Day 9 – Ponce de Leon to Crestview – Bicycle Days

Anthem of the day:

Finished the first segment today! There are seven sections that compose the Southern Tier, since I’m going in reverse I just finished section 7.

Real rainy and cold today, mother nature has a funny way of celebrating your accomplishments. Reminds me of hiking in the Adirondacks and after struggling up the trails for seven you’re rewarded with some truly breathtaking views like this:

Still, today was pretty rough, my knees started to bother me after my 80 mile day yesterday. Apparently the cold snap is not over. The rain and 30 degree weather didn’t really help with the soreness. I’m gonna head to a bike shop next opportunity I can to make sure my fit is right.

DeFuniak Springs where the first segment ended was a cool little historical town. The route includes a little victory lap around the pond, but it had flooded so I made my way through some duck encampments at the upper level to get around.

Most of my pictures today were taken through a plastic bag so quality isn’t great.

As I reached the official finish line of the segment, the church played a song.

Segment 7 ends outside the DeFuniak Library

Then I started out on Section 6. I think I caught one of the last RadioShacks in existence.

Had some McDonald’s for lunch then headed to my motel for some respite from the rain. This was when God hit me with another classic prank. While I was crossing the street to get to the motel the rear wheel detached from my bike.