Day 188-189, Jan 29-30, 2017. Brandon to Zephyrhills, FL

Our original plan was to leave Brandon yesterday, Sunday, and cycle north to Zephyrhills. Sunday's weather forecast called for temps in the 50's, 15 mph winds out of the north, and rain. I honestly don't recall which one of us was the first to call for a soft rest day, but in the end the decision was unanimous.

You may have heard that the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus is shutting down for good as of May, 2017. They did a few final shows in Sarasota, their home town, then the plan was to go on the road for one last time. You may or may not have an opinion on this. Within our first mile on the bike this morning, we had to stop at a CSX railroad crossing to wait for a train. Lo and behold, it was the Ringling Bros. train! I felt like I was looking at the last passenger pigeon. End of an era. This train would never pass this crossing again. I was too busy gawking to think of getting a picture.

Our route today. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18769977

Not much in the way of pictures today. We did go past the Florida State Fairgrounds just north of Braden.


Notice the clear, blue sky.

Florida has a pavement eccentricity that is, as far as I can determine, unique to itself. It has been seen by us in every area of Florida we have visited. Every once in a while, you will come across  lump of concrete on the edge of the road. No rhyme or reason to it. It is as though some worker found his pockets full of cement, and decided to dump it where he was. Could be four or five inches high, or just an inch or so like the one we saw today. The first couple we came across we barely missed; now I tend to look for the things.



 We had a 10 mph head wind today, but with only 34 miles to ride, it was an easy day. Tomorrow we ride 60 miles, so an early start is called for.