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 24th flat. The ride did get us
one day closer to the end. We are ready to wrap up this trip in St. Augustine TOMORROW!
Having been at it for the last 6
days, I can confidently say I don’t like riding my bike in Florida. And that’s
actually saying a lot since every single road we’ve used is smooth and clean –
heads and shoulders above the quality in the other 7 states. It’s the a-hole drivers
killing the vibe. I was fooled, temporarily, by the miles upon miles of bike
lanes into thinking this was a bike-friendly place, but the last week would
suggest the majority of Floridians actually hate cyclists. There have been a
few roads where the drivers were courteous, but, aside from those anomalies, I can
count on one hand the drivers who made even the vaguest gesture of respecting
our right to the road, but need both hands and a foot to count the number who
honked and/or yelled at us to get off the road as they passed too close for
(our) comfort. The systematic indifference is bad enough; the outright aggression
is the worst we’ve seen in 41 days on the road. I’d like to say it’s a shame we’re
ending the trip on this note but, after tomorrow, I never have to ride in
Florida again and the offensiveness will be a thing of the past. Still, it’s
too bad New Mexico isn’t on the Atlantic.
Tomorrow’s 81 miles into St.
Augustine will be accompanied by a 10+ mph headwind, so we filled up on
milkshakes tonight and are getting to bed early to gear up for the tough, final ride. We’re
planning to head out before sunrise to beat the Gainesville traffic out of town
and hopefully some of the wind.
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| These trees! |
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