George: Epilogue - Sunday, 22OCT’17

It has been exactly one week since Sara and I crossed the corporation limit sign for the town of St. Augustine culminating a 42-day, 2760-mile bicycle tour across the United States, traveling through eight states. It has been a hallmark of my life. 

Sara: Day 42

At some point every morning one of us asks the other “are you in the groove yet”? Lately it’s been taking us a couple of hours to get there. This morning, despite the early start, heavy fog, and city traffic, both of us hit our groove virtually out of the gate. I guess you could say we were powered by some last-day adrenaline.

George: Sunday, 15OCT’17 – Gainesville, FL to St. Augustine, FL

It was a great day to end a great bicycle tour. Upcoming events in our lives finally roll around after minutes slip into days and months until finally they arrive. And so it was with this tour listed at the top of Sara’s bucket list. It was not on mine. 

Sara: Day 41

Today’s 77 miles from Live Oak to Gainesville made for another lovely and enjoyable ride. My mind wandered a lot today, so the time passed quickly and I don’t have much to share about the route, other than hitting our milestone 24^th flat. The ride did get us one day closer to the end. We are ready to wrap up this trip in St. Augustine TOMORROW!

George: Saturday, 14OCT’17 – Live Oak, FL to Gainesville, FL

It was a great day to be on a bicycle. We pulled out of Live Oak around 8:00am to a relatively cool morning and a great road. The scenery has been much the same since leaving Pensacola. The road is lined with forest, punctuated with an occasional house or ranch. 

Sara: Day 40

Gah, I spoke too soon about the motels. The Holiday Inn Express in Live Oak was full, so the Quality Inn it is for one more night, a motel which has snagged a spot in our bottom 5 motel experiences of the trip.

George: Friday, 13OCT’17 – Tallahassee, FL to Live Oak, FL

It was a challenging day on the bicycle. But first, let me tell you about last evening and dinner. We found an Indian restaurant just 500 feet, walking distance, from the hotel. Since we arrived at 4:00pm, we were the first customers. The menu was impressive, but the buffet looked too good to pass up. As it turned out, we had what I would rate as the best meal of the tour. The food was excellent, and plentiful. We left there quite satisfied.