On Friday morning 2/28/2020, Tim and I started riding from Jacksonville to St. Augustine, FL It was on the cool side when we left, about 37 degrees F, but I was prepared and dresses appropriately. I had assembled my bike the afternoon before in the room at the Hampton Inn. I got everything right, but somehow I criss-crossed the cables for the gears and was not actually able to shift any gears at all. But fortunately it was flat and we at least didn’t have any wind in our faces, so it was OK. We made it to our hotel around 2:15 p.m. It was the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, FL, and it was built in 1887. But it was really really nice. Here is a photo of what it looked like from the parking lot.

From inside the hotel, especially from the pool, the hotel reminded me of the French Foreign Legion fort in the 1939 movie Beau Geste. All that was missing was the French flag. Here is a photo in the stairwell of the hotel. I really like this picture because the moon is not full – in movies and TV shows and most pictures, the moon is always full, so I really liked this picture.

After getting to the hotel, Tim and I drove to Island Bike Shop at St. Augustine Beach, where in about 2 minutes, the bike mechanic diagnosed and fixed my gear problem.

The ride today was, as a result, much easier. The entire ride was on A1A South, so there was no chance of getting lost. We only stopped twice, and the first time was at Fort Matanzas, an old Spanish fort that was constructed in 1740. We didn’t take the short ferry ride to the fort – so we just took some photos from the National Park we entered right off of A1A. Here is a view of the fort.

The next time we stopped was at Flagler Beach, where the colors of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean were very striking. Here are two photos I took at Flagler Beach, where Tim and I sat at a picnic bench and ate the excellent sandwiches that Nancy made for us. Today they were turkey and cheese, much better than the peanut butter and jelly we ate on the ride yesterday, since it was the first day of Lent.

We made it to our hotel in Ormond Beach at 1:15 p.m. and had to wait until 2 p.m to check in. So Tim and I sat at the hotel pool reading while Nancy and Beth made a run to a local Wallmart. Once they were back, we showered, went to the 4 p.m. Mass at St. Brendan the Navigator Church in Ormond Beach, and then went to dinner at the Black Sheep Pub, also in Ormond Beach. Then it was back to our hotel for a refresher course in blogging from Beth.

We had 75 miles of riding today and we wanted to make the 4:30 PM mass near our hotel in Windsor Locks, so we were on the road by about 7:30 a.m. I think today’s ride was not the hardest, but very close to it. We had about 3700 feet of ascending and close to that in descending, and after a while, that can get old. We passed one Civil War statue today, as we have almost every day, but today we stopped for a photo. We passed close to a dozen small towns, and about half of them had small cemeteries. The other memorable part of today’s ride was all of the motorcycles. I would guess Tim and I were passed by close to 3 dozen motorcycles during our ride.

We made it to our hotel by 3 pm exactly, after which we showered and then headed to Beth’s room for our daily end of the ride beers and snacks.

Having Nancy along was really nice, and the daily lunches she packed for Tim and me were fantastic!

Here are some photos from today’s ride.

Tim and I got a fairly early start and passed through Lowell first. The really nice aspect of the ride today was that we were on three different bike trails, all of which were beautiful and well maintained. I used my phone and Google bike maps for directions, which worked great. I’m not sure we will ever just rely on the Adventure Cycling Association maps again, since Google maps have been working so well. We only rode about 47 miles today, and made it to our hotel by 1 pm, another nice aspect of today’s ride. I managed to take a few photos today and here they are. I think these photos were taken on the first bike trail.

As usual, Tim, Beth and I head to the pool and the hot tub after checking into the hotel. Tonight we again are dinner at our hotel, which is where I took this photo.

Tomorrow we head to Windsor Locks for our last ride of this leg. It’s a 77 mile ride and will probably take us a good 8 hours.

Tim and I biked much of the day in the rain, but at least it wasn’t overly hilly. At one point, though, it was raining so hard that it was difficult to see. Fortunately we were on a bike path at that point. Because of all the rain today, neither Tim nor I took any pictures during the ride.

We left our hotel by 8:30 a.m., stopped in Freeport for Tim to get his bike fixed, and then continued on to Kennebunkport, passing through Portland along the way. We used Google maps today, instead of the ACA maps, which really paid off! We made it to Kennebunkport shortly after 3 pm, at which point I took a quick shower, and then walked to the First Families Museum in Kennebunkport. After a few drinks at the bar, we took naps, and then went to dinner at a restaurant called the Boathouse.

Then after dinner, we returned to the bar at our hotel (The Kennebunkport Inn) for some nightcaps. Here is a photo from the bar.

Tomorrow we have a 7.5 hour ride to Tyngsborough, MA. Wish us luck!

Starting at our hotel near the Louvre, we first visited Sainte-Chapelle built between 1242 and 1248 by Loius IX to house the relics of the passion of Christ, including the Crown of Thorns. From there we walked to the Cathedral de Notre Dame, impressive for its size. The most interesting thing we did was Crypte Archeologique, which told the history of the city of Paris by means of the archeological excavations near the site of the Cathedral and its environs. After a lunch at Saint Jacques cafe, Tim found his France pin for his bike saddle bag, and then we walked to Jardin des Tuileries, the gardens behind the Louvre museum. We had coffee there along with chocolate tarts, and Beth went back to the hotel. Earlier she had fallen, not too long after we had started out, and she wanted to get cleaned up and relax a bit. Tim, Mark and I made the deceptively long walk to the Arc de Triomphe, after which we returned to the hotel. In all we walked 10 miles today, and it feels like it!

The upper chamber of Sainte-Chappelle.

Standing outside the Cathedral de Notre Dame.

The stained glass windows of Saint Severin, which we visited right after lunch. They are notable for their differences with traditional stained glass windows.

Tim, Mark and I standing on Pont Neuf with the Eiffel Tower in the far background. I am glad we didn’t try to walk there!

Tim and I standing inside the Arc de Triomphe.

The right side of the Arc de Triomphe facing toward the Champes des Lices.

A final photo of the Arc de Triomphe before making the long walk back to our hotel.

Tomorrow we all fly home on the same flight.

Today’s ride was not overly strenuous – it was a mix of two lane roads with cars, farm roads with almost no traffic of any kind, and bike paths.  We left our hotel shortly after 8 AM so that we could get to Chateau de Chambord shortly after 9 AM, which was when it opened, and we accomplished that.  Here are some photos of Chateau de Chambord, another creation of Francoise I, which he had constructed from 1529 to 1549, and mainly used to hunt on the grounds and to impress his visitors, including the Holy Roman emperor.

On the way into Chateau de Chambord.

One of the ceramic stoves used to heat the Chateau.

King Louis XIV, one of the Chateau’s occupants.

A view of the gardens from the rear of the Chateau.

The church at Chateau de Chambord, which I entered while mass was in progress for the feast of the Assumption. I only stayed for the gospel. Does that count?

After a lunch of coffee and a tomato and cheese baggett (which was excellent), we left to ride to Orleans. On the way, we stopped at Clery- Saint Andre, where there is a Basilica de Notre Dame de Clery, which is where the tomb of Louis XII is located, along with the heart of Charles VIII. Here are some photos of the Basilica.

Some of the beers we drank after getting to our hotel in Orleans.

After a shower and a nap, we walked into the restaurant district of Orleans and had wine, more beer, and a nice dinner.

At dinner in Orleans.

We walked back to our hotel along a running trail, marked with this symbol.

The trail back to our hotel after dinner.

Tomorrow is our last day of riding. 🙁

Two photos of de Vinci’s last residence, now the site of a museum about him.

It was a little difficult getting out of Tours due to some construction on the bridge that Google Maps wanted us to use to cross over the Loire. But once we got past that, it was pretty smooth sailing on a mix of asphalt farm roads and two lane highways. We made it to Amboise around 11:30 a.m., where we toured the Leonardo de Vinci museum, the last place that he lived and worked in before he died. Here are some photos of the museum. 

His workshop and laboratory were the most interesting part of the museum.

A copy of one of de Vinci’s masterpieces.

After touring the museum we went back down to Amboise and met up with Beth, and had lunch right outside the Chateau de Amboise. Here are some photos we took at lunch.

This lunch was excellent!

Beth and me at lunch. Please don’t tag Beth if you put this photo on Facebook – thanks!

Beth then visited the Chateau de Amboise while Mark, Tim and I biked about two more hours to Blois.

Mark and Tim on the road to Blois with the Loire River in the background.

Mark walking along the Loire River on the way to dinner from our hotel.

The outside of the Cathedral de Saint Louis in Blois, which we visited after dinner in Blois.

The interior of the Cathedral de Saint Louis in Blois.

Tomorrow we ride to Orleans after first stopping for a visit at Chateau de Chambord.

Today’s ride was absolutely awesome! With the exception of only about 1 kilometer, where we were on cobblestones, our roads were either asphalt or concrete. We were almost always in sight of the Loire and we rode through beautiful farmland all day. Our only significant rest stop was on the outskirts of Villany, to which we returned and spent the afternoon after getting into our hotel and showering. Here are some of the photos from today’s ride.

At our rest stop just outside of Villany.

Biking along the Loire levy between Villany and Tours.

The view of the Tours train station from my room in Le Grand Hotel.

Beth drove us back to Villany where we had our best lunch of this trip and then toured the Chateau and the gardens at Villany. Here are some of the photos from our afternoon at Villany.

Mark and Beth while at lunch in Villany.

A view of the gardens at Villany from inside the Chateau.

Another picture of the gardens at Villany.

Threatening skies over Villany. We managed to avoid the rain.

The moat at the Chateau with trios blanc swans. 🙂

After spending about three hours at Villany, we went back to our hotel for a short nap, followed by dinner.

Tim and I at dinner in Tours. The beer and the wine are both Beth’s, who took this photo. 🙂

Tomorrow we ride to Blois and on the way we’re planning to stop at Leonardo de Vinci’s last residence, which is now a museum about his life and work.

On day 1 we went from Nantes to Pellerin and back, for a total of 58 kilometers.  We’re using rented bikes this time, and except for hard seats, the bikes are perfect! In the evening we went out to dinner, which was excellent!

Our hotel might be older than the U.S., but the rooms were nice and the breakfast was great!

On our second day of riding, we went to Angers, which turned out to be 110 km when Google maps said it would only be 95 km. So it took us more than 7 hours to get there and we arrived around 3:30 p.m. Here are some photos from our second day of riding.

Tim taking a picture of his scraped knee.

We had falls at the beginning and at the end of our ride, by Tim and me, respectively. But we’re ok.

Mark by the road on the way to Angers.

Sunflowers growing in a field on the way from Nantes to Angers.

Another picture on the way to Angers.

After the 110 kilometers ride, today was a relatively easier ride of only 52 kilometers from Angers to Saumur.  Some of the roads were pretty rough, made of stones and/or gravel. But overall it was a good ride. We left our Angers hotel at 9:30 a.m. and made it to Saumur by shortly after 1 p.m.  Here are some photos of today’s ride.

An old chateau on the way to Saumur.

Tim standing in a field with rolled up hay bales.

Another haystack with Tim and Mark in the far background.

After an excellent lunch at the cafe in our hotel, followed by a nice hot shower, Beth, Mark and I went for a walk. We visited the Catholic church in Centre Ville Saumur and then walked up to the Chateau de Saumur, which is being renovated. After getting another 4,000 steps (still not enough to catch Tim 🙁 ), we had beers in an outdoor courtyard cafe in Saumur, and then went back to the hotel for a nice nap. Dinner wasn’t great but afterwards we went back to our hotel for coffee and blogging.

Tomorrow we head to Tours with a stop at Villany, which looks really cool. We’re planning on meeting up with Beth there around noon.

Tim, Mark and Matt returned to Philadelphia on a late morning flight out of Jacksonville.  I slept in but Beth had to ride early to drive them to the airport and then return back to St. Augustine.  This was just one more way that Beth earned her money on this leg of the trip – I was really happy not to have to get up early.

When Beth returned, we had a light breakfast in the hotel and then did some sight-seeing in Historic St. Augustine.  We stated out spending a few hours inside the Castillo de San Marcos Monument and then walked through the many streets of the old town.  We ate a late lunch at the Prince of Wales Restaurant, an English style pub in the old town.  We looked for nice tee shirts but weren’t successful, and we tried to get into the Basilica Cathedral of St. Augustine, but since it was Saturday it was all booked up for weddings, so we couldn’t get in except for a little peek.  About 3 p.m. we went back to the hotel, Beth did some laundry using the hotel laundry room, and I went back to my room to work on an exam I had to give to my Villanova University class on Monday evening.  We got together a little before 5 p.m. and went to Saturday night mass at the Basilica Cathedral, which was really nice.  Here are some photos of our day together touring Historic St. Augustine.

Beth at the old city gates of Historic St. Augustine.

Photo of menu cover for The Prince of Wales Restaurant – Historic St. Augustine. Sorry the shadows almost ruin the picture.

St. Augustine Bay and open drawbridge on A1A. This bridge reminded all of us of the old Causeway Bridge into Ocean City – it had a very similar architecture.

Altar in Basilica Cathedral of St. Augustine, where Beth and I went to Mass on Saturday night.

Rear view with ceiling of Basilica Cathedral of St. Augustine.

At dinner on Friday night, Beth asked all of us what we had learned about ourselves from completing the ride, which was a very interesting question.  Here are some of my thoughts on that question:

I really need a lot of sleep to keep up with everyone on the rides, and it helps a lot to not do any work to get that sleep.  I didn’t really appreciate this until the final leg of the trip.

Biking across the country has to be one of the very best ways possible to see the United States.  By and large, with only a very few exceptions, people were extremely frienndly, talkative, and interested in what we were doing.

Florida is one of the most, if not the most bike friendly states in the entire United States!  We almost always had a bike lane and drivers were always extremely courteous, whether or not we were in a bike lane.

I think I am tougher than I realized.  Again, it took the last leg for me to accept this (despite all my falls on previous legs) and I only realized it becuase I was so sick leading up to the ride, and also during the first and last rides of the final leg.

There are probably more things I learned, but I will close by saying that I learned it is great to have a goal and persue it whole-heartedly.  Which is why we’ve started looking for another ride to do, whether it is something local, the Pacific Coast route, or another cross country route across either the middle or northern part of the U.S.  So stay tuned!