Guest Stories: Peggy Fischer
South Beach Place attracts the most amazing guest, like Peggy Fischer this is her story. Follow her 750 mile bicycle journey. Peggy you are an inspiration, so happy we met and that you enjoyed your stay at South Beach Place! Looking forward to your return visit, we will be following you all the way home!
Peggy and her husband Chris live in Delray Beach. They are adventure lovers. This time, Peggy is riding from her town to North Carolina to celebrate her birthday on the road. Her husband, Chris drove to Vero Beach to spend time with her at South Beach Place. Both are in the construction business and they highly praised the refurbishment work done at the hotel.
Questions to Peggy:
-What is the motivation of doing this trip?
-What do you like about long distance cycling?
-What you don’t like about long distance cycling?
-Any experience you can share about long distance cycling?
-How and why did you get into cycling?
-How did you end coming to this hotel?
-Would you recommend South Beach Place to other riders?
Peggy’s answer:
My motivation for doing this trip comes simply from wanting an adventure. I love to be outdoors and moving through from place to place. Traveling on my bicycle the journey transpires at a pace that feels good for me. Walking is too slow, and driving is too fast. I love to be out in it, out in the world and the feel of the wind and sun on my face. Even the rain is okay too as long as I’m not cold. I like riding long distance because I get to experience new places and people every day. When I’m at home I go for long bike rides too but always return to the same spot at the end of the day. I like everything about long distance bike riding with the exception of two thing: not being able to find the right seat and having a sore butt and roadways that have no shoulder or have rumble strips that force me to ride in the vehicle lane. The best advice I could give to others if they’re thinking of riding long distance is to read other people’s stories then decide what’s best for you. Every person is different and the one thing someone else loves and can’t be without is the very thing you’ll hate. There is no perfect universal setup! I am not conventional in my travels. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard of another bicyclist riding long distance on a cruiser bike like I do. So, listen to what everyone has to say, use what’s right for you and toss the rest. Also, don’t let anyone dissuade you from doing what you want because it’s too risky - life is a risk! There’s no reason to stay huddled up inside your house trying to have a safe life when you could be going out and living adventurously instead.
I ended up coming to the South Beach Place because it was listed on Airbnb, was in the town I needed to stay and looked like a lovely place to be. So far I’m loving my room 209 and it looks exactly like the photos on the listing. I’d totally recommend this place to anyone coming to Vero Beach! I’m a bit sad that I’m only staying for one night now that I’m here and see how nice it is.
Peggy’s Vero Beach Journey
Day two - Memory Lane
Port Salerno to Vero Beach
Today’s Miles 45
Total Trip Miles 100
First a ride down memory lane....
The big day was coming soon! In only two more days it’d be my 5th birthday! I was so excited and I knew exactly what I was getting for my present. I knew because I could see it. Well, actually I could really only see part of it, the part sticking out from beneath the blanket my parents had used to cover it. I mean seriously, if the really didn’t want me to know what I was getting then why’d they leave part of the handle exposed? It was so easy to guess from just seeing that little bit of the handle - I was getting my first ever very own lawnmower. And, boy was I excited! I could barely contain myself for the next two days thinking about that lawnmower. Finally the big day arrived and it was time, it was time for my dad to whisk the blanket away and show my lawnmower in all its glory. I was standing right up front, up close where I could see good. He quickly yanked the blanket off and low and behold there was a new bicycle! Wait, What!?! What? But, wait, where was my lawnmower? I felt so disappointed and cheated. Eventually I got over my disappointment and learned how to ride the bike which I ended up falling in love with.
The morning started out calm and cool with few cars out and about so that I could comfortably ride on the streets. Still many roads and sidewalks are flooded from the recent rains making it slow going in some areas.
5 major bridge crossings made for a lot of big “hills” to go up and down today. Right when I thought I was making good time on those hills a whole group of bikers sped by me like I was standing still - sigh. I was getting super hungry from all the extra exertion but then Chris showed up with yummy breakfast burritos and hot mint tea. We took a break and munched our burritos while sitting in the truck as a heavy rain storm rolled by. Once the storm passed I got back on the road for some smooth riding however, within 5 miles I caught up with the storm and spent the rest of the day riding in and out of heavy downpours to light sprinkles.
Riding what seemed like death road I saw dead things all perfectly posed as if they were still alive:
A gray heron, it’s head held high, with one leg in front of the other as if it was running across the street only it was lying on its side in the middle of the road.
A rabbit in a mid-air leap it’s front and back paws stretched out ready to make a soft grass landing.
A crab set back in its hind legs with its fighting claw raised out front as if ready for battle.
A frog, it’s front legs reaching out and one back leg projecting back as if leaping from one lily pad to another.
A raccoon, okay, it wasn’t posed. In fact I could barely tell it was a raccoon at all......alright...enough about dead stuff.
We’re staying at the South Beach Place, a 1950’s style boutique hotel. It’s been totally and beautifully remodeled and the room we’re staying in has bright pink couches and a baby blue refrigerator. The owner (Nikki) is very interested in my bike tour and immediately upon my arrival began asking hundreds of questions all the while taking photos of me and my bike.
To Follow Peggy’s Adventure click the link Below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3277680252267004&type=3
