Friday, March 25, 2005

Sopchoppy to Monticello, FL

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The Bag Lady
on a Tour Easy
It was another early morning hoping we wouldn't miss the bus and be left behind. While waiting I talked for a while to a gentleman from Newbury, Michigan, a former forester for a paper company in the Upper Peninsuala (“The mills were hungry for wood”).

It was a fast ride back to our car at Monticello. We averaged 15.6 mph on the trip, which included a side trip to the Natural Bridge Battlefield State Park and Wicissa Springs>. It was easy to tell this was the last day of the trip and people were anxious to get to Monticello; there was virtually no one who stopped at the two “highlights”. They didn't miss much.

Tallahassee-St. Marks Trail
We did spend some time on the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail, a smooth, paved trail that extends from the city of St. Marks north to Tallahassee.

Recumbent couple
We also ran into the long-wheelbase recumbent couple, riding a Rans Velocity Squared and a Tour Easy, and talked about birding (he has a life list of 599), John McPhee, and the New Yorker. They live on an island south of Sarasota and spend their days bicycle touring and bird watching, often at the same time.

We rolled into Monticello in the early afternoon, tired from the 75 mile ride, and ready for a hot shower and a nap.
Kerie at Graffiti
Instead we splashed some water on ourselves in a nearby bathroom and had the free end-of-ride lunch. Luckily there was a hose to wash off the sand and dirt on the tandem. We planned to drive a couple of hours to Destin, Florida to spend a few days at big brother's beach condo. We made it there without falling asleep, taking turns on the short drive. It was an ill-fated weekend at the beach, with tornado warnings for nearly the entire time. It was an opportunity to kick back, watch some tv, and take frequent naps. We had a decent meal at the funky restaurant Graffiti.

In summary, Bike Florida is a well organized tour with a limit of 1,000 participants. We did not purchase the meal ticket, so we cannot comment on the food. The snacks at the rest stops were plentiful and very biker friendly, albeit rather predictable. A little variety would have helped but there were really not complaints about the rest stop accommodations. The tour is geared toward people who camp, so the motel shuttle rides were long and the service infrequent. The latest schedule trip from the motels in the morning was 6:30, a bit too early for us. All in all it was a great tour and we would consider returning in the future, preferably one that is primarily along the beach, Florida's best asset.

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