We were the first ones off the ferry and biked to Ystad starting at 7am. Nothing on the road that early and a huge tail wind.  Ystad is where Wallender tv show is set.  Visited the town square and other streets shown in the series.  Had brunch in a little outdoor cafe off the town square.  If I can figure out how to add pics, I will add to my blog.

Next leg was from Ystad to Malmö but now we had a headwind. Tough going but we made good time on a highway we weren’t supposed to be on.  Motorists started honking at us so it was time to get off.  The rest of the way was largely on gravel lanes and paths.  Chris is using his phone for bike directions.  Maps would not have any of these paths on them.

When we got close to Malmö, primarily on paved roads, it started pouring rain.  We got soaked.  Clothes in packs got wet and some other  things like books and unfortunately Brian’s phone.  If it looks like I am killing him on step count, it’s only because his phone is dead and he can’t sync.  He is still keeping track manually and reminding me he is still ahead.  He’s not competitive!!

Checked into a really nice Radisson and had a room to myself.  Met an old friend of Chris’ for dinner.  Very enjoyable getting to spend time with a Swede to ask and be asked a lot of questions about our respective countries from politics to economy to history.

All of our clothes were laid out and hair driers and irons got a workout getting everything dry.  Bike shoes took the longest to dry out.  All is good and the hot shower in the hotel was magnificent after getting soaked.  All in all a great day despite the soaking.

After assembling our bikes, took a ride around countryside led by Chris.  Almost wish we were staying in Germany to bike.  Very pretty and bike friendly.  Antje’s family is awesome.  Loved their hospitality to us Americans.  I’ve been taking lots of pictures.

Our hotel was first class in a beach resort but very different than typical American beach town.  Much quainter and older. Less beach.  Too cold to swim as in American beach towns and so many less people.    The name of the town was Kuhlungsborn.  Fortunately my iPad knows how to spell it for me.

The next night was spent in a state room on the ferry from Rostok, Germany to Trellborgh, Sweden.  Three men in one small room was a lot of snoring.  We survived!!

It rained last night and the clouds did not clear as forecast but nothing can dampen our enthusiasm for today’s ride. The ride started out a little tricky on a mainish road with a lot of traffic. After crossing a bridge over the St. John River (really wide) we stumbled on a bike trail that took us more or less in the right direction. Riding all abreast, we immediately started on baseball trivia. Name the starting lineup for the Phillies in the 1980 World Series-Game 1. Name the starting lineup for the 1964 Phillies. Name the starting pitchers on the 1964 Phillies and on and on. Yes this was definitely the trivia leg. It sure helped the miles pass by.

We had a headwind/crosswind most of the day but once again Matt did almost all the pulling. Thank God for young legs and thank God Steph shares him with us. We arrived in St. Augustine around noon. The approach from the west is a little rundown but the old part of town is spectacular. The narrow cobblestone streets remind me of Quebec City but a very different personality. Another neat place to come with Marcia and spend some time strolling the streets.

But I get ahead of myself. We headed straight to the beach at Anastacia State Park for the photo op of dipping our front tires in the Atlantic Ocean. I cannot describe the feeling of that moment. We did it. We survived without any mishaps. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. We all commented at some point how nice it would have been if Ted and Kevin made the ride. We are starting to talk about our next adventure ride. Maybe more family will be able to join us on future rides. Matt and I are planning to do a ride across PA from Erie to Media soon. Anyone interested?

I’ll post Final Thoughts when I get home. That’s all for now folks.

I had my best night’s sleep at the Grady House B&B==10 hours. Even though I felt rested, my legs (and my butt) are feeling the effects of so many days of riding. If we were doing this coast to coast, a rest day would be in our immediate future.

A good (and uneventful) day of riding. We rode thru our third city in Florida–Gaineesville–home of the University of Florida Gators. We didn’t see any of the campus and not much of the city itself since we rode across the northern tier. The best part of the ride, and some said this leg, was a wide recently paved bike trail for about 12 miles. We were able to ride 4 abreast for the first time and continued our trivia games.

As I approach the final day, I want to thank my wonderful wife, Marcia, for all her support and encouragement to pursue this dream. I know it wasn’t easy for her to keep things going at home for the 6 plus weeks I was away these past four years. Please know I really appreciate it and I hope in some way I can reciprocate. Words just don’t measure my appreciation and love for you.

Another special thanks goes out to my assistant Debbie who keeps my office going while I am away. I have a tremendous confidence in her ability to know what will wait and what needs a little of my attention to keep things going until I return. Hopefully she got to take some time off while I was away. Not really looking forward to reengaging with the practice in a few short days.

Tomorrow’s the day. A short one, mileage wise, so we expect to arrive in St. Augustine by 1pm. Plan is to ride to the beach, carry our bikes across the sand (hopefully not as wide as Wildwood’s beaches) and dip the front tire in the Atlantic Ocean. Then we can celebrate!!!

I really don’t want to jinx myself butttttt…everyone else had a flat today. I doubt it was anything special I did to avoid a flat. We all methodically check both tires after each break. I did pick off a half dozen burrs from my front tire at one point today.

The ride was pretty flat and partially aided by a tail wind. We averaged over 15 mph for the day, our fastest yet. Total mileage today was 76.2. Very pleasant riding with the exception of Lake City. It was much busier traffic wise than we are used to. I10 and I75 intersect in this town which probably explains the increase in traffic and US 90 was undergoing some construction. In retrospect, I wish we had picked a different route to bypass Lake City.

We spent some time at dinner thinking about our next adventure. Lots of suggestions: Pacific Coast from Seattle to San Diego, bike across PA from Erie to Philly, C&O canal from Pittsburgh to DC and Potomac River from Alexandria to the Chesapeake and back. Someone threw out Ireland but I nixed that since that is where I am taking Marcia for our anniversary next year. I doubt she would enjoy a Brothers Bike Ride for our anniversary.

Our accommodations tonight is a very nice B&B a few blocks from the downtown district of this little town. We spent our cold beer wind down doing bike maintenance in an outside garden area. We walked to a bike store to replenish tubes and a new tire for Mark. Dinner was a short walk back to ‘downtown’ which featured outdoor dining and live country music. Even though it is only 8 o’clock, I am ready for bed. I can feel my body demanding as much sleep as possible for these full days on the bike. My nightly call to Marcia is next and then ‘lights out’ for me.

What a gorgeous day. Some things do average out. Last year’s leg the weather was cold and rainy. This year’s leg, the weather couldn’t be more perfect. Smooth roads; bike lanes/shoulders most of the time. What a difference a year makes.

This part of Florida has counties named after southern statesmen like Jefferson, Madison, Washington and Calhoun to name a few. We stopped for a break in the county seat of Jefferson County which was called, what else, Monticello. Pretty little town that seemed as though time passed it by. The scenery has been pleasant with a lot more hills than anyone expected. The terrain did seem to flatten out after we got into Madison County. This part of Florida definitely has a southern feel to it.

Matt and I paired off and Brian and Mark paired off for a good part of the day. Each group had plenty to talk about. At one point, Mark and Brian pulled up to us and Brian was giving an answer to the trivia game they were playing. When we asked what Brian was talking about, Mark explained the game they were playing but added it was “their game and we couldn’t play”.

It is somewhat bittersweet to think we only have three more days of riding to complete the ‘Southern Tier’. Of course, this has been a trip of a lifetime and quite an accomplishment. We have had so many laughs and shared experiences. I love our routine of arriving at our destination for the night, putting the bikes in our rooms and meeting in Beth’s room for a cold beer and some conversation about the high and the low of the day. It is hard to do it justice in this blog. I’ll think more about that for tomorrow’s blog.

We have a lot of miles to cover in 8 days so we have some long days on the bike, including 2 ninety mile days. Today was 93 miles. Days like this require a certain amount of mental toughness to get thru it. We spent many hours playing trivia with each other. Who was the first President to die in office? How many states have only 4 letters in their names? (If you guessed Mississippi, you got one of them).

We stuck together in a pack all day which helped each of us tough it out. I must say, towards the end of the ride there waan’t much conversation, but having my brothers there for every pedal stroke really helped. Beth, you came upon us at the right time for replenishment and to carry all the clothes we had shed as the day warmed up. Hooray for SAG lady and the cold beer awaiting us in your room.

Probably one of my shortest posts ever. Need to get as much sleep as I can. Tomorrow is not as long and Matt joins us tomorrow night.

Brian decided not to ride today. He wanted to rest up and try to kick his illness once and for all. Good move – I hope it works. The plan is for him to ride tomorrow, even though it is scheduled to be a 92 mile day which is one of our longest. He did go see an aviation museum in Pensacola with his off day. Looking forward to seeing his pictures.

Mark and I had a delightful day on our bikes. Some of the more noteworthy sites: Passed a section east of Pensacola where a tornado came thru earlier this week and totally destroyed 4 houses, partially damaged others and didn’t touch still others 50 yards away. I’ve only seen that sort of randomness on news cast. We stopped to view these houses first hand. At one point a few yards down the road, there was a whole section of roof up in a tree about 20 feet off the ground. Rode a bike path with a group of Wounded Warriers, some of whom were paraplegics. Very sobering but inspirational to see them trying to lead as normal a life as possible. They seemed very intent, not conversationalists. I get it and commend them for what they sacrificed. And hilly terrain today which was predicted in ‘Conquering the Borderlands’. Never used my granny gears but had to gear down to a climbing gear with many of the hills.

Hopefully the weather stays this nice for the rest of L6. Another sunny day predicted tomorrow. Temps in the upper 30’s when we start out and climbing into the upper 60’s later in the day, which will be the warmest so far. Great riding weather!

Well,we are starting L6, our final leg. I am expecting the weather to be magnificent with no rain, no headwinds and most importantly NO DOGS CHASING US. Yeah right – all those things are about to happen!

I have been reminiscing about earlier legs for a few weeks. I will see something and it will trigger a flashback. I saw a pile of snow and it reminded me of Pine Valley, CA or pouring down rain and the day we spent in St. Francisville, LA. We have had so many memories on these bike trips. I am truly blessed to be able to do something like this with my brothers and Sag Lady. (That be you Beth.)

The thought that kept rolling thru my mind today was we have ridden about 2500 miles so far and today’s scenery was like nothing else we have seen. No mountains or hills, just flat roads. No cultivated fields or livestock grazing. And certainly no deserts; quite the contrary, lots of water, starting with another first for the trip., a 45 minute ferry ride.

The Gulf of Mexico was off to our right and in full view a good part of the day. We ate lunch at a state park looking out over white sand beaches and blue water as far as the eye could see. It reminded me of riding between Ocean City and Sea Isle except for the mid rise condo buildings from time to time.

Pensacola seems clean and tidy. We are staying in the old part of the city in a newer chain hotel. I think tomorrow the scenery will change since we head inland and return to our old buddy–Route 90. I wonder how many miles altogether we have ridden on Route 90. Any guesses guys?