Our hosts had to be out of the house early, so we were on the road by 6:45am. After about one minute of riding, we both agreed it was too cold for riding. Many of you who aren't in Florida are probably thinking 'boo-hoo', but really it was cold! We pulled into the first McDonalds and waited for the weather to warm up. The local bank thermometer blinked '48'. Yup, too cold for me.
After about an hour, we got back on the road and the weather was once again perfect. Florida roads continue to impress me. In general, the roads are smooth and the shoulders are wide.
Twelve miles into the ride, we joined up with the "Hawthorne-Gainsville" trail.
Fantastic! This wide trail is smooth enough for biking, wide enough for both pedestrians and bicyclists, and has zero traffic.
Jake and I rode side by side, enjoying the day. Somewhere on the trail, we came upon some sort of snake. I'm not sure what kind, but it stretched almost from end to end of the trail. I drifted left and Jake drifted right to avoid the snake, and as we got closer I realized I got the raw end of this deal. The business end of the snake was on my side. I swerved into the grass, making sure to give a wide berth to this animal.
We rode through Gainsville and the University of Florida, passing a whole bunch of tailgating students/parents. Football and Basketball are over, what else could people be excited about?
After a quick stop in a local bike shop to air up the tires, we made a proper stop at the Sam's Club in Gainsville. Wise decision. We got to sample all kinds of goodies. BBQ wings, crab cakes, grilled ham and cheese, chocolate chip cookies, toaster strudels, pizza. What a great lunch. I also got a slice of pizza and a fantastic 4 berry sundae.
Again, the miles ticked by, we stopped for food at a grocery store, and we ended up at the Ichetucknee Springs Campground. Only 11 dollars to camp, pretty good deal.
Tomorrow will be a long day, we are planning to go almost 100 miles.
Day 25 - 83.16 Miles (Edit: Garmin link added 4/23)
Trip to date - 1084.87 Miles
Coast to coast - 138.42 Miles
They might have been tailgating for the Spring football scrimmage.
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