Cycling the Atlantic Coast

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2048445017?share_unique_id=116 Today was a quick run down the coast to St Augustine.   We had a wind out of the east at 25 mph, with gusts up to 40, which meant that it was time to hang on and stay on the road.  Fortunately,  the road was lightly traveled and had a 8 foot bike lane. The ride was nice, routing us through beautiful golf communities and a nature peeserve.  There was a statue of Ponce de Leon where he reportedly sited the new world on his quest for gold and the fountain of youth. Near the end of the day,  we went through a beach community that showed lots of signs of storm damage.   The blowing sand made us all happy to end the ride and get a warm shower. Tomorrow is a day off.  There is rain in the forecast and hurricane Nate is causing some mischief.  It will be nice not to sleep in a tent.  We are in a kitchy hostel called the Pirate Haus whichis actually quite nice.  ...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2043462844?share_unique_id=114 Another fantastic day of cycling.  We had a nice tailwind for much of the ride and lots of variety in scenery.  We departed the lowlands of Georgia and arrived in our destination state of Florida.   The roads in Florida showed a significant improvement over the past couple of states.  The main road, A1A has wide shoulders, low traffic and a good surface.  We have been told that it will continue. We saw more storm damage today in the form of piles of trees and branches 10' high on the side of the road.  There are a lot of trucks halling debris and crews working along the roads. Right now we are on the coast east of Jacksonville.   The ocean is being affected by 25 mph east winds.   It is not a good day for swimming,  but I got in a nice walk along the beach. It is exciting to be in Florida and see the end in sight.  It is time to stop eating anyth...

We had a fun ride through south Georgia today.   We crossed a bridge and I got high enough to get a view of the terrain.  It is flat as a pancake, with lots of swamps and tidal rivers.  We had a wonderful 15 mph tailwind which made the pedals very easy to turn.  We have begin to see signs of wind damage from Irene.   I got a  picture of our shopping ritual.  The store was about 10 miles from camp, so we all meet to help carry groceries.   I am sure it is quite the sight in these small rural towns to have 10 lycra clad cyclists and loaded bike show up at the local IGA. Tomorrow we enter Florida.   Our last of 13 states on this journey.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2034790848?share_unique_id=112 I am afraid that I have not been doing a good job keeping up on the blog.  I had a day of cooking, a ninty mile day and a visit from my lovely wife.  All of which took time and energy.  Since I last wrote,  I have cycled through the lowlands of South Carolina and Georgia and visited the elegant southern city of Savanna. The cycling has been a little challenging. The infrastructure in South Carolina is not cycling friendly.  The people are fine, but 4 lane roads, posted at 65 mph, with no shoulders are not a cyclists friend.   Today we were in Georgia which was an improvement.  I did see porpoises from a bridge in South Carolina on the way into Savanna, which was a treat.  We did two walking tours of Savanna which were fantastic.   One was on the general history of the city and the other one was on the civil war in the area.  It is a lovely city where hist...

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2003720028?share_unique_id=110 Another interesting ride through South Carolina.   We spent much of the day in Francis Marion National Forest on the way to Charleston.   Our lodging was no available until 5 pm, so we hit the beach for three hours.   It was a fantastic way to spend the day.   That finishes off to  days in a row of cycling and 440 miles.  So far, we are over 2000 miles for the trip. 

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1998297541?share_unique_id=108 Big day today at a little over 86 miles.  It was through the lowlands of the South Carolina and not our most interesting ride.  We got some cloud cover, tailwinds and had cool temperatures thanks to hurricane Maria being offshore,  so that was a bonus. About the only things of note are that we entered South Carolina today.  Also, the fact that we are staying in the birthplace of Chubby Checkers (and Chris Rock)

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1994152261?share_unique_id=104 https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1994152261?share_unique_id=106 Well, I have slacked off the blogging for a few days.   As you can tell from the blurred photo, looks like I have stopped cleaning the lense on my phone camera too, sorry. The last week we have cycled about 400 miles through North Carolina.  The trip total is over 1800 miles. While not blogging and riding, we have had lots of fun.   For the past 5 days, we have been able to swim in the ocean after cycling (or on the route) which has been wonderful. Tomorrow is a big day.   We enter South Carolina and will cover nearly 90 miles.   Also, it has been decided that the ride will end 4 days early in Fort Lauderdale.   The Key's are still in  very fragile condition and if it is even possible to get to the end, it is doubtful it would be much fun. The map shows the next week or so of our adventure.  ...