Snowbirdstyle Sprint

(That's me in the pajamas)

Big thanks to my good friend Shane and his family for having me over for Christmas. They moved to Buford Georgia about a year ago, it was good to see familiar faces and feel at home for the holidays. But it's time for Davie to roll.

I made my goal of getting to Shane by Christmas. I didn't get to visit the Atlanta bike co-op 

Sopo Bikes
(you can click on that)

as they were on a holiday break. That's ok. I've got to get to Clearwater Florida to stay with my friends Krista and Keenan for New Years.

Buford to Clearwater is 550 miles.

I have six days.

It's a good thing I ate a big breakfast.
I haven't done a century yet this tour (100 mile ride)

but I'm gonna have to pull some back-to-back century magic to make it.

Here goes nothin'.

Thank goodness southern GA is flat. It's also empty.

Working on a nice bike tan.

After two 90+mile days, I super deserve this milkshake.

I also enjoy the irony of biking to a drive-in fast food place.

I camp a couple times. Very few Warmshowers hosts.

I'm not particularly happy about this. I can't complain about how my Brooks Cambium treats me while riding, it's great. Comfortable. Very flexy. But two "rivets" have now come loose and fallen off. I caught one, the other is somewhere in Virgina. I plan on spending some time taking a break in Clearwater, Ill contact their warranty department to see what they can do for me.

 I'm making good time through Georgia though.

Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks.

I sleep on a nest of blankets in a Warmshowers hosts landlords garage, out of the pouring, thundering rain.

Maybe third weirdest place I've slept.

Those aren't marijuana plants.

Pretty sure. 

One by one, I smash my metaphorical warhammer into the ruby-studded breastplate of those hundred mile rides.

 

Ours Is The Fury.

97 miles

92 miles.

103 miles.

100 miles. 

111miles.

50 miles.

I did it.

Friends.

For a whole week!

We do the things.

We also do nothing. Thank god.

We compare bike tans.

Keenan definitely has the tighter butt though. No contest.

I've a whole list of things to do with my downtime. 

I most of the actual important stuff never happened.

I definitely ate that pizza though.

First haircut in three years. I needed some personal maintenance.
And so did my bike for sure.

I was lucky enough to meet this guy who worked at
The Path Bicycle And Ride Shop
(its a link)

He was kind enough to stop licking The Wheeler and let me put her up in the stand to
change out my chain and very worn cassette
swap out my front brake pads
rotate my (bombproof) Continental Touring Plus tires
as well as true my wheels, lube cables and whatnot.

The Path easily has some of the coolest brand names and bikes out of all the bike shops Ive been to.

Mike can also ride a bike in addition to licking them.

Passably well.

On my very last day, after shirking my duties to go play in the sun

I visit  The St Pete Bike Co-op

(its a link)

I totally didn't take that picture. No shame.

They have lizards.

The've been around for about a year and a half, and are working on getting their 501c3 status as a non-profit with the IRS. When I got there, the place was humming with activity. They have a lot of irons in the fire, ideas! Plans! It's working.
It was good to see so much enthusiasm and dedication from their volunteers.
I wish I could stay and help, even if its just to sort tires or something.

These are great people.

Special thanks to Carrie for answering all my questions and letting me hang out and be annoying.

And now it's time for me to roll again.

Florida's been good, and weird. 

I didn't accomplish everything on my list, but I did get to see an A-List celebrity.

Though I wouldn't call him the cream of the crop.

I never went swimming either.

At least I got some sunshine.

LAST but not least, heres a thing I did for you. You've probably seen it.

I've Been Chased By A Lot Of Dogs.

Since I couldn't possibly pick up all this blog slack and 

fill you in on each and every one of my adventures since D.C. . . .

here are some glimpses into my bikelife.

I headed south to my next co-op in Richmond.

Virginia is alright.

So is the weather for the most part.

I get hungry.

I eat.

                        

Sometimes it isn't much.

Mostly I crave pza.

One of my goals for this trip is to eat an entire pza by myself.

I've made friends.

 

In Richmond I visited

 Lucky's Bicycles and Rag & Bones Bike Co-Op

Richmond has some kind of hold on me. I met some awesome people there.

I could live there.

But like Luda, I gotta roll out.

I crossed the border into North Carolina.

Its beauty.

Shorts. Sun.

 Good riding.

   

So I finally weighed all my gear.

I originally didnt want to know, for fear it would drive me into a gram-obsessed gear-shedding spree.

Which is exactly what happened.

I decided to mail stuff home.

I enthusiastically crammed 12lbs of gear into a little flat-rate shipping box.

I think I scared the little old lady at the post office in Lincolnton.

When I got to Chapel Hill/Carrboro, I visited another Bike Co-Op.

Recyclery

I immediately made new friends.

They were mostly seven years old.

They had fun playing with my GoPro

"Wake and Drake"

Custom jerseys.

Rich and the gang took me out for pza.

I'm home.

I also went to the Durham Bike Coop

They had a very interesting membership structure.

I wont nerd out over the details here.

More awesome people.

I had to mash pedals to get to Asheville. Five days of hard riding across beautiful countryside.

The only way I had over the mountains into Asheville on a bike was up a winding gravel road.

I had heard a lot about Asheville, mostly that it was cool.

I budgeted a whole weekend in town.

I did visit another bike coop,

Asheville Recyclery.

But I also prepared food with some friends for

Food Not Bombs

People ate. It was good.

My new Asheville frands took me mountain biking too.

I'm not particularly good at mountain biking.

I spent most of the ride in a state of sheer terror.

It was awesome.

I want to stay.

I have to go. 

I'm trying to make it to the Atlanta area to spend Christmas with my friend Shane and his family.

I've only three days and some very steep terrain to cross.

I'm way up in the mountains.

Its colder.

But I'm lucky enough to stay with some wonderful people.

They wanted to take a selfie.

Another place I wish I could stay.

But Christmas.

And I do make it to Shane and Rachel's for Christmas.

Its nice to be with people I know, family.

Meanwhile in Cleveland:

I'm the Christmas angel.

Here I will leave you with some entertainment.

The rural southerners like to let their dogs roam wherever

and I must look like some kind of big weird deer because they love nothing better than to chase me.