Jim Waving

Jim Waving

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Day 50 - Live Oak, FL to Gainesville, FL

80.8 miles today
2,663.9 total trip miles
13.8 mph average
1,729’ climbing
FF - 6
MP - Eric & Tim - two friends from West Bend who sometimes help me with projects around the house.  We enjoy Packer parties yearly & movie nights with pizza every month or so.  They are great fans of  professional wrestling & often show me You Tube videos of everything from airplanes taking off to TV commercials that are funny.  They always seem to be in a good mood & that helps my outlook on life.

I didn’t take many pictures today because Northern Florida looks a lot like Northern Texas with ranches, farms & acres of grazing land.  From the seat of a bicycle, the biggest difference is that Florida is much flatter.  We had our last long mileage day today & I was a little concerned early because my knee was hurting more than normal on the bike.  Usually biking isn’t a problem, but I still walk with a limp.  Then I had a Reuben sandwich for lunch & the knee got much better!  Can’t say for sure that is a cause & effect situation, but that’s what happened.

We are staying in a YMCA gym tonight & I thought you might be interested in what “my space” looks like when we have these accommodations.


I’m usually not one of the first to arrive & all the early people take the wall locations because it gives a little more privacy.  Not much though because there are about 60 people sleeping in the space between riders & staff.  I usually end up between the free throw line & half court.

One of the jokes of the group is what happens in a facility when 60 people come in to take showers within about a 2 hour time window.  It often means not enough hot water & waiting in line, especially for the men because we outnumber the women about 3 to 1.  When I was at the Naval Museum, I took this picture of the shower rules on a ship which I’ve showed around to other riders a little. Everyone says to not show it to Bubba or he will claim we have deluxe accommodations.


My family is starting to gather in St Augustine for my arrival on Monday.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone.

WDYLT - ILT  the storms that came through Florida 3 days ago continue to leave a trail of debris along the shoulders of most roads we are riding.  That must have been a big storm.