Day 51: Ross Prairie State Forest FL to Salt Springs FL (Ocala National Forest)

The countdown is two more rides.  A very short ride tomorrow of ~30 miles then ~55 miles on Saturday to a much-anticipated finish on the beach by Breakers.   All my FL friends know where Breakers is…  no Rum Runners for me.                                             

The highlight for today is a camp with no caterpillars, Sandy is super happy.  We woke up this morning to tent loaded with the pesky little things.  Sandy found a few hitch hikers that came with us that needed to be taken care of at this end. 

Fitting that we include Fred in our morning picture.


Nick name - Caterpillar Camp 

Today’s ride was very interesting.  My son told me about a trail that covered the first 15+ miles of the ride.  The path was a combination of perfect asphalt to sugar sand horse paths to single track mountain bike trails.  Super fun and once off the asphalt there were no people, so it was peaceful.  The final 30ish miles were in rolling hills through the Ocala National Forest area.  

Variety of the ride today...
I liked the single track, the sugar sand is like riding on ice.



Our second to last night of camping is a Salt Springs... after setting up we took a quick dip in the 72F water to cool off.  

The water felt good after you got in...
You always say these things, it was cold.


Start Time: 9:49 AM East Coast Time       Finish Time: 1:21 PM East Coast Time

Elapse Time: 3 Hr. 31 Min.                         Ride Time: 3 Hr. 5 Min.

Distance:  50.9 Miles                                   Average Speed: 16.4 mph

Climbing/Descent: 1086/1122 Ft.                TSS: 114

Average Power: 167 Watts                           Normalized Power: 191 Watts

Calories: 1862                                               Ave/Max HR: 118/144bpm

The ride was quick today so no lunch with Sandy.   I stopped at a gas station for a bag of potato chips and two Gatorades – I drank one and filled up my water bottle with the other.  Prior to the stop I at a Cliff Bar and polished off a full water bottle. 

Tomorrow is a setup ride for the finish.  We will go 30ish miles south to a camp site.  My son Bradley will meet me on Saturday morning for the final ride into NSB.  I promised him we will go slow…

What is this a picture of ?
Let me know in your comments

  


Comments

  1. Ertle the Sr TurtleApril 8, 2021 at 6:57 PM

    It looks like a lizard or frog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ertle the Sr TurtleApril 8, 2021 at 6:57 PM

    It looks like a lizard or frog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. FishwifeApril 9, 2021 at 4:56 AM

    That is a rare Black dragon jungle toad.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Uncle RatfinkApril 9, 2021 at 6:13 AM

    Mom and I are ready. Checked out the restaurant last night. Boy was it hard with no Rum Runner. Pop

    ReplyDelete
  5. NSB SnowbirdsApril 9, 2021 at 8:21 AM

    On the cusp of a super accomplishment. Congrats are in order for both of you who have teamed and complemented one another to make this possible. Enjoy your finish (gulp, gulp) and take some well earned time in NSB for some R & R. From your winter houseguests.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Uncle RatfinkApril 9, 2021 at 11:32 AM

    Hi I alerted everybody ( not quit) along Flagler about your arrival tomorrow. Less than 24.
    Pop

    ReplyDelete

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