Our group of 40 bicycle riders arrived in Titusville, Florida for what we have come to know as a family reunion. Familiar faces from many years of riding together and a few new riding pals were preparing for the final leg of an adventure that began 9 years ago in Maine for some and will end this year in Key West, Florida. But before any of that, we rolled our bicycles into a conference room at the hotel, in what seemed like a most appropriate use of space, and learned from the East Coast Greenway staff what lay ahead. Which is summed up as southbound cycling, a work in progress for optimal bike travels — and sweet tailwinds.  Clearly, we focused on the tailwinds.

With rain in the forecast for our departure, we rummaged through bags for rain gear, and finding none, decided it would be a glorious day anyway.  Just before our wheels hit the pavement, the sun gods stepped up pushing out the heavy rains, and we departed with happy winds pushing us south.

Today’s ride ranged anywhere from 41 to 50 plus miles depending on if you rode with someone who stuck to the GPS, or just went rogue. Our group of riders went rogue — as to be expected — so we added mileage, but that was OK. With 5 miles left in our day (our best guess) someone noticed an ice cream shop, and we all turned into this hut, finding many children — which is a good sign at an ice cream shop. One of the retired schoolteachers in our group asked the children why they weren’t in school — to an answer of ‘it’s Saturday’ and that pretty much sums up our mental state. We had already lost track of time, the school children were getting their education, and we had an added benefit of watching tortoises sharing their greens.  Oh, what can be learned from tortoises.

Peace, Love, Out,
Jane

Highlights:
2 tortoises eating their veggies
Favorite Cycling Segments: A1A and the tailwinds
Favorite Food: Any food was a favorite food

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The Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31195490
Distance: 50 miles
Start to Finish: Titusville to Melbourne Beach
Why Ride? To raise awareness and funding for the East Coast Greenway from Maine to Key West