Day 58 - 38 miles. St. Augustine FL

WE DID IT!!!   Great ride today mainly on extremely nice bike paths. We all met up for the final ride and ceremonial wheel dipping. It was hard to say goodbye to all our friends, but now we are relaxing on the balcony of our hotel room looking at the ocean with the bike packed up and ready to go. Life is good! - Sue

During the grueling moments of our ride, I would visualize the tremendous joy I would have when we hit the Atlantic Ocean,  but that's not what happened today.  I realized that the joy was in the journey, the whole 58 days of riding across the US.

  Now it's time to go home, and pick up our cat Flyod and Nelson our dog, and get back to our wonderful life in Stillwater. - Annie

 

Day 57 - 53.8 miles. Palatka FL

Somehow today's ride was shorter than expected by about ten miles. What a treat!  The skies were overcast and a lot of the distance was on two bike trails in good condition.  We started out with a trek in the woods, and then popped onto the bike trail.  Martha, one of our hosts from last night led the way. Our hosts were great. They made us lasagna, did our laundry, and generally entertained us. Now we are at Crystal Cove Resort in air conditioned rooms looking out on the Saint Johns River getting ready for our end of ride celebration.  It's hard to believe! - Sue

Wow we are going to make it, our last ride is tomorrow and only 40 miles to St Augustine.  What great trip this has been! - Annie

 

 

Day 56 - 52 miles. Gainesville FL

We had a short 52 mile day today into Gainsville, Fl and are camping on the lawn of a beautiful country home.  This is our last day of camping, yeah!  Tomorrow after a 70 mile ride we are staying in cabins, which is a real luxury.  Everyone is excited that our trip to St Augustine is nearly done at which point all of will scatter and go back to our normal lives.  I will miss these folks, but I can't wait to get home- Annie

I can't even begin to imagine getting back to 'normal life'. I think I'll need to keep riding around and sleeping in the tent! -Sue

 

 

Day 55 - 71 miles. Ichetucknee Campground

Another hot day!  We rode through more country and across the Suwannee River and are camping next to Ichetucknee State Park. The park has cool (72 degree) springs that were very popular.  I didn't go in, but Annie said the water was great.  Tonight is our last night of group cooking - things are winding down!

 

Day 54 - 67.4 miles. Jellystone RV Park near Madison FL

Today's ride out of Tallahassee was gorgeous.  We rode about 15 miles on the Canopy Road which was tree-lined with huge oaks with Spanish moss overreaching the road.  It was wonderful, later on the heat went up to 90 degrees with high humidity, and it got tough. - Annie

Yes it did get hot! But now we are at Jellystone Park in a pleasant grassy campground with more gorgeous trees. - Sue

  

 

Day 53 - 0 miles. Tallahassee FL

Our last day off was spent doing laundry, resupplying ourselves a Walgreens, and basically taking it easy.  We met our new trip co-leader who will be with us for the remainder of the trip. We also started planning our end of trip celebration. Everyone is counting down to the end - how many riding days, how many times to set up our tents, how many dinners we will cook....

Sue

 

Day 52 addendum

Forgot to say that an American Eagle flew right over us, about ten feet over our heads! 🦅 

Day 52 - 78.8 miles. Tallahassee FL

News flash: Florida has HILLS!  We rode 78 miles and climbed almost 3000 feet today. Fortunately the roads were good and it was relatively cool.  We did well today,  just thinking it was hard when we had to deal with Tallahassee traffic (we arrived at rush hour) and Tallahassee hills. Most of the ride was through pretty countryside. Tonight we are in an EconoLodge that seeems very luxurious, and tomorrow is a rest day - the last one of the trip - Sue

 

 

Day 51 - 66.6 miles. Florida Caverns State Park

During the rides we often stop to refill our water supply at a gas station/convenience store.  I couldn't believe this convenience store was selling hand guns and rifles.  Yikes, can you imagine going in for a cup of coffee and picking up a gun?  Things are different in the south. 

We woke up to a beautiful morning. - Annie

 

 

Here's a sign from the swimming area at the state park where we are camping tonight. I guess we are in Florida! - Sue

 

Day 50 - 52.3 miles. DeFuniak Springs FL

Since the rides have been easier, I've been reflecting on what a fantastic trip this has been.  I've had moments of sheer exhilaration and depths of exhaustion I've never experienced before. There are a thousand of little things;  meeting Johnny, hearing the owls outside our tent, listening to the Purple Martins clamor away, seeing the beautiful  countryside and on and on.- Annie

Today's ride was cool and overcast, which made the riding pleasant.  There wasn't too much to see along the way, but once again we are camping in a lovely spot right on a lake.  Since the ride was relatively short, we had time to relax in camp and clean the bike. - Sue

 

Day 49 - 57.8 miles. Blackwater River State Park FL

We left camp this morning around 7:30am, and got hammered with 3 hours of pouring rain.  I was glad it was Sunday (not a lot of cars).  But the rain cleared up and it turned out to be a great ride today.  On a sad note we lost one of our riders, who fell off his bike and fractured his hip,  all of us are so sad.  After 6 weeks of riding and camping together our group has gotten very close, so losing Steve today hit us all pretty hard.  St Augustine is getting closer and closer. - Annie

 

I had fun today. I like riding in the rain -really!  I also thought that Pensacola was a surprisingly pretty town, and the 'Scenic Highway' really was scenic. There were good views from the bluffs and lots of nice looking houses. Tonight we are in a beautiful state park with good facilities. That is two nights in a row with good places to camp  - Sue

 

 

Day 48 - 51.0 miles. Lillian AL

Sue and I are on the beach and camping in Lillian, Alabama.  Tomorrow we hit Florida and we sense the upcoming end to our adventure after touching our front  wheel into the Atlantic Ocean.  Today we rode along the Gulf Coast on a sunny day.  The terrain is mostly flat making the rides much easier.  We did today's 50 mile ride quickly and after a solid month of riding mountain and hills, today was a walk in the park-Annie

It was fun riding along the coast and checking out the beach houses and hotels today. We dipped into Florida, but had to backtrack to Alabama to our campsite.  The campsite tonight is one of the best, right on Perdido Bay.  - Sue

 

 

Day 47 - 70.6 miles. Dauphin Island AL

We escaped from Mississippi and had a pretty ride to Dauphin Island. It was fun to sty the big boats that fish in the Gulf, and Dajphin Island is an interesting place. We are staying in someone's yard. The family has 10 dogs and 8 cats, and takes in stray bikers like us.  -Sue

 

 

Day 46 - 73.1 miles. Vancleave MS

The ride was through pine forests with no towns or stores for the first 70 miles. The roads were good but boring!  Steve explained that all the land is owned by timber companies, so no little towns. We are staying in a RV Ark that by popular vote is the worst yet. What can I say??  Tomorrow looks better! - Sue

 

Day 45 - 0 miles. New Orleans and Poplarville

We spent the day eating our way through New Orleans. Now we are back in camp in Poplarville and feel like we are back home. I'm happy to get back to my sleeping pad and pillow. I was terribly uncomfortable in the hotel last night. We have been wondering if we will have to pitch the tent in the backyard when we get home to ease the transition?? - Sue 

 

 

Day 44 - 0 miles. New Orleans LA

Today we took the van from our Poplarville campsite to New Orleans. We are staying at a hotel in the French Quarter. For me, the day was about eating - beignets, muffuletta, gumbo and etouffee. Annie went to the World War II Museum and thought it was wonderful.  She also had beignets and for dinner had the best fried shrimp that I have tasted.  Can't wait for more tomorrow! - Sue

 

 

Day 43 - 64.7 miles. Poplarville MS

I made a new friend, Johnny, who happened to be grazing at our camp site in Poplarville, Mississippi.  He's a friendly little guy and loved the apple I gave him.  Mississippi is hot, humid, rainy and a lush green with a beautiful country side.  - Annie

We rode thru rain for a good part of today and I had a great time. I finally turned my handlebars over so I could sit more upright, and it made all the difference in the world!  My back stopped complaining and I rode pain free 😊. Today was the eleventh straight day of riding and now we have TWO rest days.  Hooray! - Sue

 

  

Frog Friend

   

Day 42 - 64.9 miles. Mount Hermon LA

We've been biking for 10 days straight and have one more ride of 60 miles tomorrow to allow for 2 days in New Orleans.  Sue and I are going to spend one day in New Orleans and stay camp side the other.  

I am having such an exciting time, but I miss home and all that's there.  But we've got St Augustine in our sights and feel confident that we're going to make.  - Annie

I was tired today and my back has bee n talking to me. I'm ready for a day off!  The good news is that the rain yesterday was after we set up camp, and likewise the rain today. We have a big pavilion where we will eat, so things are good. Sally is cooking us a 'full English breakfast' for dinner and it smells great! - Sue

 

Day 41 - 30.0 miles Jackson LA

Short day today!  We rode across the Mississippi River on the Audubon Bridge and then made our way to Perry's Bike Hostel. Perry is a real character. She has bunches of bikes that she has built, and in her spare time shoots rattlesnakes and water moccasins.  Today I finally swapped to new tires and did some bike cleaning. - Sue 

I saw and rode over the famous Mississippi River!  I thought about all of the storys, movies and operas that include this river, my favorite was Huck Finn and Jim journey down this massive river.  So beautiful. - Annie

 

 

 

Day 40 - 70.6 miles. Morganza LA

Today's ride was long with bad roads, a headwind, and disappointing scenery. We rode along the Mississippi for a while, but all we saw was a levee. We also got lost, and rode 10 extra miles. Not the best riding day, but we all went out to dinner and had traditional boiled crawfish on Good Friday.  I had the theee pound dinner and got quite good at peeling and eating the little devils. It turned out to be a great day! - Sue

We passed by some poor neighborhoods and it was startling to see such poverty.  Our country is so wealthy to see people living in shacks is disturbing.

For the first time in my life I had crawfish.   They are delicious.  Because today was Good Friday, the group thought going out for a fish dinner was a good idea.  We went to this Cajun restaurant, Hottails.  The place was packed with folks eating crayfish by the pound.  This was Cajun cooking at its best! - Annie 

 

Day 49 - 75 miles. Bunkie LA

It was a nice ride today. We started out in fog, but that soon cleared and we got out of the pine forest into regions where we could see crawfish traps and people in boats harvesting the crawfish. There were also lots of rice fields. We rode thru a quiet state park that actually had a few hills, and ended up in Bunkie where Steve's wife and friends cooked us crawfish fettuccine with King Cake for dessert.  I got the baby hidden in the cake, so it's my responsibility to host the next King Cake party. In the meantime, we have a mascot for the bike. - Sue

 

 

Day 38 - 68.3 miles Kinder LA

Today's ride was pretty easy. The sky was partly cloudy so it wasn't too hot, and the route was flat. We still saw lots of logging trucks and pine forests. We are now in Cajun country and see signs for crawfish and shrimp. Unfortunately we haven't sampled the food yet. Just wait until tomorrow when Steve's wife meets us with dinner. - Sue

 

 

Day 37 - 30 miles. Merryville LA

Today we left Texas behind, but not before a stop for great biscuits.  Then the skies opened up on us and Annie got the beginning of hypothermia. Fortunately the van picked us up and warmed us up. We are now in Meryville at the Historical Society Museum where the very kind locals are taking good care of us. They have warmed us up, entertained us, and will feed us dinner and breakfast. They even have a sheltered place to put up our tent

 

  

Day 36 - 64 miles. Silsbee TX

Another easy 64 mile day, sans hills, and with beautiful countryside.  We've been leaving hundreds of miles of desert and gradually heading into more humid and lush green terrain. Tomorrow we head into Louisiana where the humidity will gain some more steam. Experiencing this transition is so incredible.-Annie

Tonight is our last night in Texas. It's amazing how varied the country has been within the state, but I'm ready for a new state. Today we had our very first rain while riding, but fortunately it was only a light sprinkle. - Sueq

 

  

Day 35. Action shot

 

Day 35 - 64.0 miles Shepard TX

I still haven't combed my hair, but after riding over 2000 miles, thru mountainous climbs,  sand/dust storms and climbing hills with 20 to 30 mph head winds, I've realized that yes indeed, "I can".- Annie

It was was easier today since it was a shorter ride and not as hilly, but we are sore from the last couple of days. The place we are staying is eclectic to say the least. It's a whole bunch of little cabins which two women put together for their friends. Then it grew... Sue