Havana, FL to Argyle, FL 9558 mi There’s all kinds of action nearby when I wake up. Road construction, school buses stopping, commuters whizzing by. None of them can see me though, so I just leisurely pack up and go. I ride like mad to Chattahoochee. There I stop for a quick charge of chocolate…

Suwanee River St Pk, FL to Havana, FL 9455 mi Sleeping on a picnic table, I feel some sprinkles a few times in the night, but never enough to send me looking for cover. As soon as I’m all packed in the morning, though, it comes down hard. Nice of it to wait. In Madison…

Alachua, FL to Suwanee River St Pk, FL 9365 mi About midnight I hear an animal in the woods and wake up. I know it’s an animal, but it sounds enough like footsteps for my imagination to order up a healthy shot of adrenaline. I know I won’t be able to sleep again, so I…

Brookesville, FL to Alachua, FL 9278 mi Riding is nice and forested today. The hills provide a welcome change, even though my hill-climbin’ muscles are a bit shocked. In Inverness I eat breakfast at a funny little place. The waitress has super brown, corroded teeth and a much thicker southern accent than I’ve been hearing.…

Sarasota, FL to Brooksville, FL 9190 mi I get up and have oatmeal again with Susan and Jason. We forgot to take any pictures, so we get a few last-minute shots. None with Paul, unfortunately. I ride north on smaller roads. At first I ride through nice flowing fields, then I hit strip again. It’s…

Susan makes oatmeal for us this morning. As usual, my appetite exceeds the capacity of a normal family breakfast. I ride to a bagel joint for another small meal, then head for another bike shop to look for a tire. No luck, so I ride to the last bike shop I can find in the…

I have a little cereal with Jason for breakfast. Paul is long gone, he goes to work at 6 am, and Susan is out the door at 8. Jason is last at 8:30, and I take off about the same time on a quest to overhaul my bike. But first I stop at a donut…

Lover’s Key St Pk, FL to Sarasota, FL 9036 mi I ride up to the gate as usual at 7 am, and surprise! It’s a full gate, I can’t go under. There are two gates, one on the bike path and one on the road, right next to each other. As I’m removing my panniers…

Collier Seminole St Pk, FL to Lover’s Key St Pk, FL 8945 mi I’m under the gate a little early, about 6:45. Slowly the developments grow until I hit Naples. There I’m instantly in beachfront condo land again. I peer out over the Gulf of Mexico for the first time of my life. The water…

Big Cypress, FL to Collier Seminole St Pk, FL 8902 mi Not hard to get up and leave that nasty campground early. I stop and cook breakfast at a wayside, where a fisherman stops and says hello after walking by a few times. Then he comes back in his truck, reaches in a cooler and…