Snowbirds Are Wise. Very Wise.

Early in this journey, many of my days began with packing up a wet tent – or desperately trying to dry my tent in an early morning sun. Today was a return to those days. As has probably been noted, my tent has seen limited action since I crossed the border into the U.S. That’s not a good thing nor a bad thing. It’s just they way things have happened. But, as strange as it might seem, it was actually kind of nice to be back in my tent again. Of course, it would’ve been nicer if I had enjoyed a good long sleep. For some unknown reason, I wasn’t tired last night. At all. I know I didn’t have the longest cycling day yesterday but I still think I should be somewhat tired after a day on the road. Perhaps I was still rested from my stay at The Hostel in the Forest. Anyway, I tossed and turned for most of the night before finally drifting into a somewhat deep slumber sometime after 2:00. Better late than never.

I’m not sure if it was the restless sleep or just the fact that sun rises so late right now but I didn’t wake up until almost 8:00. With a somewhat long ride planned I needed to get moving. It was then that I realized my tent was soaked – from dew and condensation. So far, no rain in Florida!

My attempts to dry the tent were not entirely successful, but I really wanted to get moving so I reluctantly packed up my still soggy tent and was on the road by 9:20. I’m not going to say this was the best day of riding on this trip because I’ve had a lot of great days; however, today was definitely a beautiful day to be on the bike. I think I’m going to become a snowbird. Seriously. Florida is great. At one point I was so distracted by the blissful riding conditions of Highway A1A that I missed a turn and went about 3 km out of my way before noticing. And I didn’t even care. I clued in when I saw the sign for Fernandina Beach and thought, “Hmmmm … I don’t think I’m supposed to be here.”

After that, there were no navigational issues. I stayed on Highway A1A for most of the day and to say that it’s a long straight highway would be a gross understatement. Oh, and did I mention the temperature was around 28 today (that’s 82F)? Beautiful.

The biggest challenge of the day was getting to the Fort George-Mayport ferry on time. This wasn’t really much of a challenge since the ferry leaves every 30 minutes. I, of course, wanted to get there as close to departure time as possible. I was successful. I was about five minutes from the terminal when I noticed the ferry arriving. Perfect timing. Just to be clear, this is not a significant ferry crossing. Truth be told, it was probably the shortest ferry crossing of the trip. However, it was long enough for me to meet and talk with Bob and Beverly. They boarded the ferry behind me – by car – and we had a nice chat about the trip so far and where it’s headed. And Bob was kind enough to take few photos of me on the ferry. Side note, they were rather amused by the name of my blog.

Once on the other side, I called ahead to the hostel in St. Augustine (Casa Yallaha) to confirm my reservation. After that, I got back on the road and it really was smooth riding the rest of the way.

The most significant part of the day occurred about 15 km after leaving the ferry behind when yet another milestone was reached. It only took four months but I finally crossed the 5,000 mile threshold – which also pretty much coincides with the 8,000 km threshold (technically I crossed that point a mere 15 km into today’s ride). Sometimes I think that it can’t be right but the numbers don’t lie. I don’t know what the final totals will be but it’s somewhat safe to say I’m probably a lot closer to the finish line than then the starting line. I don’t know if that makes me happy or sad. Actually, yes I do.

Oh, side note: Just to be clear, I’m not one to add meaning into things I feel are pure coincidence, but just as I reached the 5,000 mile point I was forced into a minor detour because of a small music festival that was taking place at a park along the beach. The performer at the time was singing Edelweiss from, of course, The Sound of Music (for those that don’t know, that was my mom’s favourite movie). Sure, it’s just a coincidence. But it was a pretty good one. Well, until I realized that I had that song stuck in my head for the next 10 miles! Sigh.

As I pedalled my way through St. Augustine I was more than a little surprised at how much activity there was. It all looked very interesting. Sure, it’s a tourist trap, but it still looked interesting. So, based on that I decided that I was finally going to schedule a day of rest and spend an extra day here. After twelve consecutive days on the road I figure I’m entitled to a break. Of course, my last “day off” still had me on the bike for over 20 km (12 miles).

I arrived at the hostel shortly before 4:00 where I was met by Chris who checked me into my dorm room. The hostel is really nice. And quite big. It’s also walking distance to a lot of attractions – although I still might use my bike. I’ll post pictures of the hostel tomorrow as well as some of the sights of St. Augustine. For now, I’m starting my break.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 115.92 km
Time on bike: 4:44:13
Maximum speed: 46.55 km/h
Average speed: 24.45 km/h

Oh, and two things I forgot to include in yesterday’s update:
1. Despite not being from the area, Margaret (from yesterday’s meeting at Wendy’s) had also stayed at The Hostel in the Forest – back in 1996.
2. In follow up to Tara’s Guestbook entry a while ago – no, there was no free orange juice to welcome me to the sunshine state. Apparently you have to arrive via one of the Interstate Highways for that. Sigh. No love for the cyclists. I’m not going to lie, I was tempted to venture onto I-95.