All posts by roderick

Madison, FL

On The Road,
construction detour
Google wanted me to go over the dirt here. No thanks.
morning road
Looks beautiful, doesn’t it? It was, but the day was also hot, humid, and windless. Lots of small, rolling hills to climb. And 11 miles of road construction – single lane, and the shoulder gouged rough in preparation for re-paving. Thanks, Google.

Gizzards
After 28 miles, and nearly 5 hours, I reached Monticello. Got a small cup of chicken gizzards from the gas station for $2.49. Actually, it wasn’t that small – I could only eat a third of it.
Monticello
Is this the same Monticello that’s on the back of the nickel?

I seriously considered stopping for the day at Monticello. I was exhausted from the hills and humidity. But it has only been 28 miles. I pressed on, since the town of Greenview was supposed to have lodging.

On the way, I crossed some rivers, and noticed large, long fishes (maybe 2 feet) hovering in the reeds. If it was Hawaii, I would have said they were kaku (barracuda). I threw some of my chicken gizzards in, and they attacked them.

storm at Greenview
At Greenview, I parked my bike under the entrance eaves at the Dollar General. The workers were scrambling to bring all the merchandise back into the store. Then the sky opened up. I got a Powerade (32 oz on sale for 70 cents) at the store, and finished my remaining chicken gizzards. By the time the rain reduced to light, it was 5:40 pm.

Grace Manor B&B
I wanted to stay at the Grace Manor Bed and Breakfast. Tried calling them and leaving a message, then actually went by and rang the bell. No reply in either case.

Okay, nothing to do but go on another 14 miles to Madison. More rolling hills, more rain, dim light. At Madison, the man at the convenience store confirmed that there were no motels in town, but said to check at the jail for where shelter was. At the jail, through bulletproof glass, the officer told me that indeed, there were no motels, except way down Hwy 53, near Hwy 10.

More riding through the rain, over hills, now racing sunset. It was 7:45 when I finally reached the motels.

Motels at Hwy 10
At last. After a long slog through the rain, I finally saw the Day’s Inn in the distance. It was about $67 with AARP discount. Decent, considering that there’s free breakfast. I’ll have to backtrack 6 miles tomorrow to get back to the route.

I couldn’t make the wi-fi work, but was able to connect to the Super 8’s wi-fi from next door. Both motels are owned by Wyndham. I was later able to do “repair” on the connection, and get into the Day’s Inn network. Why is it that only the “nicer” motels have this trouble?

I wanted to book a plane flight back tonight, but it’s getting too late. I’m thinking I should take shorter days, and maybe follow the ACA route, rather than race over Hwy 90 to Jacksonville.

Miles today: 67.5