Today’s wind chill is in the low 30’s!  I triple-layered on top but remained in shorts since my legs were still “feeling the burn” from the previous day’s ride.  My jacket has a hood, which provided additional protection for my head.

I began the ride early because I know it would be a long day in the saddle.  I fought the wind for most of the day, although winds tapered towards the end of my ride.

After 10 miles, I was biking through a rural setting, passing cattle farms. Those cows looked cold.  I was sufficiently comfortable, even sweating a little under my layers.

Google maps tried to route me to paths that paralleled a railroad, and through a neighborhood that eventually led me to a dead end. The railroad path was a sand road, pictured below.  I watched a couple of cars drive over it so I thought that it was compacted.  No such luck!  I felt like I was bicycling in a sandbox and quickly turned around.

G-map failures probably added an additional five miles to my trip today.  But I’ll continue to use it because it’s easier than following the turn-by-turn instructions on my paper map. And it’s generally better at getting me from point A to B in a more direct route.

I had the chance to bike through the parking area of the Brevard Zoo.  There were scores of kids with their parents heading towards the entrance.  I was uplifted by the excitement evident on the faces of many of these children.  I stopped to snap a picture with one of the zoo’s displays:

For today’s pleasant surprise, I cycled through about 50 miles of Florida’s rails-to-trails routes.  These trails are outstanding!  They’re quiet and lined on each side with foliage, which today provided a partial wind block.  Some of the trails are on raised platforms to minimize the impact on the animals:

Some of the trails took me in a northwest direction.  My wife, who tracks me on a GPS device, called to ask if I was lost.  I told her that I was enjoying trail riding and expected to head northeast soon.

When I arrived in New Smyrna Beach, I found a picturesque town.  The hotel attendant mentioned that it’s a “drinking town.” No drinks for me!  But I did enjoy another Italian meal.

Tally for the day: 89 miles