Our last long ride. 64 Miles from Alachua to Palatka. And, consistent with previous days, there were a few hitches. The ride was excellent – the day started out overcast, which makes for perfect riding weather in Florida. But, we all arrived at the first water stop at 22 miles only to learn that the trailer carrying all our gear had broken and wasn’t going to be there. Darryl, our van driver, had to leave the trailer at a garage with the hopes that it will be fixed on Monday. There weren’t any convenience stores in sight, so we pushed onward to the next town, which of course was 15 miles further down the road. We got to the next town and made the executive decision that we would have lunch at Subway. By this time, Daryl had moved all the trailer gear to the van and caught up to us, so at least we were all together again. Rob got his second flat tire in as many days. He is now an expert flat tire repair person.
We left Subway and after 5 miles, spent the next 17 on a bike path — again, perfect – a canopied ride, no cars, smooth, a slight downhill grade and few pedestrians. I pulled up a Spotify playlist of the Travelin’ Wilberries, and rocked to Tom Petty, Billy Joel, CCR and others. When The Ramones, That’s What I Like About You, came on, I had a burst of energy and hammered to the beat for a good 3- 5 miles. It doesn’t get any better than that!
But the day was bittersweet. On the one hand, an amazing adventure is coming to an end tomorrow and we all return to our normal lives. We’ll have great memories and new friends. On the other. It is time. My 30 year-old knee injury has decided to remind me that there is still scar tissue that swells up. And Rob and I are both looking forward to sleeping in our own bed and eating a home cooked meal again.
So, tomorrow, we follow the same routine we got into 6 1/2 weeks ago, get up and have waffles and yogurt for breakfast, pack our bags, put on our bike kits, fill our water bottles, start the wahoo and taillight, load our suitcases, and start our final ride to the Ocean. We’ll leave here at 9 and ride the first 30 miles on our own. At mile 30, we’ll all regroup and ride that last 5 miles into St. Augustine, down A1A and arrive at the St. John Pier at about noon, where we will be met by friends and relatives coming to see us, and then dip our front wheels in the Atlantic.
By the way, did I mention that the weather tomorrow calls for 15 MPH headwinds the whole way? You’ve got to be kidding me!
Great, great adventure! So, what is the most significant think you both learned? (There is always a test at the end.) 😉