Today was by far the easiest day of the trip. I rode 33 miles with a 10-15 mph tailwind at about 13.5 mph without breaking a sweat. I ended up being able to spend almost the whole day being a tourist in St Augustine which made today almost a second consecutive rest day.

I woke up around 7:00 and Shelby made me a healthy breakfast and coffee. She really went above and beyond for me which I really appreciated. I was pretty exhausted when I showed up two days ago but am back in the game now thanks to my relaxing time in Atlantic Beach.

I didn’t stop for lunch or snacks at all on the ride and basically went straight down A1A to St Augustine. There was a bike lane the whole way and not a lot of traffic for much of it. This was a beautiful sight.

I rolled through Sawgrass where a few of my college friends lived in high school. No, I didn’t pee on this sign but I thought about it!

The ride was over after two hours and was pretty uneventful. I couldn’t check in to my hotel yet so I decided to grab lunch at Mojo which is a BBQ place recommended by Shelby and ordered what is now my lunch staple, the three meat combo. Good lord this was delicious.

I still had time to kill so I went to the Castillo de San Marcos fort which was cool looking but cost money to go inside so I lingered outside of the walls. I ended up running into a couple of dudes on bikes who were on a road trip from Miami to wherever they wanted. I hung out with them for a bit and asked if they could take a picture of me since I never am able to get pictures of me, they are always of my bike (my bike can’t take pictures of me after all). Of course the guy took a really shitty picture where you can barely see my bike. Oh well — I find the humor in it.

After the fort I checked into my hotel and walked down St George’s street and went into some shops. I liked this wire sculpture as it reminded me of myself.

Finally I decided to go on a scenic boat tour of St Augustine which left at 4:30 so I had about an hour to kill. I hung out by the fort and drank a coffee while a bunch of seagulls flew by which was pretty neat.

Eventually I made it onto the boat which only had 4 other people on it and I was the only one brave enough to be on the top deck with the wind and temperatures the way they were. I ended up talking to Captain Bob for most of the trip while taking in the sunset, scenes, and dolphins that were all around the boat for most of the trip. There was a full moon on one side and a sunset on the other.

After the boat I headed to dinner where I ate lobster and shrimp tacos with a side of beans and rice which was also delicious. Since today had become a full day I ended up being pretty beat after dinner and decided to head back to my hotel. On the way back I made an obligatory stop at the fudge shop though for some turtle fudge which I will be eating in the very near future.

Tomorrow is 76 miles to New Smyrna with what should once again be favorable weather conditions. It looks like the winds will turn on me on Thursday but I have another 2 days of tail wind which is much appreciated.

I woke up around 8:00 this morning and made a fresh pot of coffee and sat around for a while. This was awesome.

After doing nothing for a bit, Shelby and I headed out to breakfast where I ate all of the things they had to offer. I sent Joe a picture of my food and he was concerned about my cholesterol so I got a fruit plate for dessert to wash it all down. Thanks for the concern buddy.

Afterwards we headed to the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens and checked out the scene there since our Jags tickets fell through. Turned out to be a pretty cool museum and the garden was very well done.

Then we headed to some fancy rooftop bar and had a few cocktails and then headed back to Atlantic Beach for naps which is what is currently going on. Here’s Shelby with a glass of vino.

I’ve had enough coffee today that a nap is not an option so I’m just hanging out for a bit. Apparently the Riverwalk area is doing something with luminaries tonight so maybe we will make it back into town for that but if not probably just some dinner and then bed.

Tomorrow I am going 25 miles to St Augustine which should be an easy ride with favorable weather conditions.

Today ended up being the hardest day yet. Not only was navigating the route to Jacksonville a nightmare but I had to fight through wind, rain, and fatigue on this 87 mile adventure. There are several bike friendly ways to get to Atlantic Beach and they were all closed. Namely, St Johns Ferry is dry docked for repairs for the month of December and the US17 bridge to cross the St Mary’s river is closed for the entire year. This meant that I had to either take a 40 mile detour west making today a 120 mile ride or ride down I95 for a 4 mile stretch. It also meant I had to go all the way into shitty stinky Jacksonville and come back out the other side. In addition, the wind was blowing 10-15 mph directly in my face the entire way and I was biking at about my 5k running pace for about 40 miles. Needless to say this was miserable.

I scarfed my Econo Lodge breakfast down and set on my way. I knocked out the first 30 miles and stopped at an Exxon for a healthy hot dog and taquito lunch and then set off to cross the Florida border via I95. It honestly wasn’t that bad because the shoulder was so wide and I was even able to stop and get a picture of my bike by the sign. Woohoo!

I got back on US17 and it had a shoulder the entire way. US17 and I have reconciled after I crossed the Georgia border and I no longer hate it. It’s been great for the last 4 days or so. I didn’t stop much to take pictures today because I was so fucking pissed off at the wind which was relentless. I did stop a few times to take a breather though and here’s a few shots.

I eventually made it through Yulee and into Jacksonville after many long, frustrating pedals and went past this awesome karaoke spot.

I also ended up at the Landing and I guess this is what it looks like sober? My memory of it was so much better… Hrm

Finally I got over the St Johns River and headed east to Atlantic Beach where Shelby is. It started raining again at that point but I just started laughing. As long as the wind wasn’t in my face I didn’t care. I made it to her place and now we are going out to some Mexican place where I will eat $20-30 in food.

Tomorrow is a rest day… Maybe go to the Jags game?!? Not sure if we can get tickets but we will see!