Day 3: Gainesville, FL to Baldwin, FL

April 30, 2017

Today was one of those just-ride-to-get-there days.

There is nothing of interest to see on FL 24/US 301 between Gainesville and Baldwin. It is often noted how much more one sees at the speed of a bicycle than at the speed of a car. Well, I can say that seeing more of what we traveled through today is not really something to be desired. We traveled through Waldo, Starke and Lawtey. I will say that it may be the first time I have traveled that road without any concern about the infamous speed traps. We didn’t exceed any speed limits on our loaded tandem 😊.

Even though the scenery was nothing to look at, we had fun talking to people all day. At every break today, we had folks notice our jerseys and then get into a conversation asking about our trip. It was a very pleasant way to spend our breaks even though neither of us really enjoys talking 😊

Also today, we encountered our first significant stretches of road construction. We rode several miles where the shoulder was closed, so we had the excitement of traffic passing at over 60 miles an hour on our left and concrete Jersey barriers on our right. It really wasn’t a problem. Most of the drivers moved well over to pass and no one came too close. There are many closed businesses and decrepit buildings along the road. We did pass a number of nice fresh fruit and produce stands which made us think of Team A.

There were a lot of fruit and vegetable stands along the way.

Tomorrow we get to Georgia. We’ll be staying at the Inn at Folkston where we stayed with Team A last year. Then, we chose to leave early in the morning to beat an approaching storm. (It was one of the five days we got good and wet on that trip.) The owner packed us some breakfast biscuits to go. Based on those, we are really looking forward to his full Southern breakfast Tuesday morning.

While checking tomorrow’s weather forecast, we learned that there is a smoke advisory along our planned route due to a massive wildfire in the Okefenokee Swamp. We will check the advisory status in the morning and may decide to alter the route. Tune in to tomorrow’s journal to see how we fared!

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 182 miles (293 km)

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