As of this writing (April 29), our Cross-Country: Atlantic Coast Bike Tour riders are rolling across their very first state line—from Florida to Georgia—which, according to the official Womantours rulebook, means it's Margarita O'Clock before dinner tonight.
The tour kicked off on April 21 at the Cambria Hotel Fort Lauderdale Beach in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and will wrap up 2628 miles later on June 15 at the Seasider Motel in Bar Harbor, ME. I had the pleasure of getting the tour started and cooking for the group the first six nights before passing the spatula to our fabulous chef Sue. Just like getting enough sleep, good nutrition is a vital element of a successful cross-country bike tour. Both Sue and I firmly believe that making healthy food taste delicious is equally important.
Being the tour cook gives you a side-row seat to the drama, comedy, and mild chaos that is cross-country cycling. A few highlights.
April 15-18: New York to Florida and the Interstate Time Warp
Guide Cindi and I left WomanTours headquarters in Rochester, NY on April 15. She drove our shiny new van Ruth and pulled our trusty trailer Kittie, while I followed in our SAG vehicle Rosie—our very own road trip caravan. Technically, the trip to Florida takes three and a half days, but psychically, it takes about seven years if you're stuck in D.C. Beltway traffic with a bladder screaming louder than the GPS. (No photos exist of this moment, and for that, you’re welcome.)
April 19: Surprise Friends & Dish Towels
While our co-guide Lily recovered from her red-eye flight from Utah, Cindi and I popped into the bike shop where our riders’ bikes were shipped. Who did we run into but Nan and Debbie—longtime guests and dishwashing legends! (The photo below shows, from left to right: Me, Nan, Cindi and Debbie.) Nan and Debbie made the trip from their Bradenton, FL home just to say hi and gifted us with aprons, brushes, dish towels, and a foldable cart (a tour chef’s version of a red carpet gift bag). Nan’s towel-folding game is unmatched. We are not worthy.
April 23: Trashy Gratitude
While washing dishes in the Hampton Inn parking lot in Vero Beach, FL, I caught guest Pauline C. gazing wistfully into the trash can like it held the meaning of life. What was she mourning? The final, forsaken wedge of lemon-blueberry olive oil cake I’d just tossed. She looked at it the way some people look at lost love, or discontinued Trader Joe’s items. Honestly, it was the highest compliment a tour cook could receive. Thank you, Pauline. I will remember this moment forever.
April 24: Squirrel vs. Chef
In the Holiday Inn Express parking lot in Cocoa, FL, a bushy-tailed kitchen crasher decided to make himself known. At first, he was just a fluffy, mildly adorable distraction… until he tried to launch himself into my kitchen trailer. The battle began. I flailed water at him, waved a towel like a deranged matador, and warned him I'd pull out my Squirrel Bourgignon recipe if he didn’t back off. (Disclaimer: I only had chicken recipes on file that night. Squirrel is not in my culinary repertoire—yet.) The guests arrived on their bikes and, thinking this was a Disney moment, tossed him some nuts. Fortunately, he accepted the offerings and declared peace. Dinner was spared.
April 25: Southern Comfort for Breakfast
The next morning at the Holiday Inn Express in Cocoa, FL, we met the hotel's breakfast chef Linda. She is the kind of larger-than-life personality who makes you feel like you’re part of a Southern cooking show. (Linda is in the blue shirt in the photo below, along with two of our riders, Cathy H. on the left and Tanya R. on the right.) Linda is armed with legendary biscuits, gravy, and squirrel tales of her own (at a recent staff meeting, she said it was decided to humanely deport the parking lot poacher to the woods). When she heard our riders were pedaling to Maine, she insisted on selfies for her daughter, a fellow cyclist.
April 25: Kitchen with a View and a Soundtrack
Our epic tours take parking lot dining to new heights. Case in point: the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Daytona Beach Shores, FL, where the kitchen trailer had an oceanfront view. Dinner music? Mother Nature’s playlist: crashing waves, cawing gulls and the delighted yelps of sand-blasted children having a good time. Beats Spotify any day.
April 26: Trolley Magic
While setting up for dinner at the Best Western Historical Inn parking lot in St. Augustine, FL, the local tourist trolley pulled up like a scene from a movie. Floyd the driver (pictured below with guests Laura M. on the left and Tamara K. on the right), charmed by the fact that our ladies are literally pedaling to Maine, offered them a free ride on their upcoming layover day. Proof that if you tell people you’re biking across the country, they’ll think you’re amazing (which is true) and give you free stuff (which is awesome).
I had to fly home the next day, leaving behind sunshine, sweaty jerseys, and an irrational craving for more lemon-blueberry cake. But I’m grateful I got a little taste of the epic cross-country life. Good luck, ladies!
