Panama City, FL to Port St Joe, FL

 43 miles today, which is 3 more than routed for a detour to see some turtles.  More on that later.  Things were pretty desolate for 20 miles out of Panama City, going past Tyndall Air Force Base:

When we reached Mexico Beach, things changed a lot.  Newer homes & condos, but didn’t feel as touristy as a lot of the places we have ridden through.  There was a major hurricane that came through, causing the new construction.  There also appeared to be some nice beach areas:

As we got a little past town, we were supposed to pick up a trail, but things didn’t seem quite right.  Our navigation computers said we were off course.  One rider walked a wooden boardwalk toward the gulf and found a nice road that was closed to the public.  It also turned into a decent bike path.

A number of us followed him on the boardwalk with our bikes and had a nice ride.  Some others were impatient & just went back to the busier road.

When we reached Port St Joe, some of us toured the “Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center”.  A combination of museum, educational experience & opportunities to visit their gift shop.

The most interesting thing I learned is that they don’t actually have any sea turtles there.  The turtles they have in tanks are different varieties that had originally been pets.  They are working diligently to maintain the population & it is not uncommon for a female sea turtle to lay over 100 eggs.  After that, it was a short trip to our hotel for the evening.

I didn’t post yesterday on our off day, but some of us did get an opportunity to get into historic downtown Panama City, and even got our feet wet at the city beach:

I do want to address a couple of questions I’ve received from previous posts.

1.  I only brought one bike with me, my Q45 Cruzbike.  I plan to ride it all the way to Key West.  It may be confusing because in an early picture you may have seen another recumbent bike.  It is green in color and much longer than mine.  Another biker rides that one.  

2.  Yes, I do have a neck rest that I use regularly.  If you look closely in the picture I posted of me on the bike, you will see it.  It is mostly clear plastic, which makes it harder to see.  Actually the bikers riding traditional bikes normally have more trouble with neck pain because they are hunched over their bikes & to see forward they have to crane their necks.  They also experience more back, butt and wrist pain because of their bike’s design.  In comparison, I ride in comfort.