Week 6 - Gulf Shores Al to St Augustine Beach FL.

Hello Friends and Family,

It is hard to believe but after 44 days we all arrived safely by bicycle at the Atlantic Ocean around noon today. The trip is over! And in the books. Great friendships were made along the way and completion would not have possible without support, encouragement and prayers from all of you. Melissa and I are honored to support such a great cause.

Day 38 -Gulf Shores Al to Ft Walton Beach FL. (75 miles, 683 Ft Gain,5h 15m in seat )After about eight miles today, we crossed the Florida border, but no sunshine as it was blustery day. ! Just one state to go. At the state line, I passed Florabama, a very popular panhandle beach bar. I had at least ten people tell me to make a stop here. Next time!

Day 39 -Ft. Walton Beach to Chipley Fl.(87 Miles, 2018 ft elevation gain 5hr 25m in seat. ) We left at sunrise today to try and out cycle a massive storm. The good news is we made it by 30 minutes. After our arrival, it rained for over 12 hours. No pictures today just radar as our route was in rural north Florida.

Day 40 - Chipley Fl to Midway Fl (79 Miles, 2207 Elevation Gain 4h 34m in seat. ) We had a nice ride in North Florida today with weather and wind fully cooperating. The day had a bit of a country music theme as within one mile of each other we crossed the Chattahochie River (Way down yonder with Alan Jackson) then we briefly crossed the Georgia border (Florida-Georgia Line “This is how we roll”)

Day 41 Midway Fl to Madison Fl.(76 Miles, 1960 Elevation Gain, 5h 3m in seat) The ride highlight of the day was along the historic Old St. Augustine Canopy Road. In the early 1800’s this was one of the main roads in Florida and went from Tallahassee to St. Augustine. Later in the morning, the storm of two days ago caught up with us in the form of flooded roads. We had an afternoon break in Ray Charles Park.

Day 42 - Madison Fl to Alachua Fl(84 Miles, 1445 Elevation Gain 4h 54m in seat) Only three days to go until we finish, so we started the day with our first Waffle House Breakfast of the trip ! I do have to say it was the best breakfast. Our ride took us along US 90 during Flea across Florida . This is just miles and miles of yard sales.

Day 43 Alachua Fl to Palatka-Lake Fl.( 65 Miles 1300 ft elevation Gain 4h 2m in seat.) On our second to last day we finished the ride on the Palatka - Lake Butler State Trail. Since Louisana, our fellow rider from Wales, has been looking for an alligator. We finally spotted one today. My son, Graham, joined me for a 20 mile ride today.

Day 44 Palatka Fl to St Aug Beach Fl ( 35 miles , 217 feet elevation gain, 2h 10m in seat) After a beautiful sunrise in Palatka, we biked as a group into St Augustine. Today’s ride was somewhat of microcosm of our whole trip. We had headwinds, tailwinds, flat tire, construction traffic, and bridge crossings all within three hours. Our ending at St John’s Pier in St. Augustine Beach was a special moment. We were greeted with cheers, cowbells, participation trophies, and many friends and family members. Our front wheel dip in the Atlantic Ocean was a memorable end to a wonderful journey.

An interesting historical tidbit, We started our ride near the Spanish Mission San Luis Rey in San Diego and Fountain of Youth is at the Spanish Mission Nombre de Das in St. Augustine. In some ways we were on the trail of the early Spanish Franciscans during our ride.

In the 1890’s Teddy started the first bicycle police force in NYC. A funny tidbit, he was pulled over for speeding by the bicycle police he started. Here are two of my favorite quotes from Teddy:

“Believe you can and you're halfway there.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care”
― Theodore Roosevelt

I just biked 2900 miles across the USA. It is time for a cheeseburger in paradise that my sister-in-law Melinda promised me if I finished. Also some skyline chili! If you are from Cincinnati, make sure you watch the end of this video as it was filmed in Cincy and you can see Jimmy on a bicycle !

And one more Bird Picture from Today.

And one more note, Congrats to my nephew, Tim, who completed the Boston Marathon Today !

Thank You all for following my blog. I have averaged over 300 readers a week and that is something I did not expect. Peace ,Jim