Day 32 - Wellborn, FL to Monticello, FL

I woke up early so that I could hit the road and get out of the way of the firefighters.

I immediately jumped onto a main road that lead me through a lot of beautiful scenery.

Poof! Before I knew it, I was in Houston! Not.



Corn anybody?



This was kind of a cool downtown area that I saw.



I was back on the main road, with lots of open sky and scenery to enjoy!



Even a peanut farm!



As I pedaled further west through Florida, the terrain started to get hillier. It was like riding on a long, slow roller coaster. I loved it. I haven't seen any good hills in a while and was excited to get some free miles.



Those clouds didn't look so good.



I stopped in the town where Ray Charles was born - though I didn't know that when I was there.



Score! Some fresh pavement. I was stoked to get some good mileage in.



That is, until I saw this. You can't tell from here, but there was a nasty car accident that must have resulted from the construction traffic. I stood here for about 20 minutes getting eaten alive by bugs.



The traffic in my direction was finally allowed to proceed through the construction area. Unfortunately, there was only one lane - one narrow lane - and a lot of rigs behind me. I zoomed through the 3 or 4 miles stretch as fast as I could. I averaged about 23 mph during that portion of the ride. It was awful. The semi behind me was nice enough to not ride up on my back tire while I was forcing my legs to pedal all 105+ lbs down the road. When I was able to move back to the right side of the road, I noticed that my right leg really didn't like all that effort. I had to take it slow for a few miles as a result.

I entered Monticello with a big smile on my face.



It had a very pretty downtown area - the kind that would fit perfectly in the northeast. As I made my way through the streets, I was imagining the leaves on the trees changing colors, and the smell of autumn in the air. I never though I would miss the north.



Instead, there were palms lining the streets. Not the worst alternative.




As I turned onto the road that would lead me to my final destination for the day, I was greeted by a nice, long downhill.



The farm I was staying on was called Bluebird Meadow Farm. It was no longer a productive farm - there were no more goats or pigs or produce. Maria, one of the owners, said she would have put a beer mug in each of the goat's hands if it were up to her.



I hung out with Maria and her little chihuahuas for a while before Dianne arrived home with the pizza and wings. I stuffed myself with food and sweet tea. It was wonderful.

I finally said goodnight to the two ladies and their dogs and retired to my room for the night.

Dianne and Maria, I can't thank you enough for your generosity.

Only a short ride to Tallahassee tomorrow!

Total mileage: 68