Today we had a warm start to the day, the first time in weeks that we didn’t need to start the ride with a jacket or windbreaker (tomorrow morning will be cooler). There were some beautiful sections of road today where the trees just seemed to hug the road. There were also plenty of rolling hills and a few steep hills too! We all thought when we reached Florida that the hills would be in our past – not so true. We stopped for lunch at Damfino’s Market/Bakery/Café. It was a real treat. Janet and I each had a blueberry thyme chicken salad sandwich; it may have been the best sandwich of the entire trip. An even more special treat was in store for Queenie (Linda) because they had a true vegan sandwich; that was a first for her on the trip. She has been stuck eating some pretty plain lunch meals to meet her strict vegan diet. As we entered into the Tallahassee area, the traffic really picked up. After 86 miles today, it was a welcome sight to know we are at a hotel tonight. Last night was our last tent camping night; just three more indoor nights left (fairground, YMCA and armory). It is very hard to believe that our journey will be coming to a close in just a few more days.
Stats from the day:
Start city: Marianna, FL
End city: Tallahassee, FL
Miles: 85.66
Total miles to date: 2678.52
Pedaling time: 5 hours, 42 minutes
Avg. speed: 15.0
Feet climbed: 2,799 (who said Florida was flat?)
Fatigue factor: 3 out of 10 (10 is the worst);
Wind: start: SW 7 mph; end W 10 mph
Road condition: 4.5 out of 5 (1 is the worst)
Temperature extremes: 65 at ride start, 83 at ride finish
A beautiful road from this morning's ride.
Old Gretna school house that was built in 1908 and used until 1935.
Where we had lunch today in Quincy, FL
This mural, painted in 1903, was found behind a wall, and became an inspiration for the name of the café. The name is Victorian era slang for "damned if I know!"
Not the Sugarmill Woods where I live, but what a coincidence!
I didn't even have to leave Florida to visit a Havana post office.
The last about six miles of the ride looked like this.
