Day #1 - 3/13/2011 - Gainesville, FL to Perry, FL - 63 miles

Starting a little northwest of Gainesville, we took off this way to Perry, Florida.

Things went awry from the start, beginning with overlooking the switch to daylight savings time.  So, what was meant to be a 5am wake-up and 6am start ended up with Lani and me being dropped off by Susan about 20 miles West on Newberry Road.  We needed to get to Perry, FL, another 60 miles, so this helped ensure that we would.

We were dropped off by Susan about 20 miles West of Gainesville to help us make up for a slow morning start.

It was still pretty cold and we wouldn't warm up for another hour, or so.

We won't be looking this good for a long time.  My panniers (the side saddles) weighed about 50 pounds and Lani's about 40.  The weight really becomes an issue when you're going uphill.

And, with no real fanfare we were off.  Legs go up, legs go down...and then you start studying the lay of the land.  

A few miles along the way, this uplifting road side memorial caught my eye just a few miles into our trip.

My favorite source of humor is in the stuff that is all around, stuff that just sort of naturally blends in.  Along the roads, you see a lot of funny signs.  

Maria clearly had some issues.  Is this why she walked like a lady, yet talked like a man?

The road we were on was okay...the traffic was light, but the shoulder was a bit rough.  Off to the side, there was a bike path...we made our move.

Three things make for a great day biking: flat terrain, decent windless weather, and a bike path.  Here, we move from the road to a bike path we spotted through the brush.

You do not have to travel too far out of Gainesville to be in some rural and remote areas of Florida.  Twenty miles later, we were in Cross City, population 1775, and the county seat of Dixie County.  That sounds about as rural and as southern as you can get.

The Garmin has a calorie calculator function which ticks off at about 450-525 calories per hour, equivalent to one PB&J.

Gainesville (aka "home") is a small city in a pretty rural county.  It did not take long to realize that North Florida has a lot of rural.  Miles of it.  

There are many large private hunting preserves in the FL panhandle, as well a people providing the necessary support services.  Now I know what to do with the hog carcass that's been hogging up my freezer.

After several hours of biking with nothing but forest on either side of the highway, a billboard advertising an approaching gas station was a source of comfort.

Spectacular?  Seriously?  

For dinner, we were prepared to cook quinoa and lentils over a butane burner while being on the lookout for unique local cuisine.

Gizzards?  I guess as long as its fresh.  Fresh and fried.

60 miles later, we arrived in Perry, Florida at the luxurious KOA campgrounds.  We could have pitched our tent but opted for the ginormous cabin.  Right now, we're both thinking "shower."

Home for the night.

The KOA cabins were models of spartan living: small space, small bed, wafer thin mattress, writing surface.  The community toilet/shower was a short walk away.

It's small, but there was plenty of wood, so we had that going for us. 

After biking over to the nearby Pouncey Family Restaurant, we returned to the quiet of the campgrounds.

Our bikes, locked up, under the glow of the outdoor buglights.

You know what you get after biking for six hours?  In addition to a 2500 calorie deficit (according to my Garmin), you also get numbbutt.  I wonder if you get used to this?

Anyway, tired...must sleep.