14/11/14 – 04/12/14: Austin, USA to Tampa, USA

Feeling at home around the La Marzocco. Great to be able to get good coffee again. Austin, TX, USA
This is definitely the home of Barbeque. They love smoking meat in Texas. This is apparently the largest smoker in the world! I love this place. Near Brenham, TX, USA
Plenty of confederate flags flying around in the rural south. Some scary signs up. They love their guns. Best keep moving. Near Silsbee, TX, USA
We’re in to Louisiana and almost suddenly there’s water everywhere! Swamps and canals covering the southern part of the state as we make our way towards New Orleans. Heading for Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Plenty of Gators in there I’m sure. Eire lake. Near Baton Rouge, LA, USA
This guy was just sunning himself on our bike path as we all cycled together down to New Orleans. Reece, peeking out from safety behind the Big Man. Near New Orleans, LA, USA
Day off cruising the French Quarter of the “Big Easy”. This is an incredible place. Live music in every bar and craziness all around. New Orleans, LA, USA
Cool little bike shop on the outskirts of town. Will needed a new brake lever. New Orleans, LA, USA
The Lower 9th. One of the districts worst affected by Hurricane Katrina. It has never really recovered. Standing here, listening to the sound of silence was poignant moment. New Orleans, LA, USA
Swampy poser. On the way into Mississippi. LA, USA
At last we’ve reached the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast. I think Reece and I interrupted a Romo beach walk. Long Beach, MS, USA
There are some quite scary/unusual people and places out here. Just over the border into Alabama and we’ve met some people with very unique views on life… Bayou La Batre, AL, USA
Short ferry hop over Mobile Bay. The coastline here is littered with Oil & Gas Rigs. Mobile Bay, AL, USA
We made it to Florida! The 9th and final state on our journey across the USA. True to it’s word, it is SUNNY. It’s like we’re on holiday! Pensacola, FL, USA
As we travel eastwards the beaches are getting whiter and whiter. The roads along the coast are quite simply stunning. Pensacola Beach, FL, USA
Taking a breather on the beach. Reece and I decided to timetrial a 30km section of stunning coastal road. Pensacola Beach, FL, USA
What a road. And what a tailwind. Pensacola Beach, FL, USA
Some of the “Campgrounds” here in the south are charging exorbitant prices. They’re all RV parks for people living in mobile homes who come to the south coast over the winter. In the end it was cheaper to get a little log cabin. Cosy night. Navarre, FL, USA
Not a bad place to wakeup. This is a stunning part of the world. Gulf Coast, Navarre, FL, USA
The journalist back in Snyder posted us a copy of our front page feature in the local paper. We’re famous!
We managed to Couch Surf with a great guy called Nick, in Tallahassee where we’d got tickets to see a football game. They take it SERIOUSLY around here. After 5 hours of tailgating (partying) we just about made it to the game with 82,000 other people. Not bad attendance for a university game! What a mental experience. Tallahassee, FL, USA
Beautiful hunting ranch in the countryside. Near Perry, FL, USA
Game hunting is a big thing all over the south. These ranches are enormous, with plenty of deer and other game running about. Near Perry, FL, USA
Swimming in Crystal clear springs. They’re a constant 22C year around. Fanning Springs, FL, USA
Quiet, still and peaceful camping. The way it should be. Fanning Springs, FL, USA
Woke up to see the most enormous bird perched above the tent, keeping watch. Fanning Springs, FL, USA
There’s so much wildlife around here, and plenty of crawlers. Fanning Springs, FL, USA
We met Tom and Cheryl in Seagrass Bar and they kindly offered to take us out in their boat the following morning to swim with manatees. What an unforgettable experience. We ended up staying at their place for the night. Thanks again! Homosassa, FL, USA
Hard to get a photo of a Manatee when they’re submerged all the time except for the occasional breath, but they’re the grey lumpy things in the water. They came right up and bumped into us as we swam around them. What a day. Homosassa, FL, USA
This whole region is teeming with wildlife. Turtles and cormorants. Homosassa, FL, USA
You don’t want to get too close to these bills. They make an intimidating clunk as they clash them together. Homosasse, FL, USA
Reece and I met an awesome group of NYPD (police) and NYFD (firemen) lads cycling down to the Florida Keys. They fuelled us up with PB&J (peanut butter and jelly) sandwiches and we raced away down to Tampa. Tampa, FL, USA