Day 17 – I Spy

Thursday, November 6th

Ponce Inlet, FL to Titusville, FL

We woke to another morning of tasty smoothies, hot coffee and juicy bacon all made by Deb.  We hated to leave our new friends, but needed to be on our way.  So we packed up, reluctantly said goodbye to the most magnificent hosts we’ve had and wheeled off, after Bill took a few pictures:

We made a stop at the marsh to walk out over the pier and the morning was enchanting.

We took some pictures, hopped back on our bikes and pedaled North to cross the bridge back to the mainland.  Bill had suggested a quick scenic detour, which we took, then got on Hwy 1 heading South.  We started the day with a wonderful tailwind, but that disappeared shortly after we connected with the highway.

We passed through New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater then took a detour to Merritt Island.  The road through the nature preserve was almost deserted except for a few trucks working on a radar station and two armadillos: an older one, who scooted off the road pretty quickly and a younger one who was concentrating so hard on crossing the road that it jumped a little in surprise when Dad passed, put its nose back into shuffling across the road and jumped again when I passed by, shortly after.

We took the dirt road turnoff to check out the manatee viewing point and though we didn’t see any manatees, we did enjoyed a makeshift lunch of Fig Newtons, peach snack cups, a whole jar of bread and butter pickle spears, and some Reeses. I had been watching out for alligators since we rolled onto the island, but it wasn’t until just after we turned West at the gates of the Kennedy Space Center that I spied one sunning itself by the ditch next to the road.  Let me tell you: passing alligators in the comfort of a car is entirely different than passing a few feet from them on a bicycle.

I excitedly yelled back to Dad, “Did you see the alligator!?”
“No. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“I just saw it! We just passed it!”
“Oh. Look there’s another one!”  He pointed to an alligator poking its eyes and nose out of the water in the roadside ditch.

I’ll admit, my slightly irrational uneasiness was a bit of a distraction from my riding -  I was having trouble focusing on the road while keeping watch for giant reptiles – but I’d rather wobble a bit than deliver some alligator a Meal on Wheels.

We stopped at Visitor Center for a much anticipated bathroom break.  When we walked in, the guy working the desk deduced we were on bikes and asked where we cycled from?

Dad: “Texas.”
Desk Guy: “No, where did you start today?”
Dad: “Daytona Beach.”
Desk Guy, “How far have you gone?”
Dad: “Over 1400 miles.”
Desk Guy: “…Wait, you cycled from TEXAS?”

We ate a snack at one of the picnic tables outside, then when to check out the short path that led behind the visitor center.  We saw a huge alligator sunning itself and made a few turtles anxious about eating in front of us then turned around and got back to the ride.

Titusville was a nightmare.  This is the worst city we’ve come through regarding careless drivers.  It’s like they check their minds at the city line.  Mobile was stressful, Tallahassee brought some close calls and we were happy to get through Gainesville, but none of them were as bad as Titusville.  We ran into more people who didn’t know what to do in the presence of a bike.  There was lots of yelling and honking and tailgating, all with plenty of room on the road to pass us.

But we made it to our hotel, checked in and decided to call it a day for the bikes.  The area is almost entirely deserted except for four hotels, an IHOP and a Cracker Barrel, so to get Dr. Peppers, I had to walk under a highway and down a road to reach the nearest convenience store.  There were, of course, no sidewalks (the town is more comfortable with space travel than pedestrians or bikes apparently).

We spent the rest of the day resting with a short break for dinner at the IHOP connected to our hotel.  (Some of you would be thrilled to know I had a bacon, cheese and egg burger – a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg on it.  I won’t be doing that again any time soon.)

Today’s Quick Stats:

Bike              Distance (mi)    Average Speed (mph)     Trip Odometer

MiniWini            62.00                  18.3                           1542.8

Sti(ck/g)           62.16                  18.1                              –

Stampedes: 2

Roadside Pees: 1