The tents were a little damp in the morning, so we hung them up to dry and walked to the Hardee's for breakfast. Somehow, fast food is still appealing. Maybe it's the fact I am so active these days, but my body is generally excited about any type of food. The more calories the better. Hardee's answers that call. Their menu is loaded with disgusting displays of gluttony (and often the patrons too), but every cell in my body is excited to see it.
For the fifth day in a row, we had the winds at our back. This is fantastic. It makes the riding easy, and the miles pass by quickly. Someday, we will be riding into the wind. If we are very lucky, it will be after we are done with this trip, and we are riding back in Kansas.
Just on the other side of the river, we passed into the Central Time Zone. That was pretty exciting.
We passed along many beautiful miles of country today. Small, well paved roads with little traffic, were highlights of the day. The ACA (Adventure Cycling) maps surely pick some winners.
Our original plan was to stop in Ponce de Leon, a small town which permits free camping in the city park, provided you check in with the city hall. However, based on the winds, we thought it would be prudent to continue a little further and see where we could get.
We reached DeFuniak Springs, and tried to get internet, but the McDonalds wifi was going very slowly. The campsite shown on the adventure cycling maps had a bum phone number, so it appeared that we had put ourselves in a bind.
With AT&T GPS on my phone, we found a campsite that was 15 miles further down the road. We were running out of light, and it was probably going to be a stretch to make it. Also, we had no idea how much it might cost.
We set out hoping for the best, and sure enough 5 miles down the road, the original campsite with the wrong number was actually there! We pulled in, found the campground manager and set up camp for the night.
There was just enough light that I thought it would be a good idea to go running. After 88 miles of riding, running felt surprisingly good. Then I ran into a pack of dogs... Garh!
Perhaps some of these dogs are actually friendly, but I don't want to be around long enough to find out! I made an abrupt U-Turn and legged it as fast as I could. Luckily, they gave up pretty quickly.
Back at camp, Jake had been talking with Bob, the campsite host who is a very cool guy. Every day is full of interesting people.
Day 28 - 88.33 Miles
Trip to Date - 1340.32 miles
Coast to Coast - 393.87 miles
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteThis is Florida Tom checking in with ya! (Longwood Park Campground, cold beverages by the fire). My wifes fifth grade class recieved your postcard and are anxiously awaiting another. Hope all is well, keep those wheels turning and enjoy the scenery.