Friday, February 8, 2008

Lee, Florida to Sweet Field, Florida - 46 miles. My GPS says that I've traveled 327 miles so far on this trip. I put on my warm gloves again today, as it was a bit cool in the morning. I had breakfast at the Yellow Pine Restaurant in Madison. There are a ton of Pine Trees here, in fact, this part of Florida reminds me a little of Eastern Oregon. I didn't know that Pine Trees came in Yellow, though. I thought they were all green.

I've been finding that I do really well by getting up and riding for a while before breakfast, eating some sort of snack in the middle of the day (like a granola bar, some candy or an ice cream sandwich), then eating a big dinner at about 4:00 in the afternoon. That way, I can be looking for a place to camp for the night while it's still light out. If I eat a later dinner, it's dark when I'm trying to find a place to camp, and it doesn't work out as well.

I camped for the night in Sweet Field at a Baptist Chruch, next to a power sub station. This worked out really well. I didn't follow the Southern Tier Route the whole way today, finding that it saved a few miles by staying on Highway 90. I'm not sure why the printed route went so far South. I saw a few more bike riders today, heading East.

I'm really enjoying the local food at the small restaurants along the way. I haven't cooked a meal yet, and if I don't soon, I just might be sending home my stove, pot and silverware. I'd sure like to lighten the weight of my trailer!

I didn't camp here, but I think this cabin would have been a nice place to stay! This was on Highway 90.