Month: September 2013

51.7 miles Total this tour: 128.4 miles Solid sleep and slow rise around 8AM.  Yesterday’s tough ride took its toll I guess.  We rolled out down A1A and soon through Summerhaven.  Jack and Fran have been threatening to buy a vacation house in this community, and Jack pointed out the area as we rode by, a beautiful location on the waterway.  Then twelve miles to breakfast, which seemed like long miles into the continuing headwinds. In Palm Coast, Google Maps pointed to a cafe on the ocean, but as we headed there nothing felt right – no shops or sidewalks

76.7 miles Total this tour: 76.7 miles Ever sticklers for frivolous cartographic details, Jack and I decided that an authentic “top-to-tip” ride of the Florida Atlantic coast would have to start within sight of Georgia.  So instead of starting our ride from our rental condo in Fernandina Beach, we packed up the bikes and took a morning drive north into Fort Clinch State Park.  We reached the entrance gate, and hoping to avoid the entrance fee, we explained that we’d simply be driving up to the northern end of the park and riding our bikes out within a few minutes. 

Met up with Jack today! Sweet!   We’re all staying at a condo in Fernandina Beach.  Linda has made arrangements so that Jack can safely park his car here while we pedal. A pizza joint for dinner, then back to the condo.  Some kind of insects, locusts maybe, make a huge racket at sundown here, then stay quiet the rest of the evening.  The condo residents say it happens every evening. Jack and I are stoked to go.  It is a tour that almost didn’t happen, and yet here we are ready to start.  Adventure awaits.

Made it to Florida.  It is soupy hot with a constant threat of thunderstorms.  So far, it appears that the days usually start out decently, with maybe a few rain cells moving through.  Then, every afternoon the storms roll in.  On days when we plan to ride 50 miles, that may not be too big a deal, but on days when we plan to ride 70 or 80 miles, we’ll get deluged for sure. Winds have been primarily from the east or northeast, at least.  We’ll be riding SSE and then S and SW, so I hope the winds stay

The Florida Tour is officially underway, in that we’re at least on the road headed to the start. This morning I unloaded the bike, assembled a little bit, and set off around Lincoln Illinois for a morning spin. I eventually found Illinois SR10 headed east and continued out to a little farming neighborhood called Beason.  Nothing much going on there except a dad playing with his kids in a backyard pool.  Idyllic midwest scenes, like something from Normal Rockwell. Nice foggy conditions this morning, cool and wet.  The runs through corn and soybean fields had me thinking of such rides