January 21, 2024
Day 2: Grace Gardens Campground to Hampton
Fellowship
I was surprised that I slept until 6am before the cold finally got to me in my not-very-warm sleeping bag. I desperately needed to warm up so after shivering for half an hour, I went for a 2mi run which warmed me up considerably. Jude was awake so we worked quickly to break camp in 27 degree weather (felt like 19). Sunrise was at 7:30 and we were gone by 7:45.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
On our bikes, we warmed up with the effort and the sun came out for our first gas station stop 7mi in. For breakfast, we ate Elizabeth’s banana bread and then headed off. As we approached the Suwanee River and the town of Branford 24mi in, we saw signs for various churches and their service times. Jude had said he wanted to continue to attend church as often as possible so we were keeping our eye out for churches along the way. First Baptist Church of Branford’s service was at 10:15 and we arrived with two minutes to spare. Many folks welcomed us during the Meet & Greet part of the service and the worship leader, a retired football coach named David, prayed over Jude as we left. Thank you, Lord, for the encouragement and prayers of your believers!
Heading out of town, we hit the bumpy but serviceable Suwanee River Greenway bike path for 20mi that paralleled US27 through the town of Fort White and on to Oleno State Park.
From there we continued on County Road 18 through the town of Worthington Springs, along Hampton Lake, then to the town of Hampton where we rode on the Palatka-Butler Lake State Trail for one mile before arriving at an overgrown baseball field. We made dinner in the pavilion and waited til dark to walk around to a quiet spot behind the center field fence to pitch our tent and fall asleep. Our total mileage was 78mi and we battled a decent headwind all day which also made the 49 degree weather feel a bit chilly. Thankfully, the wind died down at night but the temps dropped to about 32 degrees.
Today's ride: 78 miles (126 km)
Total: 111 miles (179 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 5 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |