From Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL

Select a Ride Report from this list. April 11: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ April 12: A Day in Phoenix April 13: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ April 14: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM April 15: Las Cruces, NM to Carlsbad, NM April 16: Carlsbad, NM to Midland, TX April 17: Rain Delay in Midland, TX April 18: Midland TX to Austin TX via the Hill Country April 19: Austin TX to Houston April 20: Houston TX to New Orleans, LA April 21: A Day in New Orleans April 22: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL April 23: Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL April 24: Tallahassee, FL to Orlando, FL April 25-26: Too Dazed in Orlando April 27: Orlando to Miami Beach April 28: Miami Beach to Key West April 29-30: Wasted Away in Key West May 2: Key West, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL May 3: Fort Lauderdale, FL to Melbourne, FL May 4: Melbourne, FL to Jacksonville, FL May 5: Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA May 6: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA May 7: A Day in Atlanta, GA May 8: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC May 9: Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC May 10: Winston-Salem, NC to Lynchburg, VA May 11: Lynchburg, VA to Washington, DC May 12-14: Three Days in Washington, DC May 15: Washington, DC to Newtown, PA May 16: Newtown, PA to White Plains, NY May 17-18 White Plains, NY to Stamford, CT May 19-20 Stamford, CT to Boston, MA May 21 Boston, MA to Portland, ME May 22 Portland, ME to Burke Hollow, VT May 23 Burke Hollow, VT to Amsterdam, NY May 24 Amsterdam, NY to Meadville, PA May 25-26Meadville, PA to Columbus, OH May 27 Columbus, OH to Chicago, IL May 28-30 Chicago: My Kind of Town May 31 Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL June 1-3 Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO June 4 Saint Louis, MO to Cuba, MO June 5 Cuba, MO to Tulsa, OK via the Ozarks June 6-7 Tulsa, OK to Oklahoma City, OK June 8 Oklahoma City, OK to Kansas City, KS June 9 Kansas City, KS to Sioux Falls, SD June 10 Sioux Falls, SD to Pierre, SD June 11 Pierre, SD to Bismarck, ND June 12 Bismarck, ND to Beulah, ND June 13 Beulah, ND to Dickinson, ND June 14 Dickinson, ND to Glendive, MT June 15 Glendive, MT to Billings, MT June 16 Billings, MT to Helena, MT June 17-18 Helena, MT to Kalispell, MT June 19 Kalispell, MT to Glacier NP to Coeur d'Alene, ID June 20 Coeur d'Alene, ID to Yakima, WA June 21 Yakima, WA to Aberdeen, WA June 22-24 Aberdeen, WA to Seattle, WA June 25 Seattle, WA to Portland, OR via Mt. St. Helens June 26 Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR June 27 Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA June 28 Eureka, CA to Fort Bragg, CA June 29-30 Fort Bragg, CA to San Francisco July 1 San Francisco to Sparks, NV July 2 Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA via Tioga Pass July 3 Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Select a Travel Leg to review my plans for that day. Leg 01: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ Leg 02: A Day in Phoenix, AZ Leg 03: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ Leg 04: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM Leg 05: Las Cruces, NM to Sanderson, TX Leg 06: Sanderson, TX to Austin, TX Leg 07: Austin, TX to Houston, TX Leg 08: Houston, TX to Galveston, TX Leg 09: Galveston, TX to New Orleans, LA Leg 10: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL Leg 11: Pensacola, FL to Tampa, FL Leg 12: Tampa, FL to Miami Beach, FL Leg 13: Miami Beach, FL to Key West, FL Leg 14: Key West, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL Leg 15: Cocoa Beach, FL to Orlando, FL Leg 16: Orlando, FL to Jacksonville Beach, FL Leg 17: Jacksonville Beach, FL to Savannah, GA Leg 18: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA Leg 19: Atlanta, GA to Knoxville, TN Leg 20: Knoxville, TN to Lexington, VA Leg 21: Lexington, VA to Washington, DC Leg 22: Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD Leg 23: Baltimore, MD to White Plains, NY Leg 24: White Plains, NY to Boston, MA Leg 25: Boston, MA to Bath, ME Leg 26: Bath, ME to Quebec, QU Leg 27: Quebec, QU to Montreal, QU Leg 28: Montreal, QU to Toronto, ON Leg 29: Toronto, ON to Cleveland, OH Leg 30: Cleveland, OH to Fort Wayne, ON Leg 31: Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago, IL Leg 32: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL Leg 33: Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO Leg 34: Saint Louis, MO to Joplin, MO Leg 35: Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK Leg 36: Oklahoma City, OK to Dodge City, KS Leg 37: Dodge City, KS to North Platte, NE Leg 38: North Platte, NE to Pierre, SD Leg 39: Pierre, SD to Underwood, ND Leg 40: Underwood, ND to Beach ND Leg 41: Beach, ND to Lewiston, MT Leg 42: Lewiston, MT to Great Falls, MT Leg 43: Great Falls, MT to Missoula, MT Leg 44: Missoula, MT to Kalispel, MT Leg 45: Kalispel, MT to St. Regis, MT Leg 46: St. Regis, MT to Spokane, WA Leg 47: Spokane, WA to Pateros, WA Leg 48: Pateros, WA to Seattle, WA Leg 49: Seattle, WA to Portland, OR Leg 50: Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR Leg 51: Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA Leg 52: Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA Leg 53: San Francisco, CA to Sparks, NV Leg 54: Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA Leg 55: Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Ending Mileage:

	Actual	As Planned
Day of Travel	Monday April 23, 2001	Monday April, 23, 2001
Departing From	Pensacola, FL	Pensacola, FL
Destination	Tallahassee, FL	Tampa, FL
Distance (in miles)	280	468
Distance (in kilometers)	451	754
Departure Time	9:30 AM Central
Arrival Time	6:30 PM Eastern
Total Travel Time	8 hours 0 minutes	8 hours 0 minutes
Average Speed (in mph)	35 mph	55 mph
Average Speed (in kph)	56 kph	89 kph

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

Today's route is very different than the one I originally planned. The changes are in response to my inability to get a reservation in Key West for the original planned dates and the need to rest my aching butt. I also, thanks Mom, was told that this coast of Florida is beautiful. Ron also recommended a trip through Panama City as this was his summer vacation spot growing up and he says the beaches are beautiful.

I head south on Interstate 110 to Pensacola. At Pensacola, I transition onto US 98 to cross the bay out to the inner barrier island. US 98 turns east and I will stay with this highway until nearly Tallahassee.

There are a series of Florida beach towns that seem to be equal parts amusement park, sports fishing center, places to lie on the beach and chemical industries. I roll along through Pensacola Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Destin and Panama City. Panama City boasts that its beaches are "Most Beautiful Beaches in the World." I haven't completed my research but it is hard to dispute the evidence. Their beach is wide and covered with whitest sand I have ever seen. The sand lends a pale jade color to the shallow water. The beaches are gorgeous. I'm almost drawn into the water.

In this mix, there are some towns that are jewels. Between Fort Walton Beach and Panama Beach, US 98 is a couple miles back from the beach. I notice a sign for the town of Seaside and decide to check out this well-known town. Seaside is well known because of its architectural style and planning. The town is very handsome although somewhat more sterile than other beach towns that I have ridden through today. The style is early 20th century Florida beach cottage. Each building has a very small footprint and the cottages are tightly packed. The feeling of a village is pervasive. Pedestrian traffic is encouraged. I stop at a similar village called Rosemary Beach for lunch. Rosemary Beach has an interesting mix of Dutch Caribbean, Craftsmen and post-modern influences. The buildings here are larger than Seaside's and the eclectic mix of styles works very well.

Just east of Panama City is Tyndall Air Force Base. The road across the base is arrow straight and it is very hard, apparently impossible, to obey the speed limit. Just beyond the air force base, the benefits of the base can be seen. The other side of the base is separated from the craziness of the other beach cities. US-98 is right on the beach. The beach is nearly as handsome as Panama City's but the density of development is so much lower. From here until Tallahassee, the ride is great and definitely worth a trip out of the way. For about one hundred miles the road is right on the beach. The water is so blue and inviting. Several shrimp boats are operating close to shore. The houses are a mix of old ramshackle, new economy and new smart chic. As I continue to head east, the transition to working ports from tourist area seems complete. Lanark Village and St James seem to struggle in comparison to their neighbors to the west.

Today's ride has been great. Not one mile on an interstate. More than half the mileage on roads that are definitely less traveled. The ocean to my right, so handsome, so full of different colors.

Tallahassee finally arrives after some mileage across swamps and backcountry. I finally get to see the Spanish Moss hanging in the oak trees that my Mom has so often described to me. I seek out a drug store and take a kind clerk into my confidence. Despite Dan's suggestion to use talc, my ass is still very irritated. The burning sensation gets very annoying as the mileage passes each day. Some times when I stop, I practically want to leap off the bike before I'm fully stopped to get some relief. The clerk suggests some Cort-Aid each evening. I buy some and can hardly wait for the first application.

Finding a place to stay is more difficult than normal. Motels and hotels tend to congregate in a few locations in most towns and cities. I have come in from the south, far away from the Interstate. I have to search to find the motel cluster and manage to make several wrong turns. In the process, I wander through some nice neighborhoods and out into the adjoining countryside. Dinner tonight is a really terrible national chain pizza.

Tomorrow I head from Tallahassee into Central Florida.

• Peaceful Mexican Coast Shot (<1.0 megs movie duration 20 seconds)

Depart Tallahassee on Interstate 110 heading south.

At intersection with US98 turn left heading east.

Near Seaside, turn onto Florida Route 30 A heading east.

At Inlet Beach, resume US 98 heading east.

Just north of Medart, turn onto Florida Route 319 heading north .

Arrive Tallahassee