3 Years 10 Months Update (February 2022): From a Less-Than-Ideal Start into 2022 to the Great Adventures of the Huracan 300

• New Year’s Day Drama
• Trying to Grow Stuff
• Huracan 2022 Bikepacking Event/Tour de Roach

New Year’s Day Drama
January 1^st, 2022: Facing the new year in high hopes! The current “circumstances” over the past 3 months have had me on edge for quite some time, but with the growing anxiety was also a growing hope for change. In fact, I was hoping for the much-anticipated resolution any day now.

With that being said, Ralf and I decided to take the new Origami Paddler out for a trial. I supported a crowdfunding project about a year ago, and I finally received the fold-up paddleboard we had been waiting for. Our storage space in the garage (or elsewhere) is tight, so a traditional paddleboard would be difficult to store and transport with our current setup. This Origami Paddler sounded like a great idea at the time, but to our dismay, it didn’t quite work out as we had hoped. It is a solid product, but the maneuvering of this thing is much more difficult than anticipated, and the seat option to convert the Paddler into a sit-on-top kayak was completely unsuitable for Ralf and me. Since a lot of other users appear to be happy with the Paddler though, I may try to sell it on the Facebook group page.

I wasn’t in the right state of mind that day either, which may have contributed to our disappointing floating attempt. I guess that’s why I didn’t really take any pictures (Ralf did one).

So, even though it was a beautiful, sunny day, we decided to fold up the Paddler and hit home after a short while. And that is when our day was going from bad to worse. While driving on one of the country roads, we saw a beautiful Gopher Tortoise trying to cross to the other side. It all happened so fast: Ralf pulled over immediately to run and pick up the tortoise, who already made it ¾ across the lane. But there was traffic coming and sure enough, the second car that passed drove right over that poor thing. We both saw it coming, screamed and articulated widely with our arms to alarm the car to pay attention, but to no avail. It was absolutely horrible! The tortoise was tossed to the side of the road, Ralf ran over and picked it up. When he beelined back to our car, holding the poor creature in his hands, I could already see the blood dripping. The shell was crushed but the Tortoise was still alive and moving. Now we both had a brief meltdown, sobbing by the side of the road and still screaming after that oblivious driver. Now what? We couldn’t just leave it out here to die a slow death. So, we wrapped it into a towel, nestled it securely behind the paddler in the trunk, and call (yet again) the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge in hopes of some guidance. Given that it was New Year’s Day, it bordered on a miracle when Bonnie picked up the phone. She gave us the number of Carol, who was running a wildlife rescue operation out of her house close by. She too picked up the phone and told us to come over right away. After an emotional 15-minute drive, we pulled into her wooded driveway. To this day we are beyond grateful to have the doomed tortoise taken care of in the most humane way possible. Ralf donated to her cause, but not money can ever repay the dedication and selfless care 365 days a year people like Carol provide. And you know what? After we left Carol’s place, Ralf actually looked at me and said, “please don’t take this as an omen for the new year”. I admit that thought had crossed my mind, but I was trying hard to convince myself otherwise. And you know what? Unless proven otherwise, I am clinging to the hope that maybe she was able to save the tortoise after all. And we decided to become monthly donors for the Back to Nature place. After all, we have called there already on several occasions while trying to save various animals.

Trying to grow stuff

Ralf and I have looked into ways to improve and enhance our diet, which included also regular juicing and eating more fresh greens. However, it has become a real challenge to find any fresh produce at Publix, and oftentimes, the kale and other greens look rather sad. So we decided to try and grow our own. This would be much more efficient if we actually had a backyard, but since we are renting a home without such outside opportunities, we bought the Hamama microgreens starter kit.

We read the instructions, put the first sheet with kale seeds in the pan, and lovingly added the water. Then we waited. A couple days later, the first sprout actually peeked through, which was very exciting! But the amount and rate of growth was… sub-optimal? I added a desk lamp to shower our little sprouts in light, hoping to expedite the project and awaken the other sleeping beauties. But after about a week and a half, our first harvest was a tad meager. Maybe a handful at best. I guess we need to wait for our future backyard after all.

I also killed Tumi, who initially grew so nicely just to succumb to the Florida heat on our patio. I am not giving up though: Tumi 2 has been planted, and I will do my best to not become a serial killer…

Huracan 2022 Bikepacking Event/Tour de Roach

The Huracan 300 Challenge is one of those major bikepacking events put together by Singletrack Samurai (aka Karlos Bernart). It entails over 300 miles (more give than take) of biking a variety of trails and connecting roads, starting at the Shangri La campground near Ocala, going to Brooksville, then Clermont, Altamonte Springs, before looping back to Ocala. This is the most challenging event that Ralf has done so far (twice), and he was so looking forward to doing this again after his gruesome surgery! And to make this even more special, his good friend Brian Fleming is joining him again. Those two have been riding buddies for years now, and Brian also has had many recent health issues to overcome before attempting this event again. He had a spinal fusion a year ago and a hip replacement last fall, with some added drama in form of a blood clot in his leg. Long story short, Ralf and Brian are now "Team Cyborg" and were riding the Huracan 300 together for the first time since their respective surgeries. Here is to perseverance and friendship!

Of course, Ralf had to carefully manage his health and stick to his strict routines to function. That is why I came along again with all the essentials, checking into hotels/motels along the way. The night before the start on February 5^th, we stayed in a hotel about 10 minutes away from Shangri La. That actually worked out great, and it was really helpful not having to get up even earlier than 4 am to get ready and be where we needed to be on time. Unfortunately, the weather-God wasn’t in a good mood, as evidenced by a nasty cold front rolling in overnight. Bah! The day before it was in the 80s and sunny, that morning it was grey, cold, and rainy. Oh well, so be it!

Day 1: Take off from Shangri La to Brooksville
I was looking forward to see the guys off to their adventure. While we were still getting ready ad the hotel, Karlos finally announced the direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise). I had a list of hotels to book but had to wait until the morning off to find out in which order. Luckily, I got rooms for both, Ralf (and I) and Brian even on short notice: check!

I remember dropping Ralf off in 2019 for the same event. The Ponce was with us, and that was the first and last time I saw my indoor dog eat horse poo. We are still laughing about that one, he was such a character! I was also looking forward to catch up with Brian’s awesome wife Kim, who dropped her bionic husband of that morning as well. Ralf was nervous, but after we made it to the trail head and he started to get his bike ready and connect with the group, all was good. Awesome!

And off they goooo! After all was said and done, I talked to Kim some more before taking off myself. Since it was very early, I decided to check out the cute town of Inverness, which was on the way (sorta) to the hotel in Brooksville. I wished the weather was nicer, but I got lucky and explored the historic town district while staying dry. Inverness also has Florida’s longest paved bike trail route through, the Withlacoochee State Trail. It reminded me a little of the Cady Way trail we used to ride when living in Winter Park but at 46 miles in lengths, this is by far the longest.

After some sightseeing and late breakfast, I drove through the countryside to the Days Inn in Brooksville. Let me just say, when we pick hotels to stay in, we are very restricted by what’s available, especially in more rural areas. This Days Inn was… an adventure? And the patrons I encountered on the grounds prompted me avoid eye contact, lol. And the hooded guy, who was sitting on a picnic bench right outside the room, apparently didn't have a care in the world while he enjoyed smoking some weed.

Well, the hotel served its purpose, but I wouldn’t recommend walking barefoot in that place or look too closely in the corners. It had a fancy remote control though for the ancient (and sticky) air condition unit and a separate heating unit (did I mention it was COLD out there), which I repurposed to dry Ralf’s cycling shirt the next morning, which I dared to wash in the sink that had seen better days.

Finally, around 6:30 PM, Ralf and Brian finished their first leg of the journey (in one piece). While they showered, I ordered pizza for a quick and carb-loaded meal. Ralf still had to do his evening routine as well to ensure that he stays “out of trouble”.

After that, the two started to deteriorate and shortly thereafter, it was lights out. Day one was a wrap!

Day 2: Brooksville to Clermont
Since the guys were going to take off from the hotel, we didn’t have to pack up and load everything into the car already. That removed the stress of having to be at a remote starting point at a specific time to meet the entire group. We got up at 5 AM, which was an improvement compared to the 4 AM wake-up call the morning before. While Ralf was dealing with his morning routine, I checked out the free continental breakfast. It wasn’t surprising to find a rather slim selection of cereal bars, bagels, and muffins. Oh well, at least there was mediocre coffee to be had, lol.

Now it was time for Ralf and Brian to take off to Clermont. It was 8 AM and the weather-God was still in a foul mood. Cold, grey, and drizzly rain on and off. But those two were in good spirits, ready to tackle the 100 miles ahead before getting tonClermont.

Since I had a late checkout, I took my time, packing up and finally loading the car. I decided to stop by at the Yalaha German bakery & restaurant in Howey-in-the-Hills, since it was only a minor detour on my way to Clermont, and I needed to kill some time before I could ask for an earlier check-in. I had a Bratwurst for lunch, along with a Koestrizer Bier, and got some Bienenstich cake and pretzels to go for the guys.

Now it was time to get to the Roadway Inn and try to check in. Good news: the rooms were ready. Bad news: this turned out to be another “interesting” motel, but for different reasons. The view didn’t improve much and featured an almost empty parking lot across from another (abandoned!) motel complex. I found the stranded car that clearly was in an accident particularly strange.

The rooms turned out to be a challenge as well: first of all, there was no coffee maker and no continental breakfast either. Secondly, there weren’t enough outlets to plug in our devices. In fact, I ended up unplugging a lamp to have at least one outlet available. And thirdly, there appeared to be a shortage of lamp shades. That one made me actually laugh out loud! So, in our room, we had two bedside lamps mounted either side. However, the one on my side didn’t work and when I investigated, I realized that the power cord waaaay too short to reach the only outlet behind the bed. I don’t think that lamp was ever in use, unless someone stole a pre-existing extension cord. But both had a shade. When I checked on Brian’s room, he only had one lamp mounted, and his only source of light had no shade (only the bare bulb). Easy fix! Since I had a mounted lamp with a shade that didn’t work, and Brian’s room had a mounted lamp without a shade that DID work, I simply took ours and attached to his. Tadaaa! When I later mentioned this to the front desk lady, she looked confused and then stated that the hotel had a lamp shade shortage…. Okee-dokee.

So we traded a sticky, dirty room with sufficient outlets with a (still dated but cleaner) room with missing lamp shades and no almost no power outlets (and NO coffee maker!). I still had plenty of time before the guys would arrive, so I headed out to the nearest Publix to stock up with water and instant coffee and creamer. I also pre-screened dinner options to be delivered via Doordash or Ubereats. Then it was time for a nap.

By the time the guys finally arrived, it was already dark. I guess it was pretty cruel that after riding almost 100 miles in freezing and wet weather, the last several miles included the steep hills Clermont is known for. Needless to say, both were pretty beat upon arrival. So after a shower and food, both retired to the chambers.

Day 3: Clermont to Altamonte Springs
Since this leg of the journey was the shortest route, the guys decided on a later start, just around 10 AM. The instant coffee (Starbucks brand) turned out to be a good choice, and since we had instant oatmeal to go with, the missing continental breakfast wasn’t an issue either. Then it was time for the departure to Altamonte Springs, which was “only” around 50 miles. Not too bad, right?

I didn’t bother with a late checkout this time because I decided to drive home before checking in to the Altamonte Springs Mainstay Suites hotel. Since Clermont wasn’t that far away from home, it made more sense to go home to shower and drop off dirty clothes. I promised a friend to help with a teaching a virtual TNCC class online, but that wasn’t until the later afternoon. However, since Ralf and Brian would be in Altamonte relatively early, I wanted to check in and settle in the room prior to their arrival. So around 2 PM, I was walked into the lobby of the Mainstay Suites in Altamonte – not anticipating the humbling experience that awaited me.

This hotel struck me as strange from the moment I arrived: there was a lady in front of me, who was trying to convince the front desk clerk that she should have enough reward points accumulated for a free night. Then a guy came to ask if he qualified for clean towels. “Did you bring the dirty ones?”, the clerk asked, which is when the guy handed her an old plastic bag filled with towels. Odd indeed. Now it was my turn. I was only able to check into one room since the second one wasn’t ready yet. That kind of sucked since I needed to be online by 3 PM for the TNCC class. So I grabbed a cart from the lobby and l headed to the parking lot. I now really noticed the tall building close by. If you live in Central Florida, chances are that you know about this abandoned project along Interstate 4 – a building that has been ridiculed by the locals for years for some reason. Well, I never thought I would ever stay right across from it.

I loaded all the luggage and bags on the cart to bring to our room for now. As I pushed the trolley down the hall towards our room, the smell of freshly smoked weed was pretty evident. The whole feel of this place was more like a run-down apartment building, rather than a hotel.

The room setup itself wasn’t bad at all because it had a complete kitchenette, with full-sized fridge/freezer, sink, silverware, small dining table, and decent-sized bath. However, there were mysterious stains on the armchair a “stale” odor in the room. But every lamp had a shade, and outlets were present in sufficient number.

After unloading the luggage and logging into Zoom with the free wifi for the TNCC class, the front desk lady called me to let me know that the second room was ready as well. Awesome! I beelined to the lobby to pick up the key card when one of the other “guests” just came in. She looked like she came from work, and the front desk lady stopped her by saying “I think you got mail, but I can’t read the label because I lost my only glasses when I was in the hospital, and everything is blurry…”. The lady took a package, checked the label, and confirmed that the mail was indeed for her. Now I started to get it: this was a place where people without permanent housing tried to stay when they could afford the $80/night and/or had enough (Choice Hotels) points accumulated for a free night. Then I remembered the voices of young children I heard from a second-floor room while unloading the car… I had to put it out of my mind or now, especially since I had to be online and fully present in about 10 minutes. I grabbed the key for the second room, which was thankfully next to ours, and quickly brought Brian’s bags and supplies over to his suite. I just made it in time for the class and had to give it my full attention. As it turned out, the free wifi in this place was rather spotty, so the Zoom call was also not the quality I was hoping for, and my virtual trauma manikin didn’t load even once.

Fast forward to 5 PM: Ralf and Brian already arrived from Clermont, which was even faster than I anticipated. I was still finishing up the TNCC class, so Ralf quietly took a shower and then settled into bed to rest until I was done. Thank goodness I was just finishing  up with the class when poor Ralf jumped out of bed in horror! Apparently, the mattress was wet allover, so when Ralf laid down in his clean clothes, the moisture made its way through until he noticed. We lifted the mattress to see what was going on, and sure enough, an enormous stain was find underneath. Since it didn’t have a potent odor nor yellow color, I was hopeful that this wasn’t what I first thought it was… but nevertheless, this was disgusting!

Ralf was so exhausted and angry; it broke my heart. Managing his condition so that he could complete this bike packing event was difficult enough, and this clearly almost made him give up and go home. But he had come so far, and I really, really wanted him to finish! So, while Ralf was packing up our belongings, I went to the front desk to ask for another room. Brian’s room was ok, and he didn’t have any major issues, but we definitely needed to move. The poor front desk lady (who lost her glasses) was so apologetic, and a tad overwhelmed, especially since there was no manager coming in until the next morning. It wasn’t her fault, and she clearly was distraught by the situation. Long story short, we got a new room down a different hall, and when we checked underneath the mattress, there was no evidence of critters or any kind of fluids. It’d been a long day, and this was only for one night, so we quickly moved our stuff over and then ordered burgers through Doordash delivery. Brian came over when the food arrived to join us for dinner, then we all retired for the night.

Day 4: Altamonte Springs back to Belleview (Shangri La):
Without any more dramatic events, we made it through the night. At around 6 AM, I went to the front desk to give Ralf time to do his morning routine. I now was very curious what the continental breakfast would look like in this place. I read on a sign that breakfast needed to be picked up at the front desk (one per person), which was a new concept. As I was walking down the hall towards the lobby, I saw a very young woman, dressed in a pink jogging suit and a tiny Chihuahua on a leash, standing there. As I got closer, I first thought that someone had punched her in the face because I noticed a bruise-looking discoloration under her left eye. But then I realized that it was a tattoo (some writing that I couldn’t quite decipher). I said “hello”, padded her adorable puppy, and asked her if she was waiting to pick up breakfast. She said yes, but that the guy behind the front desk had disappeared and was nowhere to be found. As we waited, we made some small talk, and when the front desk clerk finally appeared, I took the opportunity and requested our breakfast. The young women said her good-byes and returned to her room.

I sat in the only chair, across the counter, close to the entrance. The two small (stapled) paper bags I was handed contained the pre-assembled breakfast. I opened one bag to investigate and found a cup of instant oatmeal, a small bottle of water for said oatmeal, a fruit cup, and a breakfast bar. A pretty sensible choice, since I assumed that many of the folks staying here depended on it. I observed a few people who were clearly leaving for work. Then a lady in scrubs arrived at the front desk, trying to pick up her breakfast. She appeared to be in a hurry, looking for the clerk (who again had disappeared). A couple minutes went by, and the lady got more and more anxious, most likely because she needed to get to work and needed the food. I grabbed my second, unopened bag and offered it to her, stating that I didn’t need it. She thanked me, grabbed the bag, and beelined out the door.

As I sat there, in the lobby of this dated place that clearly wasn’t used by guests on vacation, I was overcome by gratitude of what I have. Nobody is safe from falling into bad circumstances, especially when you take the repercussions of the pandemic into consideration. Not everyone is a “screw up” or drug addict. Most people I encountered were trying to make ends meet, going to work, surviving on a budget that clearly wasn’t enough to cover food and permanent shelter. I was once close to living in my car, after my abusive ex-husband from another lifetime had ruined me financially and professionally, forcing me to start from scratch. So yes, I am grateful that I was able to rebuild my life, grateful for all the things I do have: sufficient income, a roof over my head, quality food, a car to get me where I need to be, ability to fly back and forth to Germany to take care of my family, and the means to pay for healthcare. This last hotel stay turned out to be a humbling experience and a good reminder to be grateful.

In the meantime, Ralf was ready to rumble. A check with Brian confirmed that takeoff was going to take place as scheduled.

At 7 AM, it was time for Ralf and Brian to tackle that last 100 miles back to Shangri La near Ocala. The weather forecast was NASTY, but those two were in good spirits and adequately layered in rain gear.

I went back to the rooms, packed everything up quickly, and loaded the car. I didn’t want to wait for the manager to come in at 8 AM to address the wet-mattress incident, but the front desk lady (who had returned) promised me that she’d follow up. It took me a little longer to get home, especially since I got caught in morning rush hour, but I finally made it home. HOME! I still had to finish up the TNCC class on Zoom at 10 AM, but then I took a glorious shower and washed all the clothes right away. I went to the store to stock our fridge, cooked a homemade chicken soup, and waited for Ralf and Brian to get closer to the finishing point. Brian’s awesome wife Kim was bringing Publix sandwiches for everyone, so I didn’t have to think about what to feed Ralf upon his arrival back in Shangri La.

Due to the weather, their arrival was now estimated for around 8:30 PM but was still a tad unpredictable, and the drive to/from Brooksville was also about 1 ½ hours. So Kim and I took off at 6:30 PM (her drive was a tad longer from her home), in order to be there early, just in case. It was still raining and pitch black, with heavy traffic on the turnpike. I hate driving in the dark to begin with, so I was glad when I entered the Shangri La parking lot.

It was so cold, so I stayed in the car while I waited for Kim. She made it about 30 minutes later, and since she had the sandwiches ready to go, we sat in the car, ate our share, and waited. I checked the GPS tracking again and had to realize that the guys are still at least an hour away. But that was ok, especially since this gave Kim and I time to catch up. Last time we were here, in the same place for the same event, was in 2019, just a week before Ponce passed. In fact, with a heavy heart I remembered Poncebear, who came along that night, tucked away in his stroller, to pick up daddy. A memory I actually share with Kim.

Just after 9 PM, Kim and I walked over to the pavilion of the campground where Ralf and Brian would eventually arrive. It was cold and dark, but at least the rain had stopped. And finally, at 9:26 PM, we saw some lights and voices approach: the eagle had landed!

The guys were completely exhausted, dirty, and a tad discombobulated, but so happy! They just finished a 350 miles loop around Central Florida, despite nasty weather and physical challenges. After we took some pictures, the guys changed into dry clothes, and then Kim and I stuffed them in our respective cars to make our final drive home. Ralf ate half of his sandwich, then fizzled out.

Wow, what an experience for both of us! I am beyond proud of Ralf for this accomplishment, finishing 350 miles on trails, gravel, and pavement, despite nasty weather and ongoing health issues. Being able to do events likes this is always a “hit or miss”, depending on how he feels, which makes this even more special. Me, I have a renewed appreciation of my blessings, thanks to the “Tour de Roach Hotel”, as Ralf calls it...