April 26: Marianna to Quincy, FL

My legs were quite pleased that the cue sheet indicated only 54 miles, after my century yesterday. Jo, Donna and I agreed to a leisurely pace for the day.

After taking this photo, I managed to miss a turn and ride an extra 1.4 miles too far north.

That is 2.8 miles to get back on course…. As I rode past these cattle, the 23rd Psalm popped into my head “He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul…” An interesting meditation at that moment.

I was intrigued by the trees with hanging moss – and the young pines reminded me of the yuccas in the desert, with arms reaching in different directions.

When I caught up with Donna and Jo we found these two homes, less than a mile apart, quite interesting.

I am also curious about the red soil; this field was being prepared for planting. Can anyone tell me why the soil is so red, and if this is unique to this part of Florida?

Our big bridge for the day was the Victory Bridge over the Apalachicola River. We had been warned of the climb into Chattahoochee after the bridge. There is a dam just north of the bridge, creating Lake Seminole.

And at the river we entered Eastern time zone, though no sign gave us warning.

We had lunch in Chattahoochee, cheeseburgers at a seafood restaurant, then continued a bit sluggishly for the next 22 miles into Quincy. We rode toward the town center, asking a fireman where to get ice cream. He recommended Hardee’s or Winn Dixie as there was no local ice cream shop. The Hardee’s indicated hand dipped mile shakes with vanilla, chocolate or strawberry flavoring. We convinced them to give us just the hand dipped ice cream, and enjoyed every bite.

We did see the Gadsden County Courthouse in the town square.

61 miles today; average 10.7 mph.