We ate our Super 8 breakfast around 6:30, it was pretty good.

We left around 8. That is the problem with hotel breakfasts, you can't eat very early.

We put in a quick 20 miles, trying to beat the heat. We stopped at a local dairy, but it was not open. A nice man told us we could take a rest at his place 6 miles ahead, but we never saw him. Bummer, we all imagined that he had the best lemonade waiting for us.

Chuck said we climbed at 3-6% for several miles straight. I kept checking to see if my tires were flat. I noticed afterwards that a 1-2% grade felt flat.

We stopped at the Fruitland Diner for lunch. They had very little fruit on the menu.....applesauce. I had a half order of a Chicken Grinder, which may have been the best sandwich ever. Oh man, that was good. We also all got milkshakes, but they were just ehhh.

We re-lubed up and made our 2nd half push to Cape Gerardo. The traffic and roads today were a bit annoying. I am quite sure some of this route shouldn't be considered a bike route. The heat is supposed to hit again tomorrow, but it was plenty hot today.

14% grade at 99F......I flew up the hill at 1.5mph.

Taters has a limit of about a 10% grade. Anything higher and she pushes. Laura usually is similar, but she pulled her way up this one.

Chuck was not a fan of the hills today.

We hesitantly stopped at the Trail of Tears State Park; it did not sound like a pleasant place. I alone went in, the others assumed there would be no AC and parked in the shade at the gate (assuming that the uphill entryway was far from anything worth the grade and effort). After a short ride I found AC and some interesting things. I told the staff that the others were not expecting such a fine rest area, and I considered returning to them with balloons, cotton candy, and a picture of me by a donkey. Since the park was all out of balloons, cotton candy, and pack animals, I sent some biker dudes out to tell my group how much fun i was having in the AC. The group soon followed.

They have invasive species issues at the park. Pests are hard to stop.

Katie sat for quite a while reading some of the information. She enjoyed the park more than I thought she would have.

The park entrance is guarded by bees and a bee feeder. I did not know such a thing existed; I must get one.

After the park, we crossed a one-lane bridge. This one was actually only 1 lane!

After passing New Orleans, we went back to Cape Gerardo. Wrong New Orleans. I fubared the directions entering town, and had to bike a long uphill for several miles back towards the hotels.

At the Drury Inn, we picked up our free drinks and walked to Olive Garden. I wanted to eat at a local place downtown; there was no way I was going to talk them into biking back into town several miles down the hill. The one local place said "worlds greatest sandwiches". I now can only assume it is true.

We have stayed at two Drury Inns. Both have had awesome service, great breakfasts, and nice pools. The staff at both were more than willing to let us use extra rooms for our bikes at no charge. Other hotels could learn a lot from Drury!

Our meals were good, with many gallons of lemonaide. Chuck and Laura debated the healthfulness of fiber consumption......katie found the conversatoin riveting.

Bed.

60 miles, 781 miles total

Google Earth KML File