White Springs to Suwannee River, FL
30 miles

Sometimes things happen for the right reasons. The whole time we spent at Suwannee Bicycle Association was like serendipity. We missed the rain. We met great people at SBA. We met Kevin & Josh, fellow cyclists completing the same route we are beginning.

Kevin & Josh about to get back on the road

And we learned the amazing history of the SBA from Jean, who helped start SBA 21 years ago.

SBA's Jean

Yesterday we had a good talk with Kevin and Josh – really great guys. They are super adventurous. They had a lot of good stories to tell us, including one about backpacking with skis for two weeks! They gave us good info on places to avoid and things to look out for on the rest of our trip.

Pumping the tires

Late last night, someone tried to get into SBA. It was Jean. She was coming in to be there early for some street marking the next morning for the Florida Bicycle Safari. We were all sleeping on the couches and Josh & Kevin were sleeping on the floor. Bob gave up his couch so Jean could sleep on it and he moved to the floor. Jean joked the next morning she better not tell her husband she slept with 5 guys! 

Jean talking to cyclists

Jean told us all about the history of SBA. She said the founders (husband & wife Dan and Lys Burden) did a huge cycling trip from Alaska and were featured in National Geographic at the time. They are also the founders of Adventure Cycling. Wow.

Suwannee Bicycle Association Beginnings

We could have left earlier this morning, but we only planned to go 30 miles to Suwannee River State Park. We’re having to adjust our route based on campgrounds. There’s nothing between there and Tallahassee. With the strong winds (20-25 mph) today, 35 miles is like 50 miles.

After Suwannee River State Park, there’s a big strip of 110 miles to the next campground. We have info on two Warm Showers possibilities Wednesday night in Tallahassee. We’re trying to break down the mileage to manageable chunks.

The ride was cold. Having to wear long-johns, but having a good time!

White Springs to Suwannee River