Day 8 - Atlantic Beach to Kingsland - Two Far 2022 - Reunion Bound (the long way around) - CycleBlaze

April 17, 2022

Day 8 - Atlantic Beach to Kingsland

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With the threat of thunderstorms this afternoon, we were rolling out of the hotel parking lot at 7:22 AM.  This is VERY early for Team Two Far!  We started with a four-mile ride to the ferry to cross the St. John's River.

Morning on the St. John's RIver
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Morning on the St. John's River
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Team Two Far doesn't often cast long morning shadows!
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The ferry ride across the river is very short.  We were underway at 8:01 and docking on the other side at 8:05.  The charge for the trip is $1 per cyclist.  Since we had only one bike, our fare was only $1.

The ferry attendant got our card along with the dollar. He was interested in hearing about our trip.
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Rose SamsonA lot of people will take the Ferry Ride, it is CHEAP!
Hope the price won't go up. The river is so calm & tranquil
in the morning it makes your day start "right".
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2 years ago
Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Rose SamsonThe calm tranquility of early mornings is one thing I like about needing to get up early.
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2 years ago
Pelicans at the ferry dock
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Rose SamsonI think these Pelicans are waiting for the fish to show up
to get a hearty meal for the day! They are amazing birds.
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2 years ago
View across the river
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North of the St. John's, we rode through both the Little Talbot and Big Talbot State Parks.  It was very quiet and peaceful.  We passed several other cyclists out for morning rides and were quite surprised at how many of them completely ignored our friendly greetings.  Maybe they were all in some Zen moment and tuning out any extraneous stimuli.

The road through Big Talbot Island State Park
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Fishermen with large freighters in the background
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North of Little and Big Talbot Islands is Amelia Island.  The south end of the island is the Amelia Island State Park.

Amelia Island State Park Beach
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We rode the Amelia Island Parkway up to US 17.  It is another beautiful bicycle route.  There are more of the "flaunt it if you've got it" homes along the way, but I didn't take any photos.  Most are well back from the road and often behind gates.

Amelia Island Parkway
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This interesting sight is on the South Amelia River.  A railroad trestle swings open to permit boats to pass, then swings closed for trains to cross.  We think this may be part of the Intracoastal Waterway, but we're not sure.  Do any of our sailing friends know?

Swing railroad trestle on the South Amelia River
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We commented to each other today that we had not seen any touring cyclists yet on this trip.  Just a few miles later, they appeared!  This group of four friends is riding Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast Route.  They left Key West April 5th and have a 60 day trip to Calais, ME planned.  We are on and off the Atlantic Coast route this year.

Four friends doing the Adventure Cycling Atlantic Coast Route.
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About two miles later, we crossed the St. Mary's River and entered Georgia. 

The bridge across the St. Mary's River on the Florida-Georgia line is an example of a through truss swing bridge. According to historicbridges.org, it is not known if it has ever been opened, as it manually operated and there are no gates to block the highway.
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At the Georgia welcome sign,  we encountered the group again stopped for pictures.  I got some photos of the four of them together.

Our touring group at the state line
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We got to the motel in Kingsland before 1:00 PM.  The sky was still blue and the storms forecast to begin around 1:30 seemed still far off.  We were able to walk around, eat lunch and acquire the necessary Diet Coke for the evening.  The thunderstorms began about 4:oo PM and are expected to be over by noon tomorrow.  We're not least bit unhappy about waiting until noon if it means avoiding rain!

Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 286 miles (460 km)

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Keith A. SpanglerExcellent planning!
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2 years ago
Keith Adams"...We passed several other cyclists out for morning rides and were quite surprised at how many of them completely ignored our friendly greetings. Maybe they were all in some Zen moment and tuning out any extraneous stimuli...."

My guess is earbuds. I bet they never heard you and were only ever minimally aware of your presence, barely more than subconsciously as an obstacle to be avoided.
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2 years ago
Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Keith AdamsThat could be the answer, though we didn't notice any earbuds. They are very small these days. I think that earbuds are really dangerous for cyclists on roadways. It's not just friendly greetings that can be missed!
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2 years ago