Day 41, Gainesville to Palatka, 61 miles

Today was our last full day of riding.

We left Gainsville before seven and soon found the connector to the Gainsville-Hawthorne Bike Trail.

The connector bike trail took us south of the University of Florida and we were soon out of the city and on the beautiful trail that led us to Hawthorne. The trail was spectacular with us going through swamps. Luckily we did not see an alligator but did help a turtle cross the trail.

In Hawthorne we reconnected with Mary and George who are cycling in the Southeast. Their final destination is Savannah.

We cycled with them until our stomachs told us to stop for lunch. We did find our favorite place and bought sandwiches for a picnic in a nearby park.

With a little drizzle we quickly cycled into Palatka where we are spending the night in a motel along The St. Johns River. Many sailors are gathering for the annual Mug Race to Jacksonville.

How are our bikes? We do not want to jinx our good fortune but our bikes have now gone three thousand miles without any major difficulty. Ruth had two flats and Mary Jo's odometer stopped working in Louisana. Both our bikes are road bikes not touring bike. Ruth rides a Trek Pilot and Mary Jo rides a Fierte Serrotta. Before the trip our bikes were completely overhauled and we both had new Continental Ultra Gator Skin tires put on the bikes. Because we did not have to carry camping gear, we were given the small Arkel bags by our children and these small bag worked well for our meager belongings protected by ziplock bags. We brought only the essential tools - tire irons, a small hand pump with a guage purchased through Adventure Cycling.com, a multi-tool kit, a universal rivoli chain tool, an extra chain link, a fiberax spoke repair kit, a small bottle of prolink to lube and clean the chain, and FIVE SPARE TUBES. Each bike has two cages for our water bottles. We have grown very fond of our bikes; they are our trusty steeds.

Mary Jo's bike

Ruth's Bike

How are we feeling? We do not have anything that hurts but we are doggone tired! If we had to ride more days we would but we are really looking forward to giving our bodies a rest.

" A Bicyclist's Ode to Subway Sandwiches"

"Cycling 'cross America really takes its toll,
But yummy Subway sandwiches play a mighty roll,
In powering the body to make the wheels roll.
It takes much more than sports drinks to achieve this mighty goal.
Wanna stop to eat there? There's no need to cajole!
A sandwich for the body and a cookie for the soul!" - Ruth L. Morley