The final chapter
Found
Brunswick, GA 
| South Beach, FL 
| 480 miles 
| 1st - 9th October 2012 
Getting into Florida on that Monday afternoon was surreal. It was a busy working day with the hustle and bustle of lunch time in Jacksonville but in my head I was calm, relaxed and ready to stand still for a few days. I had some plans to hang out with friends old and new throughout the state so I was content that I wasn't going to have another episode like in Virginia.
Water, water and more water!
It was a 90 mile day that day riding down a route I had been accustomed to for most of the journey in the south, route 17.
By this time I had stopped wearing the gaskets on my shades because the sweat along with the grit from the road meant that they would rub on my skin causing sores around my eyes which wasn’t a good look nor did if feel too good either.
I stopped many times along the way; I think I must have gone through about 9 bottles of water and ice tea and 5 packets of peanuts. I felt like I was single handily keeping CVS in business. I remember crossing the border into Florida. As I approached my stay in Mandarin, Jacksonville literally a few blocks away from my destination I had to stop at a Walmart just to wake up.
I pulled up in front of the big automatic doors and before I could lock my bike a gust of AC from the store hit me. I dropped Ursula to the ground, grabbed my wallet and hobbled inside….I must have looked like a mad man.
I grabbed another Gatorade and drank it under the AC system by the exit. “I’m in Florida.” I had to keep repeating that to myself.
Everything was colourful, tropical and bright. After what seemed like 20 minutes I jumped back on the saddle and cycled at a snail pace one handed whilst drinking my grape flavoured Gatorade.
I was off the main roads now and into the suburbs looking for my friend’s house. The place was beautiful, houses backed onto lakes, lawns were perfectly trimmed, walkers said hello as they past me by….I definitely wasn’t in Camden anymore.
When it rains it pours
As I turned the corner onto another perfect street, out came my friend to welcome me into their house. I had a blast during my stay in Jacksonville, so much so that I ended up staying an additional 2 days.
When it came time to leave that’s when the rain decided to show… Mother Nature was still mad at me for something.
The downpour was so intense that I had to get a car to the coast just south of St Augustine and see how much I could cycle to Daytona Beach before the mid Florida afternoon downpour would stop me in my tracks.
Anybody who’s been to Florida before knows that for all it’s hot sunny hours in the day there is always an hour or 2 of rain. Well in this case it decided to come when I was making tracks and it was sudden and torrential.
I had cycled maybe 20 miles south down the east coast before I had to stop and this time for good. I hadn’t packed ANY waterproofs so I was soaked.
I couldn’t even see the traffic lights in front of me about 20 feet away so I told myself to stop at the next sheltered building. It just so happened that the next stop was a budget car rental place.
I stood under the awning for what felt like 40 to 45 minutes, it didn’t stop it was relentless. The receptionist from budget came out to have a smoke next to me.
“You waiting to be picked up?” She said whilst lighting up.
“No, I’m waiting for the rain to pass… I’m cycling to Daytona.”
“Good luck with that this looks like its settling for the next few hours… Look over there…”
She was pointing at the incoming clouds, they were dark and angry. I closed my eyes and rolled my head back with frustration.
“You need to be somewhere?” She said taking another puff.
I told her my story; she said she could give me a discount off a rental car for what I was doing. It was too good an offer to refuse and I wanted to get to Daytona before dark so I took it.
A silver Nissan Altima 2.5 a great car with an awesome punch when you put your foot down. It was so good eating up those miles on 4 wheels.
The lady at the car rental place was right; the rain was set for the day and to this day I have never driven in such bad conditions. I could barely see 10 feet ahead even with the windscreen wipers on full power and the car was sliding.
It rained all the way into Daytona, my stay for the night. I was staying with some family friends I hadn’t seen in 20 years; John and Maria, I was worried they weren’t going to recognise me!
They lived on Ponce Inlet, an inlet off Daytona. As soon as I crossed the bridge onto Ponce Inlet the rain stopped….just like that.
As I approached John and Maria’s house I got goose bumps. I was John's age the last time he saw me back in 1992, carrying me around on his shoulders.
Maria I hadn’t seen since the year before when she visited London in 1991. I pulled into the drive way of what looked like house from the Golden Girls. I got out onto the palm tree lined driveway and hollered “Hello?”
As I walked up the garden path underneath a huge banana tree I could see a shadow moving through the glass door and a lady yelling something in Italian…
In an instant I had remembered Maria. A pocket sized Italian lady who once graced the Florence fashion scene.
We embraced on the porch before she hollered for John.
“John, John ….Tariq is here!”
Out came John from the side of the garage holding a can of beer. “Really?” He said to me looking up at me with shock.
We all embraced and shared the story of my day before Maria hurried me into the house to make me a traditional Italian lunch.
After sharing our many stories past and present John introduced me to his friend from down the street, Vic. We all jumped in his golf cart and headed to the beach for some beers while Maria cooked a great Italian dinner.
Finding reasons to stand still and enjoy life
When we got back to the house, the whole place smelt like pasta and seafood. That meal had to go down as one of if not the best of the year.
The next day John and I took 2 bikes down to the beach, I didn’t want to tell him that on my days off riding, the last thing I wanted to do was get on a bike so I grinned and bared it.
It was crazy overlooking the same ocean my sisters and I played in. While John ran in for a swim I stood there looking out onto the ocean and it brought me back first to when I was in Myrtle Beach and secondly to the time when my Mum brought us here in 1992.
Though those times were tough for my Mum raising 3 kids by herself and teaching full time she still managed to give us what we’d probably all agree was the most magical and memorable vacation of our lives.
I look back at the home videos now and its funny to look at the me of 20 years ago without a care in the world. In my late teens and early 20s I would be known as a loner because I was always concerned about the future rather than enjoying the present; so I isolated myself from people.
I spent a few minutes cooling my blistering feet in the Atlantic Ocean before cycling back to the house with John. I stayed with John and Maria for two days. When it came time to leave I really I felt like I could retire Ursula right there on the beach. Ponce Inlet had such a chill island vibe.
After packing my bags and saying my goodbyes to Maria and John I left for Titusville to drop off the car. It felt a little strange to be continuing the journey. It kind of felt like my journey had already concluded, as if I had already crossed the line a few days ago in Jacksonville.
I guess it was the relief of stress, the release of loneliness and the sudden clarity I had discovered about life. I had met such great people who made me want to stand still and enjoy the present.
Another booking faux pas
When I got to Titusville about a half hour drive south I pulled up in the bay and opened the boot and there was my girl Ursula ready to roll again.
I couldn’t believe how strong she had been, all the sidewalks she had seen, all the rough terrain she had endured and she still didn’t have a puncture. I brought her out, reattached her wheel, checked the alignment, strapped on my panniers and headed south.
I had seriously underestimated the sheer size of Florida as a state, it is huge. Before I reached Florida and really checked out the mileage I assumed that I would be able to head straight into Fort Lauderdale from Ponce Inlet in a day. Well after looking at the map and realising it was a 232mile ride, I thought better of it.
I was heading to Sebastian for the night. I couldn’t wait to take off my Lycra shorts, they were getting tighter with every wash and man did the seams begin to chafe. When I got to the halfway mark I stopped for my liquid top up, I got 3 waters and a can of Mango iced tea.
It made me remember the first stop I made just outside of Framingham Massachusetts on day one where I bought the same beverage…wow that day really seemed like yesterday.
It’s interesting cycling long distances on road because your eyes are constantly affixed to the white lines ahead of you, when you stop for a rest and close your eyes all you see are white lines it can drive you crazy if you let it.
Just as I pulled up into my hotel for the night I realised that I couldn't find my reservation confirmation email. “Hi I’ve got a reservation for one night under Tariq but I cant find my confirmation email.”
“I can’t find you on the system let me double check.”
As soon as she said that I thought ok my booking didn’t go through I must have hastily closed my iPad before the payment was confirmed.
I didn’t really mind I was in a hotel, AC blasting and a vending machine with about a year’s supply of Dr Pepper to my right, I was still smiling until…
“Sorry I can’t find your reservation.”
“Ok can I just get a room now for one night please?”
“We are at capacity tonight I'm afraid.”
My smile dropped as quickly as I wanted to drop these freaking Lycra pants.
“None at all?”
“I’m afraid not sir. We have another hotel in Vero Beach? If you want I can call you a cab?”
My smile was now on the floor along with a small but growing puddle of sweat. I had to do another 20 miles south and it looked like I had only another 2 hours of daylight left.
“Ok they have a room available would you like me to go ahead and reserve it for you.”
“Yes, yes please do.”
Meeting an old friend from MySpace
I couldn’t believe I was so stupid and didn’t confirm my booking the night before. I got to my hotel at twilight; I was beyond tired now and felt my back tightening up. I limped into the lobby of the hotel pulling my bike in tow. I had no trouble sleeping that night.
The next morning I woke up stiff and groggy as hell. I walked downstairs in my shorts, shirt and flip flops and had what must have been 4 coffees whilst I planned my route into Fort Lauderdale on the iPad.
The last thing I wanted to do was cycle, my legs barely made it to the breakfast bare let alone another 110 mile bike ride. I watched the news, had some cereal and went back to my room to shower. I was so tired the night before I hadn’t even unpacked.
I left at 10.07am on the dot because I remember walking passed the TV in the lobby showing a storm prediction hitting the east coast in a few weeks. As long as it wasn’t within the next week I was good.
I was cycling to Fort Lauderdale that day to meet a good friend of mine, Lee, who I’d known for the past 5 years but had never met. He was my first MySpace friend, yeah that’s taking it back.
So I clambered onto Ursula and headed down Route 1. My legs felt like they weren’t attached to my body and my back was bordering on locked.
I made plenty of stops that afternoon; it felt good being able to take my time having left a lot earlier than I did the day before. My last stop was just south of West Palm Beach, it was around then when I realised just how close I was to Miami, my final destination.
I sat on the curb outside CVS, drank my sweet tea, ate my peanuts and stared at the palm trees ahead of me thinking just how fun life had been over the last few weeks.
I reached Lee’s house by 6pm and sat on his lawn waiting for him to get back. It was great meeting a pen pal because very rarely do you actually have the opportunity to meet. It’s a strange feeling knowing someone and never meeting them but it’s strange in a comfortable way.
That night Lee had some friends over; we had a few drinks and enjoyed the Saturday night in his great back yard and his pool.
When it was time for bed it helped that the bed in the guest bedroom was one of the most comfortable beds on the planet. Fort Lauderdale was a lot of fun, I love the colour and the buzz. There’s something about palm tree lined streets that makes me smile.
We spent all day talking about what had happened over the past few years. We were friends on MySpace for a year then fell out of touch until I found him on Facebook late last year when I knew I would be passing through Florida.
We spent the day playing with the dogs and catching up on the last few years around his pool. My diagnosis, the death of my father, his moving house, the recent hurricane there was a lot to catch up on.
I don’t know how many cranberry and vodkas we put away that night but I was knocked out and ready for bed. Early the next day when I woke up and told myself…”This is the day.” I was heading to South Beach, Miami Florida, a short journey but my final one.
The journey there was a blur, I was in shock most of the way and when I reached Ocean Drive and cycled along the beach I was a bag of nerves.
Ocean Drive and 5th, end of the road
I tried recording numerous videos when I got to South Beach but I was in shock that I talked jiberish over each version.
I was cycling at a relaxed pace, not knowing when or where to actually stop. What was the finish line? As I pulled up to the intersection of Ocean Drive and 5th Avenue that’s when the sudden rain downpour happened. Everyone ran for cover underneath the awnings, I just stood there straddling the bike.
“OK – I guess this is where I call it a day?”
I was so used to stopping at major junctions and intersections to check my GPS for the next turn. I didn't need to. This was it, no more directions, no more turns I was at my final destination.
I looked down and saw Ursula’s front tyre flatter than normal. She had suffered her first and only puncture all the way from Fenway Park… She waited for me.
I didn’t know what to do with myself so I did what I had become accustomed to when I found myself in such perplexed states, I went to the beach.
I climbed off Ursula for the last time and laid her on the sand before walking to the ocean.
I stared into the distance trying to think about something… anything, when a deep voice behind me said…
“Hey man is that your bike?”
I turned around to see the life guard setting up his deck behind me.
“Yeah sorry is it in your way?”
“No dude… you’re cool…your accent… Where are you from?”
We did the whole, ‘wow your from London, 'have you met the queen' talk before I told him what I was doing there.
He took a photo of me standing by his deck which read “Miami Beach.” It wasn’t until that moment I looked at the photo he took that I realised where I was and what I had just done.
I picked up Ursula and walked her back to the intersection in the rain. I looked around at the locals going about their daily business and couldn’t help but wonder…
To them I look like a guy out for a Monday morning cycle on the beach…they had no idea where my journey had started.
I crossed the street and went into the smoothie bar across the street, Fresh on Fifth. I walked inside and tried to order myself a mango smoothie… that’s when it all came to me, the waterworks.
The waiter looked at me as if I was crazy. I was in shock and had about a dozen emotions swirling around like a vortex in my mind. I didn’t know how to feel, happy, sad, relieved, excited, lost, found… I just let it all out there and then.
I sat down outside under the awning next to Ursula and overlooked Ocean Drive. Before the journey started I didn’t set a definitive finish line but where I was just felt right, I think Ursula’s flat told me that.
As I sat there gulping down my overly thick and overly sweetened smoothie that’s when I tweeted my location and the photo the life guard took. For the next 30 minutes my phone buzzed like crazy.
Social followers all over the world were congratulating me. But the ones that really hit home were the guys not saying well done but 'thank you.'
I was being thanked for igniting belief in people with my condition that they can take control and go on living a good life. That’s what I aimed for when I set out a plan for Boston2Miami in December 2011.
Boston2Miami was never a fundraiser, I did it to raise awareness of AS and give people hope. I was proving a point to myself and in turn helping thousands more help find their adventures.
When I finished my drink and the rain died down that’s when I saw my buddy Ron come around the corner ready to pick me up with a smile. He was a friend of mine who had just moved back to southern Florida after living in London for a few years.
I dismantled the front tyre and retired Ursula in the back of the car one last time. She had been good to me
Ron gave me a hug and a high five. “Well done bro you made it!”
I got in the car, rested my head back and said, "man, its been one hell of a journey…”
My take-away thought at this point of the journey:
"It's not the destination, its the journey. That saying has never been more true. The destination felt undefined and I felt empty. The Journey is what changed my life forever."
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