Hello 2+2, wanted to share some of my adventure with the community and have a place to document the experience with those that may be interested.

On 6/20/14 I began my journey on a bicycle (peddle bike) from the Easton PA with the goal of reaching Playa Del Carmen Mexico. Right now I am writing this post from a cheap motel in Jacksonville FLA on phillips highway 7 miles from the Best Bet card room.

The trip so far has been good my best mileage in one day was 115 miles and that took me from the south bank of the Pamlico River to Surf City N.C, it was quite a haul and required me waking up at 5:45 Am then riding until 10:30pm the last 9 miles was interesting as it featured crossing a large bridge/causeway during a full on lightening storm, 30 mph winds and pounding rain. I took a break for two pints of beer at North Topsail Beach and pushed the final 7 miles to the lovely Trailer Bar which is a double wide mobile home that has been for some time a local watering hole.

There is so much to write, and quite frankly don't know where or how to begin and apologize for the lack of writing chops but last night was a long one at Best Bet featuring some very big action at the 5-5 PLO table.

My goal henceforth is to give some sort of daily update of my travel and share pictures, and stories.

Many of my best photos as of late have come from my IPhone and am struggling to post them on 2+2 but have managed to upload from my laptop so I suppose eventually that will happen.

Hopefully in the future my ability to navigate the site and share the experience will increase but for now it feels very foreign, any questions about bike touring and my overall experience will be answered as my time and ability permits

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That is a picture of my bike which I dumped in Gunpowder Falls State park after pulling over to take a photo of the gorgeous falls, a kind jogger helped me right the rig which probably weighs about 160 LBS.

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This was going into Charleston S.C and think it qualifies as a thread saving post since my writing is very rusty Paddle board bootie

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For all you tree hugging hippies here is a nice shot of turtles sunbathing if bikini clad babes aren't your bag

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I love seeing goats and or donkeys so to get both in one shot was quite satisfying

Though this was funny and worth a photo, north Richmond VA

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On my third day of travel outside Philly I pulled off at a shopping plaza to get some rest and water. An older gentleman asked me where I was headed and came from, after explaining to him my plans he wished me good luck and shook my hand. This was at a McDonalds and when the clerk handed me my HOT coffee she mentioned the same man had left something on my bike, he had left two $5 bills on underneath a bungee cord on my bike. Before that he asked me if I was blogging about my trip and I said "no", he told me I should share some of my experience with others so here I am.

Looks like a pretty sweet trip. Interested to see what route youre taking through Mexico. You flying back, biking back, or staying there to grind?

Just an fyi. If youre using the the imgur links that already img in them you dont need to use insert image function on 2p2. That way you wont have the img text around the photos. Maybe a phone app thing though.

glhf

Sorry for the schizophrenic nature of my post wish I could give you a proper time line of the trip but now I'm just picking through the library I have uploaded and sharing photos I think are nice. This one was taken after an epic night at Bucksport Tiki Bar boat launch on the intercoastal waterway. I pulled off to catch the end of Germany Vs Argentina and found this campground that had listed a price of $50 per night. Managed to negotiate that down to $18, drank a **** ton of beer watched the epic goal and chatted up some good ole boys wife who made if very clear his friend "Bow" would take care of any problems he had.

Needless to say I slept alone that night but the setting was very pretty, always nice to camp legally with access to hot running water.

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Rusemandingo, the route through Mexico gives me many different options. The shortest route would be to head straight towards Brownsville and cross in to Matamoros following the gulf of mexico all the way to Yucatan. Unfortunately that area is reported to be one of the most dangerous in Mexico, gulf cartel, zetas, etc. On top of that the scenery will be quite homogeneous overall and will require using the major highway which I believe has a decent shoulder but many trucks and high rate of speed.

The other option would be to follow the Adventure Cycling maps to Del Rio Texas and cross into Ciudad Acuna, from there it would require riding the gnarled spine of the Mexican Mountains south and that is something I am not too excited about considering it would slow my pace down to >8mph on the crazy hills.

I would assume the most dangerous part of Mexico is the 100 mile buffer zone near the border but know there are bad guys with barking irons just about every where and ultimately it comes down to good fortune, intuition and preparedness. I kind fancy the though of passing through Tampico anyway because I love the song, looks like a giant Oil Town but what the hell I just gotta grin and bear it.

Heres a good shot of my cycle 25 miles south of York PA on the Heritage trail which leads to the Gunpowder Falls Park, and ultimately Baltimore MD, almost 70 miles of car free riding which in this game is like nirvana [QUOTE]

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Oh and the plan is to grind on stars in Playa or possibly just set up a stars account and grind all around the planet via bike. I can take a "warp" by taking a cruise from galveston TX to Cozumel if I get chicken **** but am hesitant to do that because I feel the trip can be done safely if I take the right steps. No plans to leave, but again if I like there are regular cruises that terminate in Cozumel so If I decide to head home that should be doable.

This shot was taken just south of Baltimore outside of Ellicott city, kinda trippy think they must have been having a 4th of july celebration

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Chip porn from last nights 5-5 PLO game at best bet it's missing the tasty pumpkins but they came later. Night before I got hosed for 1700 playing 5-10 PLO with a bunch of laggy pros who were sitting very deep (16k) , my top set got smashed by a frush for something like a 4 k pot so it was nice to get a tad of redemption.

In for 1500 out for 5300

Heres a little taste of the crazy **** you find on the road, don't worry I used a branch to pull it out of the weeds in order to get this shot. Left it in the roadway for all the drivers to be envious of.

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Georgia on my mind....

Riding into JAX through the ghetto, actually I'm starting to think all of JAX is a ghetto. Went to pull out some cash from a PNC ATM inside a BP station last night only to find it was on lock down inside the station , the only transactions were taking place via a bulletproof window and the clerk was not allowed to let anyone in

Waiting for the 5 10 PLO playing 4 8 o 8 there was 8 players to the flop befor i got many seat.

Super deep game my 2 k buy I feels very short

The trip took an ugly turn, after drunkenly crashing out in my cheap motel room it seems I had not only left my door unlocked but also left the key in the door. I had about 10k in cash and chips that is no longer here and can only assume some lucky criminal waltzed right in and scooped it up. Thankfully they left my phone laptop and other valuables but regardless to win a nice piece of money and have it taken in such a manner is discouraging.

I have serious thoughts of quitting the trip based upon my embarrassing lack of self protection but maybe it will help me realize alcohol is no bueno para mi.

Found my missing bankroll, placed it inside of my MSR stove bag and only found it now as I spotted a $100 chip laying by it on the ground. The whole episode has been very stressful and shameful, but hope it will lead me to where I need to go in life. For now the bike trip is on hold, have an interview with a halfway house here in Jax tomorrow afternoon.

Cmon don't let one bad night ruin this cool thread

great pictures and crazy surprise turn in the story. good luck getting the help you need OP