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 
wow, the dry lake is startling to see. I googled it, and it should be 700+ acres of water and 71 feet down at its deepest, with lots of good fishing. Was there any water left? Feel strong tomorrow !!
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Not that much water for sure. So sad and so many dead trees and in some kind of orchards. Pecans?? Thanks. Butts on bikes tomorrow at 730am with so many miles! Can’t give up the coffee stops, you know!
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The coffee and ice cream stops are EVERYTHING!
You all look like happy riders!
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Especially with tailwinds!
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