21: devil's elbow, rattlesnake island, bridge campers, tom, mailboxes, restaurant recommendation

April 7, 2025

Palm Coast to St. Augustine

the ubiquitous blower - still seeing 10-12 every day

Just on the other side of those houses is Devil's Elbow. There's nothing special about it, I just like the name and wonder where it came from.

And just over there is Rattlesnake Island. I can guess how it got its name. Sounds like a great place to camp. Apologies for the blur.

There were several cars that weren't just parked on the bridge, they were camping out.

I finally met another bicycle tourist today, Tom. He's also an Iowan and did RAGBRAI 5-6 times growing up, but lives in Chicago these days. He's more hard core than me, traveling 65-90 miles a day, and only getting a hotel every third night. ("More hard core" implies that I'm "less hard core," which isn't exactly accurate, but "super marshmallowy core" didn't fit, either.) He's done a number of trips, usually about 700 miles at a stretch and, like me, enjoys learning about the local history.

We talked about roads, routes, bikes, and other fun stuff for about 20 minutes, and I gave him my email address so I could let him know about some roads he'll want to avoid, but never heard from him. I hope he's okay.

A few more mailboxes. The variety is limitless.

This is just to show you what a tailwind can do to my average speed. It was fabulous.

Thanks to a hefty headwind, one which enabled even the most marshmallowy-core rider to speed along, I arrived at my hotel at 11:00. When I asked the middle-aged woman at the desk if it would be possible to check in early, I got a "Ho, ho, ho. No, dear." Was I asking if Santa Claus was real?? "Come back at 2."

I then asked about a good place to eat and, after giving it some consideration, she said, "The only place I can really recommend is The Village Inn."

I thanked her and left, wondering if she's ever actually been to a Village Inn. There happen to be a couple of them in Iowa City and I know for a fact that they check your ID at the door to ensure you were born before 1900, else they won't allow you in. I slipped past once (the person at the door was asleep, or maybe dead) and feel absolutely no need to repeat the experience.

After a little sightseeing I returned to the hotel at 1:00. I left my bike just outside the door so I could see it and parked myself in one of the comfortable lobby chairs. Within fifteen seconds, the same woman noticed me.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm the guy who was here before," I explained, reasoning that having sent me to The Village Inn she never expected to see me again. At least, not in a corporeal form.

"Ah, yes." Not wanting anyone in her personal space, which was about thirty feet in all directions, I was promptly given a room.

I spent the evening doing a little more sightseeing, and worked on the blog for several hours.

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Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 572 miles (921 km)

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