Day 3 - Zolfo Springs to Punta Gorda

I was sound asleep by 9pm the night before. Clearly, I was exhausted. At least this was the case before my sunburn became apparent. My skin felt like it was on fire. Eventhough the day before had been mostly cloudy, and I wore a long sleeve shirt all day, I managed to burn the tops of my hands, the tops of my knees, and my left leg (due to riding west with the sun to my south). It was bad enough that I got up and took an ice cold shower, which helped let me go back to sleep.

I am 28 years old. I should know better than this. My poor mom is probably so embarrassed because I've been told time and time again.
Wear Sunscreen.
Oh well.

Anyways, morning came, and I didn't feel much better.  I took it easy, had an amazing breakfast at the Pioneer Restaurant across the street.  It was a small town, home-cooking, type of restaurant.  I got eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and toast for $3.90.  Awesome.  The menu was a photocopy of a hand written notebook page, with a big note in the bottom right corner, "Have a Jesus filled day!".  These people were super nice.

After breakfast, I went to the gas station to get some Aleve, and a solution for my hands.  I couldn't bear the thought of them baking in the sun all day. The best solution I could find was a pair of work gloves.  I cut the fingers off, and voila (sp?)! a pair of $1.99 biking gloves.  And I look like Ronald McDonald.

I took my time packing up, applied sunscreen for the second time at 11am, and finally hit the road a shade before noon.  Casual days are pretty nice.

The wind was non-existent, and off I rode.  Oh the glory!  It's so much nicer to ride bikes without fighting the wind all day.  The miles just ticked by, and the weather was once again, perfect.  I rode in a t-shirt, never felt cold, and never broke a sweat.

From 2010-03-19 Day 3

I got chased by another dog, this one was a small terrier type dog.  He was a pain, but never really threatened me.  I just kept riding and eventually he gave up chasing me. This will be a common occurrence, I'm sure.

The countryside continued, more miles of beautiful orange groves, and strawberry patches too.  I stopped at a tiny "granny's" road side shop and purchased $2 of strawberries.  They were without question the best strawberries I've ever had.  I hung the bag of strawberries over my handlebar, and rode on, munching strawberries the whole way.

As I got closer to the coast, the winds began to pick up, but it didn't worry me because I was so close to my destination for the evening.

From 2010-03-19 Day 3

Reaching the coast was a pretty amazing feeling.  Even though I knew where I was going, I had maps to get there, and I was following roads, it still gave me an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  Imagining how crazy it must have been to be Columbus, or Cortez, or Lewis and Clark, is hard to comprehend.  My unknowns are simple and small, I just need to do it.  Going into unknown territory is a whole different game. Now, this sense of accomplishment was short lived.  I'm about 170 miles into my trip, and have another 3800+ to go.

The owner of the local bike shop was kind enough to give me a place to crash for the night, and his wife was super great and cooked me dinner!  Big thanks!  Early to bed because they have to lead a group ride at 8am tomorrow and I need to be out of their hair.  Tomorrow I venture to Fort Myers, a short day, and I hope to meet up with the KU Alumni Association to watch the game.  Rock Chalk!

Day 3 - 60 miles
Trip to date -  173 miles

Ps. I found Venus' long lost sister. I wonder what ever happened to her? Todd?