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| South end of Amelia Island |
I took a day off from my regular activities at the inn yesterday and went for a bike ride. It was a perfect day for cycling; sunny, not too hot or humid and very little wind. I rode down to the beach and turned south following A1A and kept going. My end destination was Little Talbot State Park, one island to the south of Amelia.
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| Kayaks ready to launch |
A1A follows our beaches all down the east coast of Amelia Island. It has been repaved recently and they added bike lanes on both sides of the road for the whole length of the island. That 3 foot wide strip of asphalt makes a big difference to a cyclist. The lack of hills makes a big difference too. There are a couple of hills on Atlantic Avenue near the inn and a bridge to cross between islands but other than that it is pretty flat.
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| Kayaks and stand-up boards |
I stopped in to see the crew at Kayak Amelia. Ray gave me a tour of their facility which is on Simpson Creek in Big Talbot Park. They were just headed out on a guided tour tht would last about three hours. That three hours includes a break in which they eat the big box of home made chocolate chip cookies that Ray was packing. They do guided tours, rentals and now even have stand-up paddling.
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| Talbot Island beach |
The beaches on Talbot Island are pretty rugged. This is what our Amelia Island beaches would look like if not for the beach replenishment projects.
I finished the southward part of my trip by riding through Little Talbot State park and then headed north, back along A1A. When I got back in Fernandina Beach I stopped in to see Artie the One Man Party, daytime bartender at Sandy Bottoms. It is important when exercising to re-hydrate. Artie helped me out with that and served me a really good bacon cheeseburger as well.Another mile and a half from Sandy Bottoms to the Addison and my ride was done. 40 miles averaging a little over 10 miles per hour. A nice, easy ride. Not as exciting as Ferris Beuller’s day off but a thoroughly enjoyable day anyway.