Day 4: Ghetto Campground to Tallahassee

Distance: 64.7 miles
Time: 5 hrs 13 mins
Total Distance: 266 miles

Day 3: Ichetucknee Springs to Madison, FL

Daily Stats:
Daily Miles: 71.1
Time: 5 hrs 16 mins
Total Distance: 202

We rode through some more of rural Florida. We saw some farms and lots of green. There wasn't much traffic and the weather was in the mid-90's. While riding we saw a brand new Escalade parked in front of a mobile home (they were probably visiting) and a truck with a front license plate that read "Willkillya County".

This is one of the many modified school buses we saw. I know it is hard to see but the windows are taken out and it is retrofitted to haul watermelons.
Checking for alligators.

Some Florida farmland.

Rural Florida river (no alligators, we checked).

Another turtle we found attempting to cross the road. This one was a little bigger than the last one we found. Dad was drag racing his helmet against the turtle.

Day 2: Melrose to Ichetucknee Springs

Daily Stats:
Daily Miles: 72.2 Miles
Time: 5 hrs 15 mins
Total Distance: 130 miles


Today we rode though Gainesville and saw at least 250 University of Florida bumper stickers, shirts, painted mail boxes, and flags around town. We also saw multiple yellow school buses modified as pickup trucks and watermelon haulers.

I woke up in the morning to find an ant farm in my bike bags. You can see the ants coming into my bag and leaving with my lunch. They had somehow gotten inside 2 closed ziplock bags, 1 bread loaf bag, and the peanut butter. Ever had that feeling that ants are crawling all over you?

This is my food in the garbage with the ants still chowing down. Keep in mind they are all inside the bag.

McDonalds in Gainsville with their Wednesday special: 49 cent hamburgers and 69 cent cheeseburgers. We came on the right day.

Dad fixing a flat on the trailer while I watch and take pictures.

The Second Day 1: St. Augustine to Melrose

We finally made it out of St. Augustine and road by some green Florida farmland. We rode past Hastings, which is the potato capital of Florida. You probably haven't heard of Hastings because oranges are much more famous in Florida.

Trip Stats:

Daily Miles: 58.6
Time: 4 hrs 12 min

Dad intercepted this turtle dangerously trying to cross the road.

The lake by our campground. It was nice to cook off in there after riding.

Me in action.

Our rides.

Day 1 St. Augustine to...St. Augustine

Today is the first day of our trip. We rode our bikes to the ocean to get the mandatory picture of our bikes in the water.

The moped and trailer in the Atlantic.

We wanted to go surfing but the waves were a little small today.

We also decided that is was more fun to be tourists than cyclists so we made a stop at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine before started biking.

The alligator crew.

Another excellent reason not to kiss a komodo dragon.

These guys were patiently waiting for a tourist to fall in.




We took a picture of her because she was smiling at Dad.

A somewhat rare albino 'gator. Got to keep his sensitive skin in the shade.

After the Alligator farm we loaded up the bikes and the trailer and hit the road only to find we had too much stuff and the moped was dangerously overloaded. Since it was late in the day, we decided to get a motel room and rethink our packing.

Moped = Chicken

It wasn't long before we pulled into the motel and started unpacking that the neighbor, who lived at the hotel, started admiring the moped. He (Robert) thought it was the coolest thing and we starting chatting about it and the trip. He said he had some chicken he was going to cook up and invited us to join him. It sounded good so we chatted while he fired up the charcoals and starting cooking it and sipping a beer. Finally, an hour and half later, the chicken was cooked and he went in to get some plates. He came out without plates (or silverware) and the chicken and some beans in a pot. He said we'll eat like men, then put the pot on the ground, and we all starting digging in with our hands. Shortly after we started his friend Bob rolled up and joined us in the conversation. Robert offered Bob some food and he said no thanks and then asked if that was the chicken he bought off the street. Robert quickly cut him off and changed the subject. We nervously laughed and quitely finished our dinner. It tasted pretty good but we will see what happens tomorrow. We had a good time with him and were grateful for his hospitality.

Me, Bob, and Robert

It is hard to see from my phone pic but this guy in front of me is an alligator catcher.

Being Tourists

Since St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US (founded in 1565) and the starting point of our trip, we decided to wander around and check it out.

Looking up at the St. Augustine lighthouse.

The 219 spiral stairs to the top. This was built in 1874 and I think that is before elevators were invented.

View from the top looking at the Atlantic.

Dad at Vilano Beach

This is the Castillo de San Marcos. I am standing on the drawbridge over the moat. It is a fort that was built starting in 1672 by the Spanish to protect their interest in La Florida. It is made out of Coquina which is a soft limestone made up of broken shells and sand cemented together to make a natural form of concrete. It would absorb a cannon ball hit without breaking apart.

Arrival in Florida

I almost got the rental car towed 5 minutes after I picked it up. After I picked it up I went to go get Dad and the luggage. He was on the second level curb but that level would only allow commercial vehicles so I went to the level planning to run downstairs and grab him. There were lots of signs posted saying "Unattended Vehicles will be Towed Immediatly". Since all airports post that I didn't think it was a big deal. Plus no one was around so who would see me anyway. I ran downstairs to tell Dad I was upstairs, grabbed some luggage and ran upstairs only to see flashing lights (I was gone maybe 2 minutes). I ran to the car, apologized, and made up some sob story. She told me the tow truck was on its way and she was writing me a ticket. I apologized again, jumped in the car, and drove off before she finished the ticket. Sorry I didn't get any pictures, I was in a hurry.

My bike and me at the airport. My front tire got bent a little but other than that, the bike survived the trip.