R and R days…super layover in St Augustine

5/8/22. 5/9/22 5/10/22. 5 miles. 1 drawbridge

St Augustine Beach to St Augustine

The day we finished it was about 11am. It seems we ate and drank our day away. First we found a New York Pizza joint on the beach. Up until this I hadn’t found pizza that was good. This one was good! Probably better because it was the finish line reward. That afternoon we were off to Coneheads Ice Cream. We were told it’s a must stop. It was delicious. We found a microbrewery that just opened next to Jacks bar. It was a challenge to find the front door. Everyone was at Jacks beach bar..no one was at the brewery. Good luck with that place. For dinner it was Gypsy Cab Company by Uber. We were treated to dinner by my (client) friend Jeanne S. We thoroughly enjoyed that too!!

Last night of camping at the KOA. While there, we met a young family who had also bicycled across the US. They started in Portland, OR 10 months ago. Made it to Missoula MT but it was cold so they headed south to Grand Canyon then across the US. They are headed to Orlando to finish.They have two daughters, 10 and 5. The 10 year old rides her own bike and mom pulls the 5 yr old in a trailer! They travel about 25 miles a day. They have taken 2-3 week breaks for work, school and equipment issues. They were a nice friendly family from Juneau, AK. They are young adventurers!

We rode about 5 miles back over the Intracoastal waterway to our final destination…St Augustine. We have a nice AirBnB home close to downtown for 3 days. St Augustine is full of Spanish, French and British history. It is the oldest city in the US. The architecture is beautiful. There’s an old fort there since 1600’s to battle the British and pirates. The downtown itself is teeming with tourists (it’s Mothers Day), tour trolleys, walking tours, horses and carriage tours. You get the picture. Streets are narrow and shops and restaurants are plentiful. Lots of shop gawking and people watching.

Some beautiful architecture in this city. Spanish Moorish style architecture. Several old buildings were constructed by the same man, Flagler. He was a rich railroad magnate. One in particular was the old Hotel Alcazar. It was built for rich people. If had a casino surrounding a magnificent bathhouse and indoor swimming pool. It now is partly a museum and the pool is a restaurant.

Jim and I wandered around, came upon the final hours of a 3 day folk music festival in a live oak garden. The kind volunteer told us to come on in (Happy Mothers Day), so we took a shady seat and we were entertained by an Appalachian singer/storyteller. That was an unexpected treat!

Heading back to our house to make a grocery store run for food for a couple of days, we met a neighbor guy with his own trolley shuttle business. I asked if he could take us to a grocery store (3 miles). The trolley can’t go faster than 30 mph but he offered his car. Well it turns out Jeff used to live in Livingston MT. He’s a Griz fan. He spent a few years there until a few years ago. He was so excited to meet Montanans. He ended up chaffeurjng us to Publix (grocery) and back. Told us of a good place to eat. Small world…thank you Jeff Z!

I’m wondering why people collect these giant roosters statues? Why roosters? They are tin art collectibles I guess. We have seen them frequently since Roundtop TX where the collectible tents were everywhere. But now that we are in St Augustine, they’re more frequent.

Packing Up the Bikes. We’re off to Sprockets Bicycle Store to drop our bikes. We have arranged for them to box up our bikes. ($75). There’s a service called Bike Flights that will pick them up at the shop and ship them home to us. Of course we could box them ourselves and take them as airport baggage as we did in Part 1 to San Diego CA. However, St Augustine is an hour shuttle ride away from the Jacksonville Airport (JAX). That’s just more logistics to fit 3 bike boxes and all our luggage into a shuttle van. We’ve decided on Bike Flights. First time using this service but friends have told me it works great. We’re into making the return trip home simple!

Cinnicrew Team Dynamics. There was always a flow to the day. Routine. There wasn’t much personal time, except when riding with your thoughts all day. I brought some things I never used. For example small cribbage board and cards. I also brought a Kindle to read books but haven’t finished one book. My goal will be to finish it on the plane (I hope). There seemed to be division of duties that naturally occurred. For navigation Jim had the paper maps and Curt the digital. Jim had pre-planned the basic daily mileage which we were able to accomplish, for the most part. For daily riding Jim kept a pretty close eye on all the turns and road changes. Curt was backup man. Curt’s digital made him the leader for breakfast and lunch restaurant stops and convenience stores. I was the navigator in the cities with Google maps. Google maps will direct you for bicycling, Apple Maps will not. This worked really well with my AirPods to hear the directions over traffic noise. Jim checked daily weather and Curt checked Windy app (wind direction). Curt was the daily beer runner post ride. I was the “AIS” start timer, alarm setter. There was one day I determined we were starting in the dark and a few we started at dawns early light. Jim was the Uber caller. And, as you know, I was/am the blog writer.

I need to congratulate Jim on finishing this ride. He was always positive. Even this year when I didn’t think we could restart this ride because our house is under remodel (not by choice…another story), Jim said “we are going”! He prepared our bikes and gear so well. We are extremely happy with our Trek 520 bicycles. It is the most comfortable touring road bike or any bike I’ve ridden. When loaded for touring it’s very stable and moves quickly. Jim and I have been on several bike tours (supported and unsupported) starting when we first met in 1980. We knew nothing about bike packing but we planned a loop route from Eugene, OR to the coast, north (upwind) to Seaside, back over the coastal mountains and south to Eugene riding and camping for a week. Ever since then we have wanted to ride across America…someday. I am so happy we got to do this together. That we both are of sound mind and body at 66 to accomplish this adventure. He is my better half. Always has been, always will be❤️. Life can change so quickly, even the best laid plans can be crushed. Maybe that’s why I admire the young couple getting after it now….although traveling with small children is never easy…🤣.

Now to our traveling third partner, Curtis. It’s never easy to be the “third”. Jim and I communicate so easily after 40+ years together. We think alike, eat alike….you get it. Anyway, Curt (bless his heart), is the most easy-going, calm, mild-mannered friend you could include in our twosome. We all know each other’s idiosyncrasies now, there aren’t really any secrets to our daily lives, needs or functions (haha). But I want to congratulate Curtis on riding his unique recumbent bicycle across America! I know at the beginning in California, he was unsure of his decision to use that style of bike. All the climbing right out of San Diego and in CA was “no joke”. It was hard and the balance ratio of his gear wasn’t helping him climb. But over time (2 yrs), he reconfigured his gear arrangement and he also had more experience on the bike. He was cruising with happy shoulders and happy butt for Part 2. Plus…He got all the attention!! The biggest drawback to his bike is the length. It doesn’t always fit easily, but we managed to fit 3 bikes in most hotel rooms if we had no other options. I believe Curt is going to add to the blog with his thoughts on recumbent riding across America. Just in case some of you think maybe you would like to do some bicycle touring, if you were more comfortable😊

Thank you to everyone who followed us on our Cinnicrew.com blog site. To everyone who commented, texted and facebooked that they have been enjoying “riding with us”… thank you! Truth is… I have loved, loved this “task”! I just let my mind go and think about what my visual world is like as I ride through. It wasn’t hard to enjoy something about everyday. It was an adventure…everyday…not knowing what to expect, having never been through most of these states, cities or towns. To share that with my friends has been fun! Some have already asked me…what’s planned next? Jim and I are not sure yet but something will happen! We would like to bike the St Lawrence Seaway through Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Curtis is planning to ride in the Dolomites in Italy next October…on a classic bicycle!