Day 1

Day 1 is in the books. Apparently my spot tracking was in cahoots with my Garmin so those interested couldn’t follow the extra adventures I was sent on. Spot had me in Fernandia Beach the entire day, but I actually started at 7:11 am and finished at 2:28 pm. It was hot, the highest temperature reported on a roadside sign was 96.  I think the humidity was the same.  That made the rain storm we rose through at the end feel pretty good. 

The Garmin tried to take me to a non-existent gas station off the main highway (US-1) and while I was stopped trying to get that sorted, the local constable waved me over and inquired if I was having problems with my Garmin. I said “yes sir, I’m looking for the nearest gas station”. He said get back on HW-1 and there would be a big station on either side of the road. Whew, I thought a ticket might have been on the way. As it turns out, that time wasted, when added to the other misadventure cost me the vintage Vespa first place for the day.   That little excursion included an alleged forest service road that was a couple of wheel ruts through the weed goin through the trees. Even if the Spot had been working I doubt it would have reported at that time due to the obstruction of the overhead branches. Fortunately it did eventually lead back to regular gravel roads, and ultimately the highway into Anderson. 

Fuel economy averaged 44.4 mpg for the day, about what I expected. I did need to replace both the tail light bulb and brake light bulb, so will look for new repairs tomorrow afternoon. Oh, I’ll try to make sure the tracking works. 

Check in pic at the finish line (Cali time)

An earlier arrival-we take pics of the time and check point to verify our leg time report