cross country ride Wakulla Springs to Perry, Florida

Some gators know just where to hang out

" Team Hill Country" Peggy, Liz, Janet, Marni and Elizabeth

Because of the time zone change, it was still pitch black when the wake up call came in at 6:00 AM. That made it all the more difficult to crawl out of bed and gear up for the ride. Of course by the time I gooped with sunscreen and insecticide, smeared chamois butter on every necessary surface, donned bra, underlayer, shorts and jersey, geared up the jersey pockets, hauled the luggage down to the van, extricated my bike from the bike jam in the conference room where they were stored, taken it out to the van, parked it, checked it, put air in the tires and turned the key in at the desk, it was almost light enough to ride and breakfast was out on the tables along with snack stuff.

There was a brief pause after breakfast while we took a group picture of "Team Hill Country". The jerseys had been bought at a bike store in Kerrville to celebrate having ridden through (or so we thought) the worst of the Texas hills as well as the Arizona and New Mexico hills and mountains, but we have never been able to coordinate a day when we all wore them. By dint of steady reminders and diligent hand washing, today everyone had their jersey on. Hence the group picture.

The ride was short and sweet. We definitely are riding flat and straight now. Our only cue on the cue sheet happened 10 miles into the ride, after which we rode straight for the remaining 42 miles. Although there were a lot of pines on each side of the road, they weren't very tall and the sun was soon up above them and the headwind was blowing. In this case the headwind was welcome because it kept the ride on the cooler side and wasn't really strong enough to be discouraging. Since it was a short ride, we just settled into a slower pace and rode. Many of the riders complain that they find riding flat and straight like this boring. Personally, it is my favorite kind of ride. There was a good, if somewhat cluttered shoulder, not much traffic, and I was able to just settle in and enjoy the mechanics of playing piston legs and riding smoothly. I got so comfortable in fact, that the first SAG stop caught me unawares and I would have just ridden on by if Janet hadn't called out "stopping".

I'm not sure if it is a function of the heat, the humidity, the flooding from recent rains leaving standing ground water everywhere, but it seems the further we ride into Florida, the more pervasive the gnats, black flies, mosquitos and no see ums become. At every SAG stop I find myself being bitten, with clouds of gnats swarming around my face and getting stuck to my sunscreened and sweaty skin. It definitely is human fly paper time at each stop which is probably why the stops are becoming more like touch downs, where I drop the bike, run to the bushes, pee, and fill up the water bottle on the fly while getting back on the bike and heading back out onto the road. It's this kind of situation that makes me appreciate the musettes the riders on the Tour De France are handed as they ride, although I'm sure it's for different reasons.

All of that not with standing, it was a lovely ride, and over too quickly. The only other stops we took were so that Janet could take pictures of the pithy church saying she came across on the Baptists Churches. Most were too churchy for me but I thought " almost saved is completely lost" had possibilities. The nicest thing was that I came off the bike feeling as fresh as I did when I started out, which bodes well for tomorrow.

Janet and I and several other riders stopped in the town of Perry for lunch at a place called "Rosebud Junction." Although it came highly recommended by the locals, and the food was ok, the atmosphere and decor made it look and feel like something out a B grade horror movie. It was nothing you could put a finger on, it just felt a little off, like the cook in the kitchen was chopping up a cadaver and throwing it in the chili or something. We ate quickly and headed on to the Hampton Inn which to our pleasant surprise, was freshly painted, carpeted, decorated, had our rooms ready and had fresh strawberries, cookies and coffee in the lobby to welcome us. It begins to feel like we are actually beginning to merge back in with civilization. It's an odd feeling.

today's stats

distance 52.34

ride time 3:54

speed 13.4