Central time zone

It is taking a long rime to ride through Florida, but today we entered a new time zone.  Another live and learn, I had never known that Florida is in two zones.  We rode 68 miles on a cool day, with heavy rain at times.  Because of extensive damage from hurricane Mike further south, our route was changed to take us almost to the Georgia border, making today and tomorrow unusually long.  We are staying in Marietta, which also was badly hit.

I assume this sign was blown down in the hurricane.

More storm damage.

I finally got some grits and eggs, great on a cold day.

John G. always observes national holidays.

A capital city

we had a very pleasant, scenic, short ride of 30 miles into Tallahassee this morning.  It’s hard to get much sense of a big city when you are on a bike and only here overnight.  We detoured a bit to visit a bike shop for supplies, had lunch at a nice cafe, sharing a table with a woman who is a tour leader and bus driver all over the country, waited a while to check into a rather inefficient motel, did laundry, and that’s my day in Tallahassee.  In contrast, we walked around the little town of Monticello last night and have a much better sense of the place.

I went into church this morning.  We had noticed the nice architecture on Saturday, and I figured correctly that we could get in to look around during choir rehearsal.  

We rode on one of Tallahassee’s canopy roads, a designation that protects the trees within 100 feet on either side of the center line, making for a lovely ride.  And then we had lunch at the Canopy Road cafe.  And as you can see, although Florida is the flattest state in the country, it’s not all flat.

I’m very jealous of Ken’s Southern Tier bike shirt, with its wonderful alligator.

Bike parking as we all waited to be able to get into our rooms.

Another Monticello

We rode 59 miles to Monticello, Florida.  No worries about getting lost, as we were on the same road, US 90, for 45 miles.  It parallels an Interstate, so we had very little traffic and very nice pavement.

This Monticello is known for its well preserved Victorian homes, and some of us are lucky to be staying in a B&B in one such house.  The rest of the group are in a nice, but not so elegant air bob.  

Our alarm clock this morning, and breakfast prepared by the owner of last night’s bob, featuring fresh eggs.  The cinnamon rolls weren’t bad either.

I think this photo will show up on the Facebook page of the farm.

We stopped for lunch in Greenville, Ray Charles’ birthplace, where this statue was erected a few years ago.

Our humble abode.  It is reported to be haunted, but the ghost hasn’t shown up.

No shortage of live oaks and Spanish moss here.

Live and learn

I had decided the title of this post when I realized that the river of “Way down upon” fame is nor spelled Swannee, but rather Suwannee.  If I ever known that, I no longer did!  What I also learned today was that SR 349 and CR 349, about four miles apart, are two different roads.  Of course we took the wrong one first, making it a 52 mile ride instead of 44.

We did cross the Suwannee River, twice, in fact, as we backtracked to the correct road.

I had packed a cheese sandwich which I abandoned in favor of a great pork BBQ sandwich, the kind with lots of crunchy pierces of pork.  Superb!

We are staying at an Airbnb on a farm outside Live Oak, Florida.  The pig was sleeping, many handsome chickens are running about, and a rooster will wake us tomorrow.

Guests are invited to add to the wall.  Guess which is our contribution.

A special Valentines Day

We rode 49 miles to Ichetucknee Springs, speeding along as much as we speed, so that we could get on the Ichetucknee River for a four mile canoe float by 2 p.m.  We cut it close, launching at 1:59 p.m.  Our ride was slowed by several stops to shed layers of clothing, as the temperature was 41 degrees when we got up in Gainesville and 75 degrees when we rode into the camp that was our home for the night.

Our accommodations were on the rustic side.  Dot and her bike are in front of her cabin.

Here we are, setting out, Susan’s first ever canoe ride.  She handled the camera in our canoe, while I steered.

The wildlife views were fantastic.  If you look closely at the osprey in the middle picture, you may be able to see the fish he is eating.  And we estimated that we saw at least 100 turtles.  They are Suwannee cooters, we were told.

 A Valentines Day I will remember.

Emergency surgery...

The doctor at work.

My bike had bottom bracket surgery this afternoon, performed by our tour co-leader and very capable mechanic Ken Wright.  The bottom bracket is a significant bike component, as it is where the pedals attach to the bike.  It is a bit of a mystery how I didn’t notice when riding the bike, and my mechanic at home failed to catch it, but when Ken was assembling my bike in St. Augustine, he spotted the problem and gave me a temporary fix until we got to Gainesville, where he had located a bike co-op where used bikes are repaired, so they are well stocked with parts for older bikes.  And to add to my luck, the shop was just off the bike path.  I think I am good now for the next 3000 miles or so.

Today didn’t feel or look like a Florida post card, as it was cold and rainy.  We rode 58 miles from Patalka to Gainesville, after waiting out a morning rain.  We didn’t get rained on riding, but the temperature was a fairly constant 57-58 degrees, the sun didn’t shine, and the wind blew enough that I wished I had warmer gloves.  Fortunately, the ride was mainly on nice country roads and good bike trails, and my legs are feeling better than I had expected.

John G. and I on a wet trail.  We had detour at one point because of high water on the trail.

This guy looks to me like an Elvis imitator.

Well bundled up bikers digging in to a hearty lunch spread.  On most days, the support vehicle stops at a designated spot and our great crew puts out lunch for us.

Carol, who at 77 is the oldest woman in the group, riding through the pretty little town of Melrose.  She is a strong rider with lots of experience.   

Back on the road again

We rode 38 hot, muggy, windy (cross winds and head winds, alas) from St. Augustine to Palatka, and it felt great to be rolling at last.  The group is smaller than anticipated, as two people had injuries that precluded their riding, though both hope to join us down the road.  The hazards of senior biking.

Any gators down there?  About have the day’s ride was on a wide and well paved rail trail that offered views like this.

We parked our bikes under Spanish moss at the lunch stop. 

Palatka, a city of about 11,000, is well decorated with murals throughout the business district.

Susan tried out a colorful sidewalk piano.  

Most of us rode in to our motel on the St. John’s River ahead of the rain and then got this treat.  A couple of people took shelter in a car wash, and poor John G. arrived looking like he had gone through a car wash!