Day 1 - Jacksonville Beach to Ormond Beach - 75 miles - Elevation gain: 2 bridges

All day my mind had trouble reconciling the fact that I was looking at palm trees, but was bundled up in two layers of gear and my hefty riding gloves. It was 37 degrees when we pulled out of the hotel in Jacksonville Beach. That is a Florida 37, so subtract some degrees for all of the moisture in the air making it feel so much colder, like bone chilling!

Thankfully the wind was at our back, or at least that’s where most of it was directed for 99% of the ride. When we reached St. Augustine, we had to turn west and cross a bridge. The wind came slamming into our faces and really tried to keep us from crossing the bridge. The effort it took made it seem like a bigger “mountain” to climb than a few hundred feet up and over a bridge. The rest of the ride was with the wind, however the temperature never went above 47 degrees.

After spending 52 days in the saddle this summer, I haven’t ridden too much as other responsibilities took priority and the weather changed. My legs remembered what to do, but the saddle is taking some time to get reacquainted. It didn’t help that I was wearing two layers. Let’s just say saddle cream will be my friend!

Our route took us through some amazing residential neighborhoods along the coast and through protected preserves. The sun was shining so that kept everything looking bright and beautiful. I only took a few pictures because the process involved biting my glove off and then trying to extract my phone from my jacket pocket on my back. As it warms, I’ll lose layers and be able to access my phone better.

Our group consists of two from my summer TransAM group (Al & AJ), one from LIFECYCLES (Neil), my uncle (Thom), my cousin (Greg), and ME (the only female again).

Tomorrow it might reach the 50s!! So exciting!