85.5 mile day of smooth roads, great company and, at least until 11 good temperatures. Chandler, the bike mechanic, lives in Gainsville. He did a masterful job of marking the route. Gainsville has the best bike paths - wide, smooth, clean and free of kids on training wheels, dogs on long leashes. We were able to maintail 18 - 20 mph for 15 miles. Did I mention beautiful?
Tonight is our last night together. It was John and Hettie's 42 anniversary. We're all sleeping with them in an armory.
We talked at length about what the ride meant to each of us. Emotional night. I'm sad that we may never see some of the people again. What an incredible experience it has been.
Of course, we still need to ride the final 45 miles. Several of us were joking about stupid dangers that could befall us that would prevent us from finishing. Ride all but the last 45 miles and slip on the wet floor in the shower, for example.