St. Augustine to Palatka and on to Lake City

Yesterday was about a 40 mile ride from st. Augustine to Palatka. Because we were staying at a church with early services we had to be up at 5 am and out by 7. Because we were up so early I found myself and the riders I was with rating lunch at 9 am. We were well ahead of several other groups of riders so we took a nap and enjoyed our short mileage. After our nap after wondering why no other riders had passed us we discovered our leader had set up lunch at a stretch of road not on our designated route. Never thought not following directions would pay off but it sure did. We arrived to Palatka by 12 and after a few minute headed to a local diner known as Angels. It is the oldest diner in Florida. I had a delicious burger and fries as well as a banana milkshake. A local couple talked to us and were so excited about what we are doing they bought the meals of myself and the 5 others with me. Another local man gave us $20 which we'll be able to add into our AH donations. After a great community picnic for dinner myself as well As the rest of the breakfast/laundry crew (Stephanie, David,Maggie and Arden) headed to do laundry for 27 smelly people. The problem was because it was Sunday the laundromat closed at 9 so instead we had only the one washer and dryer available and the local marina. We realized this method would take well past or 11 pm curfew so a leader found a 24 hr location and we were able to finish by midnight.

Palatka to Lake City
Today's ride was supposedly 76 miles so we were all excited when our cue sheet this morning said 63. We quickly figured out this would not be the case because a bike trail we thought we would be able to take was only accessible by mountain bike. We re routed but his added an unknown amount of mileage to our trek. Lunch came at about 40 miles in to our day but the poor location gave us kittle hade and even less locations to sit. A fortuitous missed turn after lunch saved is from 5 mikes of sand road through which our bikes are not rideable. Though this added even more mileage to our journey. After getting lost several more times we resorted to ridding on a very busy road because we couldn't find the turns designed to keep us off it. So...after 8.5 hours and almost 85 miles of riding and missed turns and unmarked roads myself, Jay, Arden, Emily and Kristina made it to the host. The rest of the riders didn't make it til almost 8 pm. Dinner wasn't until 830 and by then I had downed some serious snacks. But the delicious taco salad was worth the wait. As mug as anything is worth waiting for after 85 miles. To my knowledge tomorrows ride is less than 60 miles to Perry, FL. Though as we all learned today; cue sheets should not Always be trusted and this really is a mental game.

All in all, so glad I am here on Bike and Build. A serious shout out to everyone who donated. Without you I wouldn't be laying here on my thermarest and sleeping bag writing his and wondering when the last time I went to bed before 11 and was delighted to do so was.

The saying goes: there is no such thing as a bad day in Bike an Build, some days are just harder than others.