Ride Day 55

This morning it was foggy and wet in Madison Florida when we woke up. We ate a breakfast at our B&B before we hit the road around 8:30 and by then it was less foggy. The road was Florida 90 which has a good shoulder to ride on. We ended up staying on 90 instead of following the ACA route on our map because it was a bit shorter. The scenery for the most part was the same old tree lined road with not much to look at or take pics of. There were still plenty of great old oaks around but I can't take a pic of each one. The weather was very hot and very humid today. In the morning it did not slow us down and we rolled up the miles but by the afternoon it was a lot of work to ride without overheating. Clem decided to take the shortcut and ride on to Jacksonville when we came to the fork in the road. Gary and I both stayed on the ACA Southern Tier route. I enjoyed riding and hanging out with Clem and was sorry to see him go his own way. After our split, Gary and I powered on for another 42 miles to High Springs. On the way I had another flat tire. The tire was a bit soft in the morning when we left Madison so I put air in it and it made it about 60 miles before it blew out. I changed the tube and checked the tire carefully for anything that caused the blowout and found the hole to be on the inside seam of the tube. I think it might have been a faulty tube. Either way I changed it in 10 or 15 minutes on the side of the road and we were off again. I seriously had to slow down after the flat because I was overheating while I was riding. The high humidity was not letting the sweat evaporate to cool us today. We stopped at Ichetucknee Springs as we passed it. The springs were crystal clear water that is a constant 72 degrees year round. I wanted to just jump right in but instead we looked and then continued our long 82 mile ride to High Springs. There we checked into a hotel and went over to eat at the diner across the street. We started with great milk shakes with real ice cream and then we had a dinner special to fill us up. Back at the hotel we stopped and talked to some Scottish people that were in our same hotel. They were just here on holidays for a couple of weeks but they have frequently been to the U.S. They were enjoying their visit again this time. I am just finishing up this blog and my other computer stuff then hitting the sack to ride close to but not all the way to St Augustine. When I left San Francisco I had no idea if I could ride my bike all the way down the California coast and then turn left and ride all the way from the West coast to the East coast. I really had serious doubts that a tired disabled old man like me would be able to pedal that far. I can't walk to the end of the block but I have demonstrated that I can ride my bike 4100 miles. I am happy that I was able to do this. It took some serious effort and determination on my part. I had my doubts many times on the ride. I improved my health, lost weight and increased my self confidence and my determination on this ride. It will change the rest of my life for the better. I know I am counting my chicks before the eggs hatch because I still have another 100 miles before I am finished but I will finish this last 100 miles unless I die on the way. I will crawl if I have to and carry the bike but I will be swimming in the Atlantic very soon. More later....