Super 8 at St. Augustine Beach to a few miles outside Florahome, FL
Daily Mileage: 65
Total Mileage: 65
End GPS Location: 29.72789, -81.84631
After falling asleep at 8:30 last night, I was up at 6:30 AM getting the last of everything ready before taking the rental car back for 7:30.
When packing, I felt like I had a lot of gear, a lot more than I take backpacking, at least. I guess there’s no way really to get around it. I mean, my bike lock alone weighs like 2 pounds, but it’s not something I want to get rid of. I have more clothes than normal just because I don’t really know what is going to work yet. And then there’s a bike tool and repair kit which add some weight.
This isn’t backpacking. The sooner I start realizing that, the better.
I got my stuff together right around sunrise so I hopped on the bike and headed down to the beach to get some pictures. It was a beautiful morning and the sky was purple and blue with just a few specks of orange beginning to take shape.
Returning the rental was easy and I was back at the hotel by 8:00 AM, courtesy of Mike, my Enterprise driver.
And then I was out on the open road making my way West. It was a strange feeling. Many mixed emotions and doubts. This was a huge task ahead of me and it really sucker punched me in the gut as I passed some sand dunes on my right.
I was happy too. In a different way. Another adventure underway. Another opportunity to see a large part of the US. Another journey to gain perspective of the world and my small place within it.
The first six miles were easy as I rode over a bridge and found myself in the city center, the official start of the route, according to my map set.
I took a few pictures of some cool looking old buildings. Apparently St. Augustine is one of the oldest city’s in America. They have a national monument called the Castillo de San Marcos, which is an old fort that was built in 1672 because the Spanish were afraid that the English, living in the Carolinas at the time, would try and capture the city. I didn’t get any pictures but I drove by it yesterday and it looked pretty cool.
I continued west through St. Augustine and eventually made it into the country, where farmland surrounded either side of the country road, until I hit the St. John’s River and took another road south to the town of Hastings.
It was mostly pleasent riding up until this point. There was little traffic and the shoulders on the roads were adequate. After Hastings I passed a larger city, Palatka, which had me riding on Route 100, which was kind of a scary road, just because it was a main arterial and there were a lot of cars. The shoulder was very big so that helped. I crossed the St. John’s Bridge over the river and road for another 10 miles on route 100, into a crappy headwind, which was tough and slow. Eventually I made it to the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail, which is a rail trail bike path that borders a nice State Forest.
I’m stealth camped away from the bike path in the woods somewhere, after a total distance of 65 miles, which I completed by 3:30.
I felt pretty good all day, but I’m tired tonight. My butt is sore from not having been in the saddle for a while but that will improve.
It’s a nice night and mild, lower 60s. I was surprised to find quite a few mosquitoes in the woods where I am camping.
Overall a good first day. On to Gainesville tommorrow.
