Save 22 A Day Trans-America Cycling

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Even though today’s ride was long at 78 miles, it was not too taxing.  The cloud cover and trees along the route helped kept us cool, and this part of Florida is quite flat. The Suwannee River referred to in the photos below is the same river made famous by Stephen Foster in his 1851 (antebellum era about ten years before the start of the American Civil War) minstrel song  title “Way Down Upon the Suwannee River,” also known as “Old Folks at Home.”  Foster eliminated the “u” from Suwannee on purpose, because he thought that people would mispronounce it.  The song was the best-selling sheet music of its time, and it is the official state song of Florida.  Pretty impressive for a river that starts in the Okefenokee Swamp of southern Georgia and drains into the Gulf of Mexico.  The song is on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_U61dDdY-c Suwannee River Kayaking on the Suwannee ...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Another great day weather wise for us.  Cool, not very humid, relatively low wind.  Great road surfaces.  Couldn't ask for more. We rode out of Tallahassee on Old St Augustine Road.  The road dates to the 1600’s when it linked Spanish missions from St. Augustine to Tallahassee.  Old St Augustine Road was also the first Florida highway.  Completed in the 1820’s, it connected St. Augustine to Pensacola by following an old Indian footpath, which became the Spanish Trail.  Canopy Road has a dense canopy, mostly from Live Oak Trees draped with Spanish Moss on both sides of the road growing together.  The canopy runs for about eight miles, so there is time to take it all in. Rider enjoys St. Augustine Road canopy Cruising under the Live Oaks Ray  Charles, the singer, pianist, and bandleader, showed up at the SA...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today conditions for riding were excellent.  Wind was not too high, 8 mph max, and at the end of the day there was even some tailwind.  The high was about 80 F.  The humidity was only about 60%.  The road surface was very good in most places.  We made good time. We saw damage from Hurricane Michael from Marianna to about 50 miles east, approaching Tallahassee.  There were many trees in the forests snapped in two or uprooted.  Many houses had blue plastic sheeting for temporary roofing until a roofer could finish the job.  One section of forest around Chattahoochee had severe tree damage.  Perhaps a tornado spawned from the hurricane tore through this swath of trees. In a heavily damaged swath of the forest near Chattahoochee most pine trees were snapped in two. Rays of hope coming through.  As we rode on we crossed the Apalachicola River, going from the Central Tim...

The link to today's route and statistics is found here . Today was an excellent day for riding.  We had cloud cover to reduce the heat and radiation, and the wind was a cooling crosswind from the north.  Probably the best aspect of the ride though was the superb shoulder on Hwy 90.  The road and shoulder were made of well compacted asphalt, not chip and seal, and there were few cracks to cause a bumpy ride.  This was probably the smoothest ride of the entire tour! Do you miss Texas yet?  All the brisket, beautiful flowers, longhorns, cacti, antelope, the hill country, armadillos, etc?  I'm sure that the Texan in our midst is homesick.  Here is something to remind him of Texas. Great Americans Note: If you believe that you have a better caption for the above, please write your caption and your name in the comments section to the blog.  We could vote on the best caption at the dinner in Palatka . . . please Larry.  Perhap...

Rain and thunderstorms caused today's ride to be cancelled.  There are reports of significant damage in areas that we have ridden out of during the past few days (Gulf Shores and Mississippi).  Weather looks good for the rest of the week, so hopefully we ride every day through a triumphant entry into St. Augustine on Saturday. Heavy rain cancelled today's ride Had we ridden, we would have been on the north side of Eglin Air Force Base much of the day.  Eglin specializes in R&D and test of aircraft-delivered, non-nuclear weapons and guidance systems.  Eglin operates an enormous test and training range that extends out into the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s a good place to test fire new missiles.  Eglin AFB is a choice assignment within Air Force Materiel Command.  The Base is within the Redneck Riviera. The Redneck Riviera is located on the Emerald Coast of Florida.  The Emerald Coast is bounded roughly by the Pensacola Beach on the west a...