St. Augustine north to Anastasia Island.

 5 mile ride to meet up with the camera crew (Linda) at the nearest point where I had safe access to the Atlantic Ocean. The ceremonial dip in the surf was a welcoming experience. 

Mission completed. 

Surviving Milton

Named hurricanes

 Survived Milton.  Winds and rain all day Wednesday as Milton makes landfall on the western coast of Florida. Awoken Thursday morning to clouds and slightly debris covered roads as the storm passed through the night. Not nearly as impactful as predicted. Looking forward to truly completing the ride on Saturday morning as Linda arrives in st augustine. 

Earlier named hurricanes 

Debris 

My place

Lee to st augustine.

 Car ride into st augustine. Awoke to a brilliant sun filled morning. It was hard to imagine what was on the way. Pleasant ride to the coast. Witnessed much traffic headed north bound to escape the hurricane. Settled into my Airbnb only to be made aware that st augustine had just been upgraded to a mandatory evacuate status.  With only a bike and nowhere else to go I have decided to hunker down and ride it out. I will let you know tomorrow how that decision worked out. 

Monticello to Lee.

 38 miles to my former step father in laws house. Due to the impending hurricane I opted to enlist Howard to ferry me into st augustine to wait out the storm until Linda arrived on Saturday. Spent Monday night at his compound to await an early Tuesday morning ride in.

Midway to Monticello

 48 miles give or take. Cycling through the city of tallahasse. The large cities are rarely fun. No shoulders. Heavy traffic and to add additional challenges, it rained almost the entire time.

Debris from Helene. 

Prepping for final push.

Marianna to Midway.

 Another 57 miles. Not a whole lot to report on today. At least it stayed dry. Coming down to the end. Can't wait 

Swampy road side. No gators.

DeFuniak to Marianna

 57 miles today.  First day that didn't start out sunny. A little depressing. Slow,steady rain for the 1st leg. Eventually stopped about half way into the ride. Seems that I will be dodging rain drops for the balance of the ride.

Overcast skies. 

Pensacola to DeFuniak

 80 more miles.  No need to include the state as I am Florida bound the rest of the way. For the first time in the entire journey it actually rained today. Enough to make me head for cover. Luckily I was almost at my days lodging, so I just waited it out a little bit.  Hoping that by the morning it will clear.

Shaded dedicated bike path.

Philly cheese steak? 

Bayou La Batre to Pensacola Florida

 90 miles of mixed terrain today. Sea side route, ferry ride, paved cycling trail and a little commercial highway. The ferry ride was very welcoming, letting someone else do the work. The weather is still holding up.  Sunny skies, cool helping breeze and smooth shoulders. 

Gulf of Mexico at sunset. 

Home of the blue angels. 

Views off the ferry boat. 

Last state.  Free what?

Final cause way crossing 

Waveland Mississippi to Bayou La Batre Alabama

 79.5 miles today. Ideal riding conditions at every point of the day. A picture perfect start along a beach front trail finishing up with a smooth tree lined and shaded completion. 

Welcome to Alabama. 

Morning beach front trail.

2 mile bridge crossing. Full bike lane.

Hammond to Waveland Mississippi

 An 82 mile day. Louisiana this morning. Mississippi tonight. Alabama tomorrow. Florida Wednesday. Came upon a road closure today. Had to hoist the bike over a barricade to continue today.  Once over I was treated to a 5 mile stretch of abandoned highway and unobstructed views of southern Mississippi swamp lands.

No big deal. Right.

Bayou.

Another state. 2 more to Florida. 

Abandoned roadways. 

Baton Rouge to Hammond

 A scant 49 miles today. A short day to refresh, relax and recharge. Weather is still holding up, smooth shouldered roads with a mild tail wind.

My birth year. 

Eunice to Baton Rouge

 Another crisp 72.5 miles of mostly smooth interstate 190 shoulder.  My good friend was with me the entire ride again today.  His, or her for all you ladies, was Mr or Mrs Tailwind. Sugar cane fields were the predominant features of todays ride, along with 2 major river crossings. 

Not the Mississippi. 

Sugar cane field. 

DeRidder to Eunice

 80 wind assisted miles on super smooth interstate shoulder.  Staying off route for the next 3 days to avoid both Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The adventure cycling route takes riders right through downtown for both. I prefer to avoid, especially on the weekends, as these routes can be extremely crowded and difficult to manage. 

Wide shaded shoulder. 

Silsbee to DeRidder Louisiana

 71.5 mile day into Louisiana.  Finally out of Texas.  The ride today started out absolutely beautiful.  Clear skies, 65 degrees, smooth roads and a light breeze.  Things quickly changed as I headed north into Louisiana. The winds shifted from the north, leaving me to battle a heavy head wind for the last 20 mile leg. Tomorrows ride is primarily south east so a northerly wind will be beneficial.  Let's all hope. 

Welcome sign shot up.

Timber processing plant. The smell of pine.

Coldspring to Silsbee

 82.5 miles. Feeling good and strong. Nearly pancake flat roadways. Skirted around a little road construction leaving a mile of traffic behind me as the site foreman ushered me around the equipment.  Muddled through a couple of mild rain showers as well. Needed to put the pedal down to beat the now pouring rain.  Finally bidding farewell to Texas as Lou

isiana is in my sites for tomorrow. 

Lighting showers last night. 

Navasota to Coldspring

 68 miles today amongst some of the most picturesque landscapes I have experienced so far. Heavy forests on both sides of the road helped to keep the temperature in check. Still concerned about the upcoming storm, although I shouldn't let it slow me down until it does.                                                             Lake Conroe.

La Grange to Navasoto

 A quick 68 miles through some beautiful countryside. Passed through 2 small town preparing for a huge antique festival lasting the first 3 weeks of October. I am officially through 4 of 7 maps. The final 3 maps show no change in elevation meaning no more significant hill. Hooray. Now my biggest concern is the weather forecast and the threat of hurricane. 

Texas long horns.

Getting ready for the festival. 

Festival buildings going up.

Del Valle to La Grange

Shoulder snakes.

 Another scant 49 miles today to the historic town of LA Grange. This town, as I am sure everyone knows, is the home of the "Chicken Ranch" made famous by the movie "The best little whore house in Texas " and the song LA Grange by ZZ Top. That seems to be about all it has going for it although it does have a Walmart and yes a great sports bar for watching the Eagles slip past the Saints. Although todays miles were low, the pace will definitely pick up as map 4 of 7 will wrap up after todays ride.

More shoulder snakes. These nasty, gnarly monsters are viscous creatures that are responsible for many a bicycle tire flat including mine. 

Texas pine trees. 

The Colorado River or what's left of it.

Dripping Springs to Del Valle

 53 miles to a small sub division of Austin. Staying in a shared space Airbnb. Stopped to get some chow prior to arrival as there are no food options within 5 miles of this place and with it being 95 degrees already I am in for the duration. The owner is not home yet so I took the opportunity to dry all of the towels along with my cycling gear. I also tightened up the front door knob. Austin must be one bike friendly city with paths everywhere. 

Austin skyline from pedestrian walkway

 Missing my golf.

Approaching suburban Austin from the crest.

Kerrville to Dripping Springs

 80 miles of uninterrupted bliss as I headed off route in search of better road conditions. I short chat with a fellow diner this morning led me on a mission to do just that. Yes indeed there are smooth roads in Texas.  The difference was immeasurable. Even the few uphill grades were a comparative breeze comparable to previous days rides. Texas will soon be in my rear view mirror in it's entirely. 

Sheep grazing on a hillside. 

From pecans to cotton to cattle to sheep to vineyards? 

Every vineyard owner was trying to outdo each other

Leaky to Kerille

Old shoes and boots 👢 on fence posts.          
 Cresting through central Texas. Another 62 miles. Another day. Another motel. Just a reminder. Texas is one very long state from west to east.  Followed a great bit of advice from the hotel owner at the historic Leaky Inn. Pronounced Lakey. He diverted me off route to save on 2 of the 3 sustained, steep climbs. Looking forward, it seems that today was the final day for any very long and very steep climbing.  Not to say that the rest is going to be a breeze, just that the heavy climbing is kaput. 

More boots.

Well duh.

CHIP SEAL,  it's a killer. It's bone jarring. Whoever came up with this alternative to traditional repaving should be disciplined.