DAYS 40-44: 10/29-11/2 – Milton, FL to Bonifay, FL to Quincy, FL to Greenville, FL to Lake City, FL to Gainesville, FL

Day 40 10/29 Milton, FL 86 miles to Bonifay, FL

Day 41 10/30 Bonifay, FL 74 miles to Quincy, FL

Day 42 10/31 Quincy, FL 69 miles to Greenville, FL

Day 43 11/1 Greenville, FL 63 miles to Lake City, FL

Day 44 11/2 Lake City, FL 47 miles to Gainesville, FL – 

Our ride to Milton had been on Highway 90 which had amazing pavement, a wide shoulder marked as a bike lane, and great signs to motorists to yield to cyclists when merging as well as when making right turns. It was hands down the best road stretch in the past 6 weeks! And this good fortune continued for us as we rode on it the next 4 days into Bonifay, Quincy, Greenville and Lake City. 

The weather started to feel more like autumn with cooler morning starts around 55 degrees and days that remained in the low 60’s. It was actually a welcome relief from the relative heat and humidity in the prior days. I was grateful to have brought my full fingered gloves, neck buff, and ear warmer. 

Cooler weather attire

We shortened our mileage to start a bit later in the mornings, and finish a bit earlier each afternoon - this happily reduced my time on a bike seat and in bike shorts. 

The ride to Bonifay felt like the easiest 86 miles one could ride, and less than 6 hours of biking was not a long day for us. With the flat terrain, near perfect roads, tailwind and comfortable temperature, it could have been the easiest century ride. But even with a great tailwind, we did not want to race to the end of this journey, as it was sad to think of it ending. We have come to love this daily lifestyle, the freedom of the open road, being our most active selves, living fully each day, and with a minimum of possessions. We anticipated the end would be bittersweet. We tried to do what we preach in our business towards the end of summer trips for students, and what I’ve tried to instill in our children, which is don’t count the days but make the days count. 

As we entered Quincy on highway 90, if we were to judge it from its Main Street appearances, we’d have kept going as it was uninviting and somewhat run down. But since we had already booked a B&B, we followed the directions 2 blocks north and were amazed at a different world a mere 100 yards away. The McFarlin House, our home for the night, was a restored Queen Anne Victorian that we learned was one of many homes built here off of shade tobacco money. 

The McFarlin House

More fascinating was Quincy is known for still having many families living off of their investment in the Coca Cola company that at one time made it the richest town per capita in the country. I read that a single share from then with dividends reinvested would now be worth over $10 million. There is tremendous wealth hidden here. Yes indeed, don’t judge a book by its cover, nor a town by one street!

On route to Greenville, we passed right through Tallahassee, and rode by another state Capitol, as well as through the FSU area. 

FSU ride-by, go Seminoles!

We were caught by surprise at how hilly it actually is west and east of Tallahassee. It was nothing like Texas Hill country, but after several days of very flat riding since Baton Rouge, it may well have been, as our legs felt like they forgot how to climb. 

As we left Tallahassee after my lunch stop took a bit of time (Heather had leftovers from her dinner the night before), Heather was pressing me to get going without more stops. Yet literally a block away, we came upon a Krispy Kreme store, and she loves their donuts only second to fudge. Of course for that, a stop was okay. I think I’ve finally succeeded in convincing her that dessert is part of a well-balanced meal. 

Another of Heather’s irresistible temptations

Greenville’s claim to fame is as the childhood home of Ray Charles. We enjoyed another B&B stay at a classic Queen Anne Victorian with elaborate original molding from 1898. 

Grace Manor, Greenville

Flow state, hands-free riding as we celebrate less than 100 miles remain from High Springs 

As it warmed up for the first afternoon in a while, we decided to enjoy a cool treat to celebrate having fewer than 100 total remaining miles. On Main Street in Alachua, a throwback quaint town on the way to Gainesville, we lucked out to discover “My Happy Place” which more than lived up to its name. 

Heather enjoyed it to the point of nearly bathing in her Frozen Hot Chocolate, one of their local specialty drinks. 

Heather getting into her Frozen Hot Chocolate

It was a difficult menu choice for me, but I aced it with a Hurricane, a vanilla frozen custard base with real Oreo and generous gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough mixed in, and topped with homemade whipped cream. 

Yes, I’m in my happy place

I shared with the owner Adela that we have cycled over 3,000 miles from San Diego, and I’ve been sampling milkshakes and ice cream treats. I awarded her a shared gold medal with Taylor Freeze. (This means Dateland slips to the bronze.) She was truly very pleased. I asked if she knew Ted Drewes frozen custard, an institution on historic Route 66 in St. Louis that has been in business over 80 years, and which I had the honor and pleasure of eating at a year ago. (I take this dessert review job seriously.) She knew it well. I told her that hers is better. She nearly offered me a job on the spot and hugged me when I left. 

Mark behind the counter with Adela his new BFF and potential employer

It was then on to Gainesville to our Warm Showers hosts that was really a reunion of sorts. Bryan and Austin are brothers who are college students at University of Florida (UF) and they grew up in Gainesville. We had the pleasure of hosting these two polite, impressive boys in June, on their own bike packing adventure of 1,700 miles from Florida to Maine. They invited us to now stay with their parents. It was a great to see the boys again, and meet their lovely parents and sister. It was clear in meeting their mom Caren and dad Dave why these boys were so grounded. What true genuine people. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and great conversation. It was interesting to revisit their trip experience through our new lens of our 6 weeks on the road. 

It was so warm and comforting to sit down with a loving family of parents and their older kids. We are excited to soon do that with our own. 

Our lovely family hosts

As I lie in bed typing these last notes of this entry before I go to sleep, it is 1:34am, on 11/3/21. We have 82 miles to St. Augustine Beach to complete this epic cross-country, in fact trans-continental, adventure. We can complete it today, but will take a more leisurely pace to ride through UF with Bryan and Austin, and finish our ride on 11/4, a date of personal significance to me. It is the 25th anniversary of the day my mother died at age 61 from breast cancer.

© Copyright Mark Segal 2021