I slept in for a couple of extra hours. I still felt tired but not nearly as fatigued as yesterday.

After lots of coffee and a hearty Jimmy Dean microwaved breakfast, which was quite good, I headed off to Jacksonville Beach.

The route was a familiar one: my Florida training ride along the beach through the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM for short).

The homes lining the beach before and after GTM are prime real estate.  They vary in architectural style and are interesting to see.  Many of them have mailboxes framed by a large dolphin, manatee, or other sea creature. Some are occupied full-time; others are available for rent.

I made my usual stop at Mickler Beach Landing in Ponte Vedra Beach and then headed off to Jacksonville Beach.

As I entered Jacksonville Beach, I was met by Donnie Brzuska, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. Donnie reached out to me after I decided to ride in fundraising support of CGMA. Donnie did a fabulous job of crafting daily synopses of my ride, and interacting with the media.

Donnie trailed me in a golf cart, taking video of my ride.

When we arrived at the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier, I was met by Herminia, our youngest son William, and my Academy classmate Dave Cannon. After our reunion and an exchange of hugs, Donnie took pictures, including this one:

Donnie interviewed me, intending to provide clips to local media.  On the next day, I had two neighbors say that they saw coverage of my ride on the local news.

As we wrapped up this stop, my family invited me to load my bike on our truck so they could drive me home.  I told them that I always intended to bike the rest of the way (about 2 miles).  They acknowledged my stubbornness and off we went.

We all arrived home at about the same time.  Mission complete for Phase One!

Tally for the day: 32 miles
Total for phase one: 562 miles