Last night’s vrbo on a very dry White Sands Lake (hence the very deep sandy roads to get here!) was a comfortable, clean, basic lake front cabin. Most of the Spanish moss is grey and dry looking, and the lakes and swamps and rivers are very low due to an exceptional drought here. Tom cooked up a great pot of lobia pulao (in the Instapot we packed) to accompany dry rubbed bbq chicken and lemon garlic asparagus. Fuel for the road.
The morning was gorgeous with a cacophony of bird sounds greeting the dawn. Jody drove us back to the route in Melrose (no need for battling sandy roads again!). From 4 lane divided highways with varying shoulder width to gorgeous bike paths today. Through “Gator nation” of University of Florida in Gainesville to smaller historic towns of Alachua and High Springs. 53.8 miles, 1112’ elevation gain felt harder than it should have been with about avg speed of 13.6mph. Slight winds and not too hot. Tomorrow will be a doozy with over 90 miles! Haven’t cycled that many miles in one day since the last TransAm in 2023! 🤞🚴♀️
TransAm Cycle 3.0 