Day 38 - Monday, December 29

Description: Finished the 72 mile ride in Monticello Florida. Tomorrow's destination is Live Oak Florida.

Woke up around 6:30 and packed up the Mean Green Machine and Wilson. We had a contentental breakfast at 7:00. I had some cereal, a banana, a danish, OJ, and coffee. After breakfast we dispatched Sherpa Kevin to Wiciassa to drop the van and the dog and to ride back to us. Just before Kevin left, Theresa noticed a flat tire in the hotel room - crap!! She quickly replaced the tire and was ready to ride. More bad news was that Carl was under the weather from something he ate the day before. He clearly did not feel well as we started the day's ride. We started the ride and stayed close to Carl to ensure he kept moving forward and did not get into trouble. . We rode through Midway (quick break) and into Tallahassee with a good wind at our back - finally. Thank you to everyone who prayed to the wind gods for favorable winds as the wind was at out back for the first time in weeks! Tallahassee was very hilly but very nice and biker friendly. We enjoyed our ride through this city which led us to an awesome bike path south to Woodville. Kevin caught up with us just south of Tallahassee and all 4 of us rode together to Woodville for lunch. We stopped at an oyster bar and restaurant which was OK for lunch. Kevin, Theresa, and I had a blackened grouper sandwich and Carl had a grilled cheese sandwich and a salad. Then we blasted off and rode to the van drop off point of Waciassa. The road was down hill and the wind was at out back - yes. After reaching our destination, Theresa loaded up her bike and headed on to Monticello to find us lodging while we continued to move forward and support Carl as he hung in there despite how he felt. The skies cleared and the weather became beautiful in the afternoon - we beat the odds of the weather forecast for the second day in a row. Did I mention that Theresa rode very strong today and continues to amaze us? Kevin, on the other hand, continues to fade as the miles continue to wear him down:-). Kevin, Carl, and I rode through the beautiful rolling farmlands toward Montecillo. Lots of cattle and horse farms and amazingly green pastures along the way. I was surprised by the challenging hills. I will bet the steaks and milk from this area taste great due to the awesome pastures.
I also saw a Progress Energy (I work for this company) truck which signaled that I am close to home! We dragged Carl into town to an incredible bed and breakfast in Montecillo (thanks for the tip Cliff). Did you know that a pharmacy in Montecillo created the recipe for Coca-Cola? Theresa hooked us up good and had a wonderful spread waiting for us at the B&B on their patio. She had wine, beer, chips, dip, crackers and fruit. We had a great time relaxing at this awesome B&B. Then we cleaned-up and went out to the Sage restaurant for dinner. This place was great and had an outside patio with a fire pit that we enjoyed. Tristan was our waitress and she hooked us up with an excellent dinner. She was a lot of fun. We had an artichoke and spinach dip appetizer, some wine, and then I had a NY Strip steak entree with risotto. Theresa had crab cakes and Kevin and Carl had Salmon entries. The food and atmosphere was great and we had a great time.
Good night!

Weather: Overcast and rain threat all morning but the rain held off. Afternoon cleared and I got a little sun burn in the afternoon and the humidity backed off. A GREAT day for biking. I only have 4 days left on my trek which ends in St. Augustine. I can "smell the barn" as others have said in blog entries. I have been having the best time with my friends and really do not look forward to this trek ending.

Performance Metrics:

Miles: 72 Trip: 2,735
Total travel time: 9:00 Trip: 286:00
Bike Riding time: 6:03 Trip: 221:41
Avg speed: 12:00 Trip: 12.70
Max speed: 30.53 Trip: 41.87
Total ascent (ft): 1,284 Trip: 60,651
Avg pedal RPMs: 75 Trip: 86
Avg heart rate: 86 Trip: 108
Max heart rate: 122 Trip: 195
Calories burned: 4,240 Trip: 164,404

Weather Statistics:

High temp 70 Trip: 77
Low temp: 62 Trip: 27
Hours of rain: 0 Trip: 13:30
Hours of snow: 0 Trip: 0
Total days of rain/snow: 3
Wind factor: Helped
Total good wind days: 12
Total bad wind days: 25

Misc. Stats:

Flat tires: 0 Trip: 11 (note - Theresa had a flat before leaving the hotel)
Mechanical failures: 0
Hotel or camping today: hotel - 1872 John Denham House B&B Inn
Total hotel nights: 36
Total camping nights: 2
Cups of coffee: 2 Trip: 116
Pints: 2 Trip: 73

Mood rating (1-10): 10 - I continue to be pumped up. I can almost see St. Augustine!!!!!!

Our lodging for tonight. Thanks for the tip Cliff.

OK ESN:0-7458562

This is Steve and I am checking in to let everyone know that I have finished my ride for the day safe and sound.
ESN:0-7458562
Latitude:30.5437
Longitude:-83.8737
Nearest Location: W Palmer Mill Rd, Monticello, FL, US
Distance: 0 km(s)
Time:12/29/2008 14:15:49 (US/Pacific)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=30.5437,-83.8737&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Whoops - forgot to turn Spot on!

Was so alarmed by having a favorable wind that I forgot to turn it on until 13 miles into the ride today in Midway.

Sorry!!!

Gotta roll ... Steve

Theresa started out with a flat in the motel room.