Tuesday September 6, 2011, 83 miles (133 km) – Total so far: 83 miles (133 km)

The departure day finally arrived. We had a good send off with some of the neighbors. Our house is about 600 feet from the beach so we peddled down and walked the bikes to the water. It is pretty tough to walk that much weight through the sand. We dipped the rear tires but since the surf and wind were rough from Hurricane Katia the bikes and our feet were pretty much baptized. Our neighbors got out their hose and gave us a real salute like the tugboats that spray water when new ships arrive. This cleaned the saltwater and sand off the bikes.

We took the north route that we have taken many times before while training. The weather was getting threatening when we reached Titusville. We stopped at a local marina and searched out my friend Scott. He is preparing his Westsail 32 for the Bahamas. It was getting very windy and rainy so we walked the bikes to a covered dock and went out for some sandwiches. Scott gave me my first beer of the trip! After about an hour the weather cleared nicely and we flew with a southwest wind to Daytona. We didn’t make it to Tomoka State Park to camp as it was getting late. So we settled for a “decent” motel in South Daytona for $40 taxes included. After almost 83 miles we really needed that. We repacked once again while trying to find stuff and doing laundry in our collapsible bucket. The bonus was Porkies Barbecue next door. Great pulled pork sandwich and draft Yuengling beer! A good day and good sleep.