Day 40 (Melrose to St.Augustine, FL)

Where's Waldo?

That's the title I wanted to use for today's post, after spending last night in Waldo, Florida. But it really seems like a lame title when today, WE FINISHED THE RIDE! We rolled onto St. Augustine beach just before noon this morning, November 1st, a day before my 60th birthday. The feeling was so good as we rolled onto the beach and started walking toward the Atlantic Ocean for our pictures, that Karen started to cry a little, and I was even a little choked up. The other side of that coin is that we are both willing to get on our bikes and ride back to Phoenix.

Yesterday we ended our ride in Melrose after I realized that we had ridden 10 extra miles due to my mistake. Father took us to Waldo, the closest town that had a decent motel (according to the locals). In fact the other local establishments were referred to as "roach motels".  So we stayed at the Comfort Inn in Waldo, ate Mexican food one more time, and retired.

The day started out cool, in the mid 50's, and overcast. Because it was in the 50's I was just wearing my regular short sleeved jersey (my birthday present from Karen) and bike shorts. It took a few miles to get warmed up, but when we did the excitement of finishing took over and we really started spinning, running almost 18mph average for the 56 miles.

I modified the ride again, taking straight roads instead of the ACA paths (thanks Dennis for the reminders). It cut off a few miles and was still a nice, pretty ride. For anyone else coming this way, we came in on 100 to 206, then straight to the beaches. The shoulders are very nice, except where they lead up to bridges. There they narrow and the quarter mile lead in to the bridge has speed bumps that will loosen your eyeballs.

We got to Crescent Beach and rode north on A1A to the first St.Augustine Beach sign we saw. There we took photos, and turned down the road to the beach. The pure white sand of the beach and the smooth Atlantic Ocean were a very welcome sight, and gave no indication that hurricane Sandy had recently passed by. Karen and I took photos, drank our bottle of celebratory Champagne, and enjoyed being done. We also talked to one off the local Beach Patrol Police officers who is wanting to do a similar tour. He was impressed and very inquisitive about bicycle touring, so we were glad to share some of our info and adventures.

We are done, and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Thanks for all the interest, comments, and for keeping up with our adventure. Now it's back to Phoenix.


Map and Numbers:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/239213526#.UJLbRC5Fxa8.blogger