The whole day's route stayed on US90, which continued to have a decent surface and an adequate shoulder. Although this was originally a major east-west route across the US, it's now superseded by Interstate 10 which runs close by, and parallel to it, and which takes most of the traffic.
It's a rare sight to see people walking along US highways, so I had to stop to have a chat with this character who was carrying a heavy backpack and a large US flag in the intense heat and humidity. He was campaigning on behalf of Operation American Spring, whose website makes entertaining reading.
After 55 miles I reached Marianna, which had some attractive buildings and a monument to the Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War:
On the approach to Chattahoochee I crossed the Apalachicola river, which, besides having a ruined railway bridge, marks the change from the Central to the Eastern time zone:
There is only one motel in Chattahoochee so I didn't have much choice where to stay. I wouldn't recommend the Relax Inn – there was nobody at reception and I had to wait ages for someone to come and let me have a room.
Distance today 83.3 miles, total so far 2708.4 miles
Tuesday 10th June
Continuing along US90 in extremely hot, humid weather, I arrived at Tallahassee, the capital of the state of Florida, around 2pm and spent a few hours looking around the museum, and the old and new state capitol buildings:
The museum of Florida History
Old Capitol building, with new Capitol in the backgound
Views from the top of the new Capitol building
State seal, in entrance hall of Capitol
There was a very pleasant park near the Capitol building where people are invited to write their “bucket list”
Afterwards I enjoyed a decent local pale ale at the Fermentation lounge:
Then I continued east for another 10 miles, staying close to the Tallahassee Automobile Museum which I want to visit tomorrow.
Distance today 52.5 miles, total so far 2760.9 miles
Wednesday 11th June
I spent the whole morning at the Tallahassie Automobile Museum, a private collection which, besides a vast number of beautifully presented historic cars, had lots of other interesting memorabilia, including the hearse that carried Abraham Lincoln's body:
The route then followed US Route 90 for the rest of the day, past Lake Miccosukee:
Through Monticello, which had a handsome old city hall:
At Greenville there was a statue to the pianist Ray Charles, who was born there:
Late in the afternoon I crossed the Suwannee River. This is the correct spelling; despite popularly being known as the Swannee:
I ended the day's ride at Live Oak.
Distance today 76.3 miles, total so far 2837.2 miles
Thursday 12th June
From Live Oak the route continued on US90 for about 10 miles, then branched off onto a series of small, narrow country roads towards the next major town, Gainesville, which I reached in the mid-afternoon. There were a couple of thunderstorms during the day accompanied by heavy rain; fortunately on both occasions I was very close to a service station where I and the bike could shelter, so I managed to stay dry.
Gainesville (population 125,000) is very spread out, but the centre is actually quite pleasant. It has a large university and so there are plenty of good bars and restaurants in the downtown area.
Also there are some large historic houses there:
Distance today 77.3 miles, total so far 2914.5 miles
Friday 13th June
With less than 100 miles to go till the final destination in St Augustine, I had thought that I might try and finish the ride today. However it was raining when I woke early in the morning and the forecast, which proved correct, was for further rain throughout the day.
After a brief ride through the centre of Gainesville, the route followed a scenic rail trail for about 15 miles, to Hawthorne:
It then continued along state route 100, a fairly busy road, towards Palatka, the next town of any size.
Unlike yesterday, I wasn't able to avoid getting wet today. Fortunately the high temperature meant that it wasn't too unpleasant; still I was happy to call it a day at Palatka, rather than try and press on to St Augustine.
Distance today 57.8 miles, total so far 2972.3 miles
Saturday 14th June
Despite heavy cloud and intense humidity, it remained dry all day. The route started with a crossing over the St John River bridge, from Palatka to East Palatka:
With a tailwind I covered the remaining 30 or so miles to St Augustine in a couple of hours, arriving by midday:
The building on the right in the above photo is actually a winery and I stopped off there for a quick tour and tasting before continuing to the end of the ACA route, at this corner:
This is the point where the ride officially ends, but having started at the Pacific Ocean it seemed pointless not to continue over the bridge across the intracoastal waterway known as the Tolomato River, to Vilano Beach and the Atlantic Ocean:
Distance today 49.2 miles. Total for the trip 3021.5 miles, over 47 days, of which 5 were rest days.
Reaching the end of the ride is a bit of an anticlimax. I've enjoyed the experience enormously and would be happy to ride on further. The bike has performed well, apart from one broken spoke which was a bit disappointing. The 2 spates of punctures I had, in Phoenix and Hillsboro can be blamed entirely on thorns scattered by recent high winds and if I had fitted thornproof tubes filled with slime seal at the start of the ride, they probably wouldn't have occurred. I've had no punctures at all during the final half of the ride, over 1500 miles. The original tyres still have a bit of life left in them but will need replacing soon.
I've found riding conditions across the US generally very good. Most of the roads are well surfaced and also well signposted. Drivers are generally considerate of cyclists and I have never felt my safety being threatened. Services are mostly readily available and so is accommodation. Although I carried a tent, sleeping bag and sleeping mat throughout the trip, I never had to use them.
The end of a long journey is always a bit of an anticlimax. St Augustine is the oldest town in the US, first settled in 1565 and there is quite a lot to see so I'm going to enjoy a few days here. I'm already looking forward to doing another long bike trip before long though, and would certainly consider following another ACA route across the USA, this is an excellent cycle touring country.
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