We have finally reached our last rest day, after riding from Pensacola to De Funiak Springs. The day started with us getting a ride from our motel back to the ACA route, then we began pedaling about 8:30 after fighting rush hour traffic to get started. There was a strong headwind again, not quite as strong as yesterday, but unrelenting, straight out of the east all day long.
The first few miles of the route, highway 90 has very high traffic, moderate speed vehicles, and no shoulders. This was a disappointment because the best (only) photo opportunity was of I-10 heading east out of Pensacola. The interstate is an elevated bridge as it leaves the city, and it seems to disappear into the ocean. But, no photo op.
We continued on the way with several climbs, overall an elevation increase of over 200 feet. The high temperature today was over 95 degrees. With the headwind it was a difficult ride. I hit one of those points again where I hurt all over, felt sick, felt hot, and had a backache. It made for a tough day, but it was just a matter of pedal til you get where you're going.
There were a couple of other points of interest along the way. There were a couple of places with "wheelchair crossing" signs. These are a lot like the "elk crossing" signs or "deer crossing" signs in Arizona, but the road kill is a little gamier here. Florida also does something different with their garage sales. The sellers post all of their wares in the large grass shoulders along the highway. It is like traveling through a swap meet on the highway.
So no photos today, but the numbers and maps are on the link:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/237303383#.UIsI5XvfDoc.blogger
G'day Norm,
ReplyDeleteJust a bit of a heads-up. Along the ACA route, you've got a couple of more long bike paths to plan around, for your father to drive.
Map 98, out of Tallahasse, and Maps 104 & 105 out of Gainesville.
Dennis