Day 48: Thursday 04/21/16, Tallahassee, FL to Live Oak, FL

I've always liked to photograph old buildings, but this is the first one on this ride that I thought worthy of an "old building" status. Looks like it may still be used for something. Found this one about 30 miles down Hwy. 90 from Tallahassee.

 

 

Day 48 distance: 78 miles

Total miles:  2666 miles

Elevation gain: 1636 feet

Map of today's ride:

Today's 78 mile ride from Tallahassee, Florida,to Live Oak, Florida, was pleasant. The headwind out of the east is forever present, but was not too strong today. I think all of this year's coasters have gotten used to and accepted all the headwinds we have faced during this year's C2C. And we won't forget the few wonderful days when we had a great tailwind! Today was primarily overcast with the temperature reaching 84 degrees when we arrived in Live Oak. A highlight of today's ride was when we passed through Greenville, Florida, the childhood home of Ray Charles, or RC, as the locals call him. We now have rides of 48, 85, and 44 miles remaining along with one day off before reaching St. Augustine on Monday, April 25.

My one roadside scene for the day.

This is a statue of Ray Charles at his keyboard in the Greenville, Florida, public park. Ray Charles was raised in Greenville, and it was there that he learned to play the piano from the owner of a local cafe. At age 7, his sight failed and he was sent to The School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, Florida, but returned to Greenville for summers. When he was 15, his mother died which was also the time he started showing his musical talents. He went on to be known for pioneering soul music and is considered one of the most outstanding musicians of the century. Over time, Ray always returned to Greenville for visits. He died in 2004 at the age of 74.

An old southern mansion in Madison, Florida.

So, after bicycling 47 miles this morning, I walked into a small Madison, Florida, one-chair barber shop, with no customers, and asked the barber if she would cut an old man's sweaty hair. The barber said "sure" and handed me a paper towel to dry my head. Fifteen minutes later, after a great conversation with the very pleasant barber, I walked out, all ready for the big ride into St. Augustine, Florida next Monday! :)

Madison, Florida, County Courthouse. A pretty old building.

I finally found some roadside flowers, daisies, to photograph in Florida. I understand during last  year's C2C, Florida was loaded with flowers but there have been few this year.

I decided to not take a picture of one of the rivers I rode over today, only to discover a few miles later it was the famous Suwannee River. So, this picture will have to be the substitute for the real thing!

This is John and Rose Murphy, SAG support, getting our last time laundry set out for pick up. John and Rose were also on SAG support last year, and this year Rose is the head of SAG support. They are a great team and both have done a fantastic job again this year!

Anne's afternoon hors d'oeuvres for the day. Delicious pizza bread! Who needs dinner?

This is the typical scene each day after a ride, coasters sitting around telling stories and drinking their favorite beverage. Next time I do a ride I think I will try doing that instead of blogging! It looks like fun!

Tonight's menu.

Day 47: Wednesday 04/20/16, Marianna, FL to Tallahassee, FL

 

Sunrise this morning over the lake at our Marianne, Florida camping site.

 

Another early morning scene of the lake showing the Spanish Moss and fog still hanging over the water.

Day 47 distance: 76 miles

Total miles:  2588 miles

Elevation gain: 2409 feet

Map of today's ride:

On Day 18 of this C2C, a few miles outside of Van Horn, Texas, we left the Mountain Time Zone and entered the Central Time Zone. Today, on Day 47, some 29 days later, we finally left the Central Time Zone and entered into the Eastern Time Zone when we crossed the Chattahoochee River... (Take it away Alan Jackson!)..., about 21 miles into our ride today from Marianne, Florida. That is one big time zone!

It was another good day for riding with no wind of significance, blue skies, and roads with a wide shoulder. The first 55 miles were the typical forest lined roads we have been riding, although we experienced more hills than we had seen so far in Florida. However, after riding through Texas Hill Country with serious hills, today's hills were easy to master. The last 20 miles of the ride were  through the capital city of  Florida, Tallahassee. Tallahassee is the 126th largest US city with a 2014 population of slightly over 375,000 people. It is also the home of Florida State University. There were also hills in the city but other than a few busy streets, we rode almost exclusively on lazy urban streets, skirting anything resembling downtown.

This picture was taken from the middle of the Chattahoochee River Bridge. At this point we were leaving the Central Time Zone and entering the Eastern Time Zone.The reservoir behind the dam is Lake Seminole and primarily lies in the state of Georgia.

A scene on the road about 30 miles outside Tallahassee, Florida. Another beautiful road with a great bicycle lane.

Getting into the Tallahassee traffic. We only had a few busy intersections with this much traffic to ride through.

This is an example of the more typical quiet residential street on our route through Tallahassee today.

Fred Lipton, coaster from Toronto, Canada is greeted at a SAG stop by someone's Great Dane. The dog reportedly weighs 150 pounds and her name is Edna May. I think I know which one I would place a bet on to win in a wrestling match!

Meet coaster Julie Willmering from Tennessee. Coasters from 2015 may note a resemblance to 2015 coaster Marla Drewel-Lynch. In fact, a lady at the Baptist Church where we were served lunch this year approached Julie to tell her she remembered her from last year! Not only are there physical resemblances, but both Julie and Marla are very personable and excellent strong riders.

Since Mike Barga left this year's C2C (as scheduled), Florida coaster Mark Copher (pictured) and I have been roommates whenever we stay in motels. Just like when we tent, the Wolf Pack places all of our luggage in our rooms ahead of our arrival. Tonight we are staying at a very nice Best Western Motel on the east end of Tallahassee, Florida.

Another winner!

Day 46: Tuesday 04/19/16, DeFuniak Springs, FL to Marianna, FL

 

Last night at the Sunset King RV Resort, DeFuniak Springs, Florida, we were entertained by Jim Hubbard. Jim is a Karaoki singer who has a gift to sound like many popular country stars. Jim's albums can be purchased on iTunes and other music outlets. 

 

Day 46 distance: 69 miles

Total miles:  2512 miles

Elevation gain: 1394 feet

Map of today's ride:

Today's 69 mile ride was pleasurable. The sun was shining and wind was not a factor. The roads we are riding on are smooth with large shoulders. With five riding days and one rest day remaining, we will reach our C2C goal and arrive in St. Augustine, Florida on Monday, April 25.

This is very typical of the roads we are riding on across the Florida Panhandle. Trees dominate the landscape, and the roads are smooth and wide with wide shoulders. Perhaps the nicest riding of the entire C2C.

Today's ride route had us going through a historic section of DeFuniak Springs, Florida. The streets were lined with beautifully kept old mansions.

We rode around Circle Lake in DeFuniak, Florida. The building in this picture, across the lake, is the Chautaqua Building. I was curious about the history of the building but struck out on my internet search.

The lake we are staying next to tonight in Marianne, Florida, is filled with cypress trees covered with Spanish moss.

The view from the front of my tent at the Arrowhead Campground, Marianne, Florida. Hmm, I may need to keep an eye open tonight for hungry alligators!

Some of the tents set up in tonight's campground.

Day 45: Monday 04/18/16, Milton, FL to Defuniak Springs, FL

A roadside sculpture out of the base of an old tree seen on our ride today between Milton, Florida and Defuniak Springs, Florida. Note the multiple animal heads as well as the figure next to someone's initials on the tree stump.

 

Day 45 distance: 55 miles

Total miles:  2443 miles

Elevation gain: 1394 feet

Map of today's ride:

Today's blog will be the shortest one of this year's C2C. The ride covered 55 miles of wooded land between Milton, Florida and Defuniak Springs, Florida. I kept looking for picture opportunities but failed to see any beyond the one picture of the tree sculpture.

The ride itself was on roads with a very nice wide shoulder. We definitely are now in an area of more traffic than we have seen in any of the 7 preceding states, barring of course the few excursions made thru major cities. About half ways into today's ride the wind from the east made its presence known, but not anything like the strong wind of yesterday. Today's wind only slowed us down a couple miles per hour.

A week from today we will be riding into St. Augustine! I think everyone is anxious to complete the remaining 399 miles and celebrate!

Day 44: Sunday 04/17/16, Dauphin island, FL to Milton, FL

A roadside scene shortly after riding through Pensacola, Florida, on our way to Milton, Florida.

 Day 44 distance: 86 miles

Total miles:  2388 miles

Elevation gain: 1163 feet

Map of today's ride:

Today was one of the harder rides on this year's C2C, due to 25-30 mph headwinds for about 50 miles of today's ride. But, lets back up to the start of the day.

We spent our second night at the Dauphin Island Campground, once again listening to the strong wind blowing all night. The ferry had not run on our day off due to wind, and if the ferry didn't run today, we would have been shuttled close to 2 hours by car to get to where the ferry could deliver us in about 45 minutes. Fortunately, the ferry captain is one of  Bubba's many friends, and determined it was safe to transfer us across the bay. With that said, the crossing for this year's C2C group was the only crossing made for the entire day as the ferry was immediately shut down for the day once we were across.

Once across, the work began, We faced 25 to 30 mph headwinds for about the first 50 miles before they settled down to a more manageable strength. In the first hour of hard pedaling, I covered 8,5 miles, versus a more typical 14-15 miles. We were bicycling right along the ocean where the wind is always the strongest. There is a reason people go to the ocean edge to fly kites!

If there was an upside to the ride, it was that the sun was out and the views along the ride were interesting. About 30 miles into the ride, we crossed into our 8th and last state we will be riding in on this C2C, Florida.

Some of the coasters waiting for the Ferry Captain to arrive for our 8:00 am departure. Note the sign stating "Ferry Closed." Bubba's business is successful, in part based upon friends and acquaintances along the route, with the ferry Captain being one example. (No, our safety was not compromised during the crossing.)

Bubba and "Curly" (John McIntyre), or is it Moe and Curly?  Waiting for the ferry.

The coasters rolling their bicycles onto the small ferry. The small Penske truck that travels with us, and Bubba's motor home were already loaded. As it happened, there was one pickup with two people that happened along as we were loading, and they were the only non-coasters who also got a lift from the island to the mainland.

As this picture shows, the water was rough!

The ocean side of historic Fort Gaines.

Darned if this seagull floating along in the air with the ferry doesn't look like an owl.

Again, I thought I was taking a picture of two seagulls, but what is the leading bird?

A closer look at a natural gas extraction platform.

A couple "classic" looking sea-side homes.

On the bicycle, riding up the Alabama coast.

Hmm, Bubba never mentioned this enterprise, although he has had about a half dozen of the homes he owns across the US marked on our cue sheets to look at as we ride by. :)

Almost the entire coastline along the Alabama coastline consists of high-rise residences.

About 30 miles into the ride we crossed the border into Florida.

The sand along the coast in both Alabama and Florida is very white. There are areas with many of the homes as shown above, built on stilts for high tides during storms. In many instances, it felt like we were riding in a sand blaster as the wind was picking up and blowing the fine sand into our faces and bodies as we rode into the wind.

The Florida coastline consists of many inlets with marinas and expensive residences.

We saw several of these very long causeways and bridges built over vast expanses of water around Pensacola.

Another inlet along the road about 20 miles before reaching Milton, Florida, where we camped for the night.