All Rested Up and Ready to Ride

Tomorrow morning at sunup, I will start the southbound portion of my trip. I rested up under the warm hospitality offered by Mike and Mary Pikula of Amelia Island. I've met a number of interesting and friendly folks on the first quarter of my trip; and I believe Mike and Mary have raised the bar for hospitality standards. I'm convinced that I need to bring back a group of riders to experience Amelia Island's beautiful community.

I was privileged to meet with a small group of Greenway enthusiasts for breakfast this morning, and enjoyed talking with Mike, Phillip Scanlan, David Rogers, and Carmen Martinez all supporters and key players in Amelia Island's, and the Greenway's plans for developing and improving biking opportunities in this area. Amelia Island will likely be the flagship community of biking trails and routes under the charter of the Greenway, and appears poised to set the standard for other communities to create bicycle-friendly infrastructure. Ryan Smith of the Fernandina Beach News Leader was in attendance and is preparing an article that describes the nature of my mission(s)on the Greeway, and to report on the Greenway's progress.

I'm hoping that the headwinds that I battled for several days will now become trustworthy tailwinds for me and allow me to relax enough to enjoy some of the scenery en route. Although, I'm also trusting that these winds will not boost my speed beyond the 29.2 MPH I logged descending the causeway into Vero Beach the other day. The tag-along trailer I'm using, which has generated so much strain for me on upwind and uphill legs definitely provides a scarey boost downhill. I'm not sure how many miles I can expect to get out of a set a brakes on my bike; but I'm sure that, if I'd had the courage to look down the other day, they would have been smoking! I thought I had outgrown that kind of foolishness; but I have to admit, this old Cobra jokey got a little thrill out of that experience.

As was my purpose from the outset, I've met a number of veterans on this trip, and have not been particularly surprised to learn that most of them have no idea about the kinds of VA programs that are available to assist them. I've encouraged all of them to contact their County Veterans Services representatives to explore assistance options that are available to them. Santa Rosa County, where I'm from reportedly has a significant population of homeless vets. I assume other communities throughout Florida hide similar problems; and that just shouldn't be.

I've not met any of today's younger breed of veterans, who I have a great deal of concern for. Like me, when I left the Army, many of these vets have likely moved onto career paths that have provided immediate distraction from the kinds of scarring stresses endured in combat. If they settle into the transportation industry in particular, they will have to conceal any stress-related problems they suffer, if they hope to maintain federal licensure. This is a real catch 22 situation; because many of these young folks would greatly benefit from mentoring, nurturing fellowship that could help them re-assimilate into society and mitigate future negative impacts of Post Traumatic Stress. But, many of them can't seek professional treatment without jeopardizing their new careers. Like me, they will have to "suck it up", act whole, and trust that time will cover and heal the effects of their past traumatic experiences. Unlike them, for decades, I've been blessed with the support of strong nurturing relationships within the church communities I've joined.

Tomorrow evening, I hope to report from somewhere near St. Augustine.

Al