It was a dark and stormy night. Oh yeah it was. Jan, local paddling friend Brandon and I left last Friday (March 4th) after work for FLA. Jan had planned to go to Florida for a week of early season canoe training and Brandon's very generous and thoughtful (to say nothing of long suffering :)) wife arranged for him to go as well as a surprise Christmas present. It was Brandon's first time on one of these training vacations. Jan and I have been doing it for many years since back when I was still canoe racing. We were headed to Inverness where many northeastern paddlers go. Why Inverness, a sleepy little town about 60 miles north of Tampa? Some number of years ago, Gene Jensen, boat builder, designer and arguably the father of modern canoe racing retired to Inverness and gradually a tradition of going south to do some early season training with Gene grew. Neither Jan or I had been there in a few years. The last couple years, Jan was meeting a group on Michigan and Minnesotan paddlers in northern FLA and I had been going to Solvang, CA for early season training with a few of my Trek Midwest teammates. This year, for a variety of reasons, Jan was headed back to Inverness and I decided to do the family togetherness thing. Though Solvang was fun and the company good, I missed spending vacation time with Jan.
And it was a dark and stormy night as Brandon and I packed up his Honda Pilot and headed south with boats and bikes on the top of the car. One might be able to fly someplace and have your bike meet you there but 18'6" racing canoes are another story. We had a 1250 mile drive ahead of us and the plan was to drive thru the night and get to FLA in time to do an afternoon paddle or ride as one preferred. Not too long after we hit the road, it started to rain and by the time we were a couple hours into Illinois, it was freakin' pouring. And did I mention the lightning. At least it was not snowing! THAT would have made it impossible, given the severity of the storm. I took the second shift of driving and was wondering about the sanity of trying to drive straight thru. The Pilot is a pretty stable beast but the winds were pretty strong and we had those boats which make great sails, even better than bikes on the roof. Passing a truck got to be a tad nerve racking between the spray practically blinding the driver and the back draft from the truck buffeting the car. Also I was not used to the car and I am not sure if the roads were narrower or if it was just that the Pilot sat a little higher than I was used to but driving the early part of the night sure got my attention. Fortunately, the winds and the rain gradually lessened to mere nuisance status as the night progressed. I cannot sleep in a moving vehicle but took my turn to rest eyes when I could. And when the sun came up as we were rolling thru Atlanta, I started to perk up, thinking, I would be riding outdoors in the warm sun soon! Map Quest had said 20 hours to get south and that was just about right.
We headed to the top end of a bike trail about 18 or so miles from Inverness and Jan and Brandon dropped me off before they headed off to the nearest river. This bike trail (a rails to trails project that is 46 miles long) runs right past the hotel in Inverness we would be staying at. The motel is known as Canoe Central to those meeting there and the proximity to the trail was one of the many reason for staying there. Another is being central to a LOT of beautiful rivers for those of the canoeing persuasion. I got out of the car - not a cloud in the sky, 82F - THAT is what I am taking about. Kitted up, sprayed on the sunscreen and headed down the trail. The bike and I were very happy. Let the vacation begin! And oh yeah, the training!
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