SATURDAYIt was finally here! I had been looking forward to the Overnight Bike Ride with Shawn, Matt and his dad.
We all arrived on time, loaded the van up, prayed over our journey and set out.
Jen and Gavin (Support Crew) went to McDonalds after seeing us off. The ride out of town was good except for some road work being done. We stopped for some fluids and a snack in Orange Heights. It was a nice first stop to access how everyone was doing.
We finished up and began the journey to lunch on the river in Palatka. The ride through Melrose to Putnam Hall was uneventful. Between Putnam Hall and Palatka we had some ups and downs (hills). They were a good terrain change. It flattened out before Palatka so all we had to do was cruise through town to the river. There we met Jen and Gavin. We prayed and picnicked by the water. What a beautiful spot.
Lunch was great. Even better was knowing that we were just over 30 miles away from our campsite. We rode over the St. Johns River and then stopped to reload our fluids. From there it was a quick ride to Anastasia Island State Park thanks to a great tailwind. Everyone did great. Today's ride was 81 miles!
SUNDAY
I love camping at Anastasia Island State Park! Our site was great and having the opportunity to go to the beach just minutes away was fantastic.
After a great night of sleep we got up to dry but windy and overcast weather. We ate breakfast, shared in the Word and Communion, took down camp and began to pedal back to Gainesville.
Shortly after leaving the park it began to rain. With the rain and the wind it became really cold. We were biking into a strong headwind so we were working hard. Just before getting to 95 the rain started to come down hard so we pulled into a Kangaroo station to get out of the rain and get something hot to drink. We also summoned Jen to come back our way so we could get some things out of the van.
We waited for 30 minutes or more then decided to get back at it. The rain had let up alot but just after a mile or so of riding the rain stopped. It was still windy but PTL the cold rain had ceased. We fought our way to Green Cove Springs where we enjoyed Starbucks and lunch out of the van. The low light of the stretch before GCS was crossing over the Shands Bridge. The 30-40 mile an hour headwind made it very, very difficult. The traffic, including big redneck trucks, didn't help one bit. PTL we made it!
Starbucks and lunch were great. It was really great that a Family Dollar store was across the street. I need some cheap gloves and a beanie to keep me warm the rest of the way. We fought the wind to Camp Blanding and then on into Starke. We decided, before Starke, that that would be our stopping point. There was no need to fight the wind all the way to Gainesville. We could do that another day. Our average speed for the day was 11 miles per hour and our total mileage for the day was 60. We met Jen and Gavin at CVS. We loaded up on some food and fluids then we loaded up our bikes in the van and headed home.
It was a great two day ride though day two was quite challenging. I was glad we all experienced day two because that is the reality of long distance biking. Some days are easy and great while other days are hard and frustrating. If you can enjoy the bad with the good you can enjoy life on the road.
