December 19, 2016 – Fog, 60 degrees
Miles Today: 33
Miles to Date: 20,705
States to Date: 48
Saint Augustine is a lovely town, even on a grey day. The Visitor’s Center gives a good overview of the city’s history. The architecture is rich and varied, the scale very approachable. My favorite building is the gorgeous Ponce de Leon Hotel, once the flagship of the Flager hospitality chain, now the home of Flager College, named for one of Florida’s early developers.
The ride up A1A is particularly interesting two months after Hurricane Matthew. Along my route I’ve witnessed Katrina reconstruction ten years on, Sandy reconstruction four years later, and now more recent repairs. I pedaled past lines of pick-up trucks for carpenters, plumbers, plasterers, and painters; dump trucks carting beach sand, and bobcats spreading it all over. These ever frequent, ever more powerful weather events are a new economic engine.
The Awkward Pose 