Cycling Ellen

83 miles today
2945 total

After last night’s free cocktail party at the Hampton Inn and the strawberries dipped in chocolate, I thought it might be a slow start for some this morning. We all laughed so hard last night. Maybe it was coming through a rainy day, maybe feeling the end is near and being appreciate of each other’s company or maybe it was the free drinks, but we all had such a good time together. But bright and early, we were out in the parking lot ready for another day on the road.

Today was the opposite of yesterday. It was a cool start but the sun came out and warmed us nicely. We wove through neighborhoods on our way out of Perry and were mostly on country roads and even a couple of bike paths. It was a fun ride for many of us because of the stops along the way. In Mayo, there was a café where I ordered cheese grits. Check out the photos to see why I was surprised when they arrived.

We crossed the Swanee River (spelled Suwannee here) and sang as many of the words of the song as we could remember. About 50 miles into the ride, we all stopped at the Ichetucknee Springs State Park. This area is full of springs and state parks to go with them. The spring had crystal clear water where you could see the fish from a good distance. When I put my feet in, they surrounded my legs. When Debbie went in for a swim (before I got there) what she didn’t see right away was a 4 foot water snake swimming in the water near her. When I arrived, I decided that wading was good enough for me!

We rode along with fields of dairy cattle, barns full of poultry and some sheep, donkeys and horses. The road was mostly flat and a bunch of us kept a pace line going for most of the day. There were beautiful pink and yellow wildflowers along most of the roadway reminding us of the Texas wildflowers that seem so long ago now.

In High Springs, where we were originally scheduled to spend the night, there was a great diner called Floyd’s where we sat outside under a hot pink canopy and enjoyed the recovery ride milkshakes and other diner fare. It was an easy seven miles into Alachua for our night’s lodging.

The mood today was so light and friendly. Everyone rode at a leisurely pace, not worrying about making it in in time. It was only 83 miles. What strong riders we have become and what good friends. We only have one more day of riding before we don the WomanTour jerseys for our final ride into St. Augustine. In the meantime, we’ll savor these last couple of days together.