Day 46 - Milton, FL to DeFuniak Springs, FL

54.4 miles today
2,352.3 total trip miles
13.1 mph average
974’ climbing
FF - 4
MP - my daughter-in-law Ruth Payne - when I decided it was time to get healthier, she became my teacher, coach, inspiration & cheerleader on how to proceed.  She knew the right balance between not overdoing it & still challenging me.  I probably wouldn’t have envisioned a Coast 2 Coast bike trip without the example she set during her own quest to reach the Ironman World Championships.  Most important of all we have become great friends & I know she is becoming the best hospital chaplain anywhere.

We spent lots of time on US Hwy 90 while we were in Texas & now we are back on that same road in Florida.  Well, it is also named US Hwy 90, but the difference in the road is significant.  In Texas it was mostly a rough chip seal surface with a shoulder no one wanted to bike on because it was even rougher than the road & filled with debris.  In Florida it is smooth asphalt with a nice smooth shoulder.  I guess it’s good we had the bad part first because there might be mutiny if it were the other way around.

Today we had some hills, but nothing steep.  We are away from the gulf so the scenery isn’t as interesting to view.  This gave me some time to think about bike tires.  I have been fortunate to not have had any flat tires so far on the road, but I did have that encounter with some mud so I wondered if there might be a nice combination tire that would have great traction & still be flat resistant.  Just as I was considering this idea, look what I saw.

Think those might work?

I also realized today that I really haven’t talked a lot about the variety of overnight accommodations we have experienced.  There are 3 main varieties - 1. camping in tents, 2. indoor at churches, armories or YMCA’s, 3.  Hotels.  Each has its advantages, with hotels being my favorite, but not every city we stop at has a place where over 60 people can stay.  Bubba also puts some energy into providing some local perspective to different places so we have heard talks from local historians, mayors, an astronaut & tonight we have a concert at the campground we are staying at.

It is basically a guy with a karaoke machine singing.  In fact he is performing  right now as I write this post.  Unfortunately for me his favorite stuff is country which I am not very compatible with.  I appreciate the effort anyway.

The other unique thing about this tour is that lots of extra services are provided that most bike tours don’t do.  Things like having our own chef make breakfast & dinner for us, having a bike mechanic that travels the route every day to help with needed repairs, opportunities to get carried in by car if a rider can’t complete a day of biking for whatever reason (like when I needed medical attention after my bike fall),  a massage therapist that comes in occasionally to help those with  sore muscles & the thing that surprised me most was this:

That’s right, our very own barber!  She is actually one of the “Wolfpack”, a group of about 7 young adults who do most of the heavy lifting.  Putting up tents, carrying bags, restocking soft drinks etc.  She went to school for hair cutting & just needs some experience before she can get licensed .  She is doing this bike trip job to make some extra money.  Did a nice job on my hair!

WDYLT - ILT we have 7 riders who have survived life threatening medical conditions including cancer, heart disease & serious accidents.  Their ability to come back  & bike C2C after those situations is especially inspiring.