Departure: Fort Walton Beach, FL Finish: Chipley, FL
Distance: 87.3 miles
Elevation gain: 2,081 feet
Winds: ESE at 20 to 25 mph
Weather: Mostly overcast. Tornado & flood advisories. 67 degrees at departure. 75 degrees at arrival.
On bike duration: 5 hrs, 23 minutes.
Average speed: 16.1 mph
Total Accumulated Miles: 2,600.1
We had been watching the long-term forecast for today. Originally, it looked like we wouldn’t be able to ride at all. For days, it looked like a massive downpour would be in our path from the early morning to the late afternoon. This morning we woke to a forecast suggesting we could stay dry as long as we made it to our destination by 3:30pm. We had a lot of miles to cover today, so, we all agreed to leave at 7:00 am, rather than the normal departure at 8:00.
Our route left the Gulf coast, turned toward the northern edge of the Panhandle. The landscape returned to pastures and farming, as well as many American Flags on homeowners acreage.
We passed by Elgin Air Force Base as we wandered northeast; and saw the Air Force “Munitions Museum” including an outdoor display of the greatest historic military aircraft like the B-17, B-47, B-51, B-25, SR-17, and A-10. When my brother-in-law, Bill Bauerle, was flying the F-15 for the Air Force, he and Marcia were based at Elgin for a time, as he was a test pilot for new missile technology. I heard about Elgin, but I had no idea how vast the property is. We pedaled on for over an hour as we passed signs announcing weapons testing in the area.
We took short water breaks and truncated our normally lingering lunch break. We worked together to fight against a significant headwind and arrived at the hotel at 2:00pm. At 3:00, the rain came down, and it’s supposed to last until 3:00am tonight. I am hoping we begin tomorrow with some of the debris on the shoulders of U.S. Hwy 90 being cleared away by the deluge. So far, no tornados.
We completed today’s ride at the doorstep of the Quality Inn. It’s just a roadside motel, but they clearly have a dedicated and talented gardener.
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