Final Count

According to our tour guide we consumed: 50 12-packs of beer, 55 bottles (the large size) of wine, 8 gallons of tequilla, 35 jars of peanut butter, 22 lbs. of M-n-M's, and had 135 flat tires (from 1 to 11).

Of course, I was a good girl and didn't drink the beer or wine since I had trouble sleeping. On second thought, maybe I should had some so I wouldn't worry about the next day's ride.

On My Way Home

As I look out the window of the plane, I can't believe I actually bicycled across the country. It is an incredible amount of miles. The next time you all get in a plane, think of me bicycling my heart out with my short chubby legs to reach each daily destination. Someday I will sit down and try to figure out how much water I drank, how many power bars, bananas, & PBJ's I ate, how much sunscreen I gooped on and how much butt cream I used.

I do know that I had two flats on the entire trip, both on the same day, one in the front and one on the back. One gal made it across without a flat and the record number was tied at 11. We climbed about 76,000 vertical feet and rode almost 3,100 miles.

I haven't time yet to process this trip, what it has meant to me, what I have learned about myself as well as others, what I won't miss about the trip and what I will miss. Let me gather my thoughts and I will post them as soon as I can.

Palatka to St. Augustine, FL - 47 miles

I did it!!! Whoo-hoo. I never rode so fast to get to the fire station on time this morning. Partly due to nervous energy and a great deal to my friends Kathy and Jan for pulling me in. We had to be at the fire station by 10:30 this morning so the St. Augustine police could escort us into town and to the beach...our final destination.

After our tire dipping ceremony, we all had a nice picnic lunch with family and friends. Tonight we will have our final dinner together and tomorrow morning, I will head for home. I can't wait to hop into my own bed.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30TH
Alachua to Palatka, FL - 71 miles
It was a pleasant ride today, nothing out of the ordinary. I can't think of much to say about either towns except that there must be a paper mill in the area because of all the logging trucks that past us by and nearly blow us over. That is one thing I will not miss about this trip.

Perry to Alachua, FL - 83 miles

Today's ride was a good ride. Early in the ride we crossed the Suwanee River. This is the correct spelling. It is not Swannee as in Stephen Foster's song. He changed it because he was afraid people would mispronouce the "u." In fact, he had never even been in the South or even seen the Suwanee River.

For lunch we visited Ichetucknee Springs State Park and had a nice picnic by the clear blue spring water lake.

Wakulla Springs to Perry, FL - 54 miles

Today, I didn't have any of those problems (like heat, humidity, insects)...it just rained all day. Actually, I do not mind riding in the rain. It's the trucks that blast by us that is annoying. When they go by, it's like getting hit with a fire hose. In the last few miles of our ride, it poured. We arrived at the Hampton Inn looking like drowned rats just soaked to the bones. The staff here was so kind to us. They greeted us with towels and served us wine and chocolate covered strawberries before dinner.

I can't believe we have three more days of riding. I am looking forward to coming home.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27TH
Wakulla Springs - REST DAY
I have to confess that the roads here in Florida have been very good. The weather has been hot and humid. I have been getting eaten alive by "noseeums." They are tiny little critters that fly around and bite you like mosquitos except they are hard to see, thus they are called "noseeums." They look like tiny flakes of dandruff.

Quincy to Wakulla Springs, FL - 48 miles

We are now in Wakulla Springs. It is one of the world's largest and deepest fresh water springs. The bowl of the spring cover approximately three acres and the temperature remains a constant 70 degrees year-round. A record peak flow from the spring on April 11, 1973 was measured at 14,325 gallons per second! This sanctuary provides a natural habitat for many wildlife such as alligators, turtles, deer, and birds.

A bit of trivia....in the 40's two Tarzan movies were filmed here, in the 50's Creature from the Black Lagoon, and in the 70's Airport 77 and Joe Panther were filmed here.

Map 7