cyclist with a tent is an alien here, and I feel a little exposed as everyone gawps at me. When they ask where I'm headed and I reply Seattle you can see the incredulity. They're all very nice though.
The next morning I have to negotiate with some large ants over territorial rights, after some debate they agree that, if I will pick them up individually with a piece of card and throw them out the door, they will stay out of my tent long enough for me to pack and get the hell out of there. It's a reasonable deal, so I accept, and hit the road at dawn.
Traffic is light, the road better than yesterday, and the countryside is beautiful. I see that I'm entering an area called 'the highlands', and laugh when i see that the hill to enter them is about 30 feet high, followed by more table-flat but slightly higher countryside.
It's about 40 miles between settlements for this next section, but I have water, food and a tent so can cope with anything. Except the heat. Man the heat, I've been riding all winter in 0-5 degrees C (low 30's F), but here it's 30-35 C (80 ish F). After mid-day I'm struggling, overheating, desperate for shade, pouring water over my head, thirsty but too nauseous to drink any more, and when i breathe out it feels superheated as it blows back into my face. So, early signs of heat exhaustion then! Luckily it's only a few more miles to town, and if it gets really bad I'll camp or stop at a ranch, so no real worries, so I struggle on and the first thing I see as I hit Arcadia is a holiday inn, next to a chillis restaurant and a walmart. That's it, I dive in to the air-conditioning, and have the best burger of my life for tea.
Life is sweet. Right now I'm in the hotel's business centre having a rest day to catch up on jet lag and sleep. Gotta go!
