| Milton, FL, to Niceville, FL |
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Day 8: Thursday Dst: 55.73 mi As usual, we began with prayers and Mass. Then we walked over to the Waffle House next door for a greasy but tasty breakfast. Soon, we hit the trail. The first few miles were on the Blackwater Trail. The morning was warm, humid, and cloudy. But the riding was perfect. The trail was great. After all the busy road riding yesterday this was a very nice change. It was peaceful, except for the many stop signs along this paved trail. Once back on the roadways we found ourselves riding through peaceful, calm forests ... rural Florida, quite a change from the Gulf Coast! Along Indian Ford Road, we passed some state prisoners working along the road, under the watchful eye of officers nearby. The quiet scenery continued. Soon the sun was peeking out between the clouds. There were blue skies and a temp of 84 degrees when we rolled into Crestview. That’s a record high temp for this day! We stopped at an Arby’s for lunch before departing the Adventure Cycling route again, to head south to Niceville along highway 85. That’s the nearest airport, and the place from which we will fly home tomorrow. The road south to Niceville was very busy. Like most of the paved roads I’ve seen in Florida so far, it had a smooth “bike line” on it, but the lane was a little too narrow for comfort when being passed by big trucks a few feet to the left. I was really enjoying the sunshine and the ride, but I was happy to get off the busy road. We checked into the Quality Inn, took our bikes over to a local bike shop for packing and shipping, and went in search of a Dairy Queen. We both craved Blizzards. Niceville/Valparaiso is surrounded by Eglin Air Force Base, so I’ve seen lots of sports cars and motorcycles piloted by servicemen and women in camo. I wish I could ride my Suzuki in February! We later walked a few miles to a movie theater to see “Big Miracle,” but it wasn’t playing (as advertised) so we saw “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” the only other option, and it was fairly lame. We had supper at Subway and are now relaxing. We fly out at 6 a.m. tomorrow, but it’s really foggy right now, and we’re hoping that doesn’t cause a delay. Today was great! Sun! But I did get a bit of a sunburn. My legs are RED! Ouch. Jesse and I agree that this section was the most friendly (so far). People in the Southeastern U.S. are nice, in general. Section 6… done. Some stats for this ride: |
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| ©2012, Jason Signalness |
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