After yesterday’s monotonous Hwy 90 ride, my spirits were lifted with the benefit of Hugh Aaron sharing local cyclist knowledge on how to avoid some of Hwy 90, and instead riding alternate roads and bike paths through Tallahassee and parts or FSU and Florida A&M campuses. Hugh is a former ride captain of Richmond’s riding club (RABA), where Doug met him, and he is now a resident of the Tallahassee area. He was out of town and could not ride with us today, but he advised Doug on the route. Also Hwy 90 has gotten considerably nicer with less traffic and the associated noise. The road surfaces and lack of traffic outside of towns was fantastic.
One other pleasant surprises was riding by the town of Greenville (population 700+) and stopping to see the Ray Charles memorial in a park just off of Hwy 90. This was his hometown, and we were able to pay respect to his memory, and I shared his memorial bronze piano bench. In fact it made me recall my five years of forced piano lessons my mom began for me at the age of 9. Sharing the bench with the memorial statue of Mr. Ray Charles is likely the pinnacle of my own music stardom. Mom would have been so proud!
So nice to know that you got to spend time with Nancy and family – and right on schedule! I am so impressed by the detailed and impeccable planning that preceded your adventure, and I’m thrilled to know how close you are to achieving this feat of extraordinary physical endurance! May you have tailwind all the way to St. Augustine! 😊
Marsha, I really appreciate you following us and your well wishes and accolades. Yes, it is not sufficient just to ride a bicycle many miles because the planning is also so significant. In fact, the hotel I am at tonight was booked May of last year, not that it had to be that early, but the details were worked out well in advance of the actual trip.