Following this brief introduction is the text of a press release prepared by Herb Hiller of the East Coast Greenway in Florida, which covers the details of my impending 1172 mile roundtrip ride on Florida's East Coast Greenway, which runs between the Fl/Ga border to Key West, Florida. I will begin my trip on October 1, 2010 on the Atlantic Coast at Port Saint Lucie, which is approximately mid-distance on my trip, and head north to Fernandina Beach on the Fl/Ga border. On October 8, I should lauch on the southbound portion of my trip to Key West. If all goes well, I'll average 50 miles per day pedaling and arrive in Key West on Oct 21. Starting Oct 22, I'll begin the final leg of my journey back to Port Saint Lucie, arriving on Oct 29.
The purpose of the trip is three-fold:
1. To say thank you to, and call attention the needs of America's war veterans
2. To help promote Florida biking opportunities, in particular the East Coast Greenway
3. Personal fitness.
I welcome other riders to join me en route; and I look forward to meeting many of you you. I welcome contributions to help defray the cost of this trip; and all along my route, I will be soliciting tax-decuctible donations to the American Legion, which is America's largest veterans organization.
Al
TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE
Albert E. Melvin, 63, a native of Milton in the far western Panhandle, will become the first known cyclist to bike the Florida route of the East Coast Greenway both ways in a single journey. He plans to start October 1st and will dedicate his ride to improving awareness of military veterans' health issues.
In a nine-year U.S. Army career, Melvin, during the war years of 1968 to 1970, served as a Cobra helicopter pilot in the Central Highlands of Vietnam and then as an air ambulance pilot with the Army National Guard. He later flew for Mobil Oil in the Gulf of Mexico, for the Florida Division of Forestry, and worked as an air traffic controller in Anchorage, Alaska and in Leesburg, Virginia.
Melvin says he learned about the 586-mile route of the East Coast Greenway through Florida by online research about “a route that had a beginning and an end that I could handle in about a month. So much the better keeping the ride entirely in Florida; because people need to know about this kind of route happening in our state, even if it’s as far east as you can get from where I live.”
About 200 miles of the route between Fernandina Beach and Key West are now off-road and paved, the balance mainly along Highway A1A, quiet roads and streets that parallel the shore road, and otherwise along roads closer to U.S. 1 than A1A.
Melvin plans to park his car in Port St. Lucie and then begin riding about 50 miles a day, first north to Fernandina Beach, then south to Key West and north again to Port St. Lucie.
He’ll ride a Trek 830 Antelope, equipped with lights, pulling an Aosom two-wheel tag-along bike trailer, which will weigh about 60 pounds when loaded with lightweight clothing, tent and sleeping bag, first aid and shaving kits, batteries, high energy snack bars, water, and emergency equipment. He will wear a Camelback [hydration system, helmet, and gloves. A handlebar bag will hold additional person items. A locking, weather resistant hard-side cargo bin mounted on the rear bike rack will hold repair gear. He will tune up the bike before he leaves and will modify his trailer to accept the same caliber wheels as his bike.
“Depending on the weather, I plan to camp along the way, to rough it as much as possible,” says Melvin.
However, as word has gotten around about his ride, offers have been coming in for at-home hospitality. In Port St. Lucie, Melvin has been asked to join a veterans memorial dedication. In Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island Trails has invited Melvin to speak. In Miami, the advocacy group Green Mobility Network plans to organize a meeting around his time there.
Between now and the start of his ride, Melvin, unemployed, is soliciting sponsors and donors to help meet his expenses but also to raise funds for the American Legion for use in its veterans assistance programs. He asks that donors channel their contributions through American Legion Post #78, 6025 Spikes Way, Milton, Fl 32570.
Melvin will begin his trip as an ordinary cyclist. He says “I've occasionally biked the Blackwater Heritage Trail here in Santa Rosa County. Other than that, my riding has been limited to local area exploration, with no trip taking more than five or six hours.” He’s spending September training on his bike modified for the trip.
Melvin distinctly ended his flying career piloting the same type helicopter that he cut his teeth on 35 years before. He calls the Cobra "a rocket ship with rotor blades that also became part of my body, an extension of a seventh-sense, difficult to put into words, but nevertheless experienced at the cellular level.
“When that bird soared, my spirit soared. When she shuddered and didn't feel right, I was out of sorts and apprehensive as well."
His love affair with the Cobra ended after nearly 10,000 accident-free flight hours when he twisted his back trying to keep his machine from damage ahead of an advancing thunderstorm.
That led to surgery for three fused vertebrae
Melvin says, “Having spent most of my life looking down on earthbound creatures, and capable of accurately predicting where I would be at a given time, I now find myself grounded in reality, walking and pedaling like everyone else, looking up frequently, and wondering how on earth anyone ever gets around without a helicopter.”
Of this ride, Al's wife of 38 years, Sylvia, a teacher and freelance writer, jokes, "Most men have a midlife crisis in their 50's. Al waited 'til his 60's."
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“I acknowledge that in this perilous economy, veterans are perhaps just another group that competes for our attention; but few other folks in this nation have ever been required to lay everything on the line the way they have, often at the risk of permanent disability or death, and often unable to adequately provide for themselves and their families. If the politicians that are so quick to dispatch our soldiers all over the globe were first required to serve under similar circumstances, I'll bet we wouldn't have this problem of veterans in need. Nor would it be so bad, if so many of our leaders didn't exhibit the attitude that our soldiers are an expendable commodity, if for no other reason, just because they are volunteers. These attitudes contribute to the problem of inadequate funding for veteran treatment - hence, the reason for this trip.”
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EAST COAST GREENWAY ALLIANCE BIKE TRAIL
FLORIDA/GEORGIA BORDER TO KEY WEST
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
DAY TARGET AREA
1 Oct 1 Port St. Lucie
2 Oct 2 Melbourne
3 Oct 3 Titusville
4 Oct 4 Daytona Beach
5 Oct 5 Crescent Beach
6 Oct 6 Jacksonville Beach
7 Oct 7 Fernandina Beach
8 Oct 8 Ponte Vedra
9 Oct 9 Ormond Beach
10 Oct 10 Titusville
11 Oct 11 Melbourne
12 Oct 12 Vero Beach
13 Oct 13 Port St. Lucie
14 Oct 14 Palm Beach
15 Oct 15 Ft. Lauderdale
16 Oct 16 Miami
17 Oct 17 Florida City
18 Oct 18 Key Largo
19 Oct 19 Long Key
20 Oct 20 Big Pine Key
21 Oct 21 Key West
22 Oct 22 Bahia Honda Key
23 Oct 23 Long Key
24 Oct 24 Key Largo
25 Oct 25 Florida City
26 Oct 26 Miami
27 Oct 27 Del Ray Beach
28 Oct 28 Jupiter Island
29 Oct 29 Port St. Lucie
* DAILY SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO WEATHER & MAINTENANCE.
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