We started out on a disorganized note today, and didn’t really recover. We are very proud of the fact that we made 42 miles, considering that we had some serious hills that were very tiring, and that we rode in higher traffic, lower shade routes all day. We ended in 98-degree heat, and it felt so good to stop!
We are writing tonight from a motel about 15 miles north of Live Oak – on the west side of I-75, and only 3 miles from White Springs. Chelsea and I rode another 60 miles today, and we did it all by 1:30 p.m., eating only a Greens Plus bar each and several handfuls of trail mix. We continue to drink astonishing amounts of water. One really nice thing about getting this much exercise is that we have no trouble sleeping at night! Our goal has been to ride at east 60 miles a day, and be able to write and do research for several hours a day.
So here we are, 4 days and 142 miles into our trip. It’s been much easier than we expected in most ways, so far, but more challenging in others. We left St Augustine at high noon on Sunday June 4th, in 84-degree heat. Yes, it was a crazy thing to do, but we were very determined to just get a start. We are very glad we did, as it ramped up our energy, and helped us get systems set up in a more gradual way.