Ichetucknee Springs, FL to Gainesville, FL
Started the day with a kayaking journey from the Ichetucknee Springs down the river for a couple hours. Beautiful ride, even under cloudy skies. The water was crystal clear, and moving rapidly, although the surface was perfectly clear. It was unlike our California rivers, with multiple rapids. Just a meandering flat river, that one can not tell is flowing (mostly). We did not see alligators, but multiple birds, and a sounder of wild hogs. Multiple fish and turtles were seen in the river. The kayak trip was originally planned for yesterday, paid for by our ride fees, but we got in too late. Also, after a day of bicycling, the last thing we want to do is sit in a kayak for two hours.
So, the kayaking was great, but we did not venture into the water. Although the temperature is a mild 72 degrees, it was a rather cool day, and we had 50 miles of cycling ahead of us.
Leaving the springs, the driver dropped Tom R, Eileen, and I at the campground, where we had already packed our bikes. We merely needed to change into our bike shorts/shoes, and away we went. After seven miles, we stopped in Fort White at Subway for lunch, as it was lunchtime, and it was unknown where we might find another spot for food.
Once again we found ourselves with a headwind, so we settled into the same routine as the day before, taking turns pulling for one mile each. The flat terrain gave way to rolling hills, but not too bad - just enough to tell our legs that we were not yet finished.
We pushed the pedals all the way to Gainesville, then had to find our way to Tom Harris' and Martha Monroe's house on the east side of Gainesville. They are ACA members, and host all of the ACA tour groups as they go east or west through Gainesville on the Southern Tier. They are also registered on Warmshowers.org as hosts. Their house is way out in the country, and would have been extremely difficult to find using GPS or Google Maps, but as our luck would have it, they sent an email out with detailed instructions, and also put out the ACA orange triangles marking the turns for the last two miles. That was the first of many kind and generous deeds they performed.
After finding our hosts home (and falling off my bike in the deep sand prevalent throughout Florida), we settled in for appetizers and adult beverages, THEN set up our tents and showered. Tom and Martha provided a delicious meal, and demonstrated how their cat is so well trained that it will jump through hoops, sit, and roll over. We were asked very kindly, though, NOT to let the cat out of the house, as he has a propensity to bring Florida fauna back as presents. They were also concerned about coyotes.
Once again on this journey, we had extremely generous hosts, with lots of stories, and had a barrel of fun. Some in the group elected to sleep on the covered porch, and did not set up their tents. Others, like me, set up our tents in the vast acreage, and excused ourselves after dessert to crash for the night.
Little did we know it would rain during the night, lightly, but just enough to get the tents wet.
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