A Day of Detours and Sadness

Day 1

Start: St. Augustine, FL

End: Yulee, FL

Daily Distance: 91.80 miles

Cumulative Distance: 102.23 miles (counting yesterday's ride to St. Augustine Beach)

Average Speed: 12.4 MPH

Daily Riding Time: 7 Hours 17 Minutes

Net Elevation Change: 26 Feet (the biggest "hills" were the bridges over the rivers)

The morning in St. Augustine was just about a good as it gets. 

                                                          

    

Then this smiling Floridian showed up to send me off.  Thank you Lowrider for being there for me!

The first 20 miles (of the supposed total 78 mile day) were spectacular.

                      

                                                

Then the first detour.  About 9am after riding 20 miles, there was a multi car accident on A1A that shut down the road in both directions.  It was very serious and the police were going to be there until at least noon doing their investigation since there were fatalities.

My options were to wait until the investigation was complete or turn back and ride probably 30 to 40 miles out of my way to get back on the route.  Thankfully, I was able to use a friendly homeowners beach access to get my bike onto the shore.  I pushed it through the sand for about a quarter mile and got just past the accident on the other side.  After about an hour of trying to figure out what to do, I was back on the bike and on my way.

After about 40 miles, I was excited since I was thinking I was half way for the day and was going to get a brief rest on the Mayport ferry.  Then I saw the sign saying the ferry was closed.  Oh no!  I was told that to get back on route, it would be a 23 mile detour.  I used Google Maps to find a better solution that took me on a more direct route to my stopping point for the day.  I ended up going through downtown Jacksonville.  Total detour miles were about 14.  Not too bad, but the total mileage for the day ended up being 93 miles.  Not really how I wanted to start the trip, but I made it and I can't complain about the weather at all.

I spent quite a few miles praying for the families of those that lost their lives in the accident and the others that were severely injured in the accident.  That is one of the best things about solo bike riding.  Plenty of time for prayer.

Tomorrow, I will be heading on to Georgia - state number 2.