Space Coast

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What a difference a day makes. The final three miles of yesterday's ride took us off the Adventure Cycling route and they felt LONG. We retraced the same three miles to begin this morning and they felt effortless. After successfully escaping the biting advances of a swarm of bugs we returned to the barrier islands of the Florida coast.

Northward, always northward. Our first break was at the McLarty Treasure Museum which was sadly closed but did have an excellent picnic table for a break. Florida is especially lush in this region. The greens are vivid and wild and the foliage threatens to overtake the road without human intervention.

I began to falter at this phase and Rach is definitely the MVP of the day. She took the lead and held the front for miles and miles while I just looked down at her wheel and the road, the tires humming away on the asphalt. I have no idea what scenery we passed by during this phase.

Eventually we crossed back over to the inland side of the waterway and a small town called Rockledge and Indian River drive. The Indian River is a mile wide at this point and we passed a succession of beautiful, stately homes on our left as the road wiggled and hugged the water's edge. Broad porches wrapped around the plantation-style houses and Spanish moss hung from the trees.

We concluded our day just south of Titusville at the home of our Warmshowers hosts. Rich and Linda are delightful folks who have offered us a spare bedroom for the evening. For dinner we had pizza, salad, and beer and traded stories about bicycling and our families.

The Kennedy Space Center is just a stone's throw away and the launch pad at Cape Canaveral was visible in the distance in our final miles today. Thank you to Rach for hauling my butt the 70 or so miles today.

New trip maximum speed: 29.7 mph

Ponce de Leon

Life's a beach

White ibis' tried to steal our food

Going to Titusville

Comments

  1. the Old GuyApril 29, 2018 at 7:44 PM

    What was the problem? Bonk? Rach, you probably already know this, but if you need to motivate him (or any of my children) just promise them food. Now you owe Rach a mighty long tow. Katie, Kellie and I hiked to the Ramona Dam this a.m. No stops- straight up. They say it my rain on Tuesday or Wednesday here. Weird. Hang in there. There are a few miles more until you are done with this little jaunt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mikeroddyApril 30, 2018 at 3:51 AM

      It wasn't too bad. I still felt good enough to ride and follow, just not very chipper. Something funny I ate? Rach is very powerful.

      Delete
  2. CheriApril 29, 2018 at 8:56 PM

    Rest if you need to -- remember this is a holiday.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbi StevensonApril 29, 2018 at 11:44 PM

    Food is the answer to everything. Xx

    ReplyDelete

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