Things I Won't Miss

1. Truck and RVs that nearly blow us off the road, especially in the rain.
2. Chip Seal and Bad Roads.
3. Truck tire shreds.
4. Barkings Dogs and Owners not controlling them.
5. Litter on the roadsides. I could pay for my trip if I collected all the cans and bottles for recycling.
6. The nasty odors from Road Kill, lots of road kill...armadillos, birds, cats, dogs, deer, javalinas, possum, rabbits, snakes, squirrels, squnks, and turtles to mention a few.
7. Having to use the Green Room for potty stops (in other words, finding a tree, bush, rock or tall grass to hide behind.)
8. Living out of a suitcase.
9. Doing laundry in the bathroom sink.

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.