I woke up feeling pretty fatigued today. My legs felt like they didn’t like me anymore!

When I cycled across America, I took a day off every week to give my body time to recover.  I thought about taking today off and confirmed with the hotel that I could stay another night.  But that would have required me to deal with another weather front headed for Florida.  So I decided to take advantage of a good weather window. And I felt good enough to press on.

I hit the road and was pleased that I biked the first 10 miles without much effort.  Winds were very calm as indicated by the still waters in this picture:

Thanks to a posting to my Coast Guard Academy Class of 1978 classmates about my ride by our class correspondent Bryon Ing, I was contacted by a classmate who lived along my intended route for the day. I rode to the Ormand Beach area and rendezvoused with Mick Butler and his wife Sue.  We took a moment to catch up and Sue snapped this picture of Mick and me before we headed north.

Mick rode north with me for about 25 miles. He and Sue are fitness enthusiasts and exemplars for aging well. Mick was gracious in slowing the pace of his ride to match my fatigued state. On the trails, we were able to ride side-by-side and converse more about our lives and how blessed we are.

Mick turned back when I reached the 30 miles to go point. I appreciate him for his outreach and support, our longstanding kinship as classmates, his inspiring character, and the fitness mentoring tips he shared.  Go ’78!

The rest of today’s ride was uneventful. I crossed into St. Augustine over the Bridge of Lions.  I noted that the lion statues have been temporarily removed for renovation.  I took a moment to take in the beauty of this historic city.

When I arrived at my hotel in Vilano Beach, I was given permission to take my bike to my room since there was no bicycle rack.  I gave the bike a good cleaning before doing that.

Tomorrow is the last day of Phase One. I planned this stop near St. Augustine so that I’ll have less than 35 miles to get to my final destination. I plan to sleep late to alleviate some fatigue.

Tally for the day: 75 miles