We rode 100 miles today, at a blistering pace. There was a stiff tailwind, it was sunny and warm, and the terrain was rolling hills. We were highly motivated because Our Glorious Baltimore Ravens were playing New England at 4:00. We took the late broadcast to mean that it was a national broadcast and we would be able to watch it. So we really pressed, and we at 3:15 we were at mile 90. We stopped to get some Gatorade at a convenience store. The proprietor informed us the 4:00 game was Miami vs. San Francisco. How disappointed. I'm quite sore, and all for nothing. It was a great day, nonetheless.
Today was almost all agricultural rural riding. It was mostly orange groves, and some random stuff like sod and landscaping plants. There are lots of semis carrying hopper trailers of oranges driving around. All these oranges are green. I gather they are to be juice.
In the middle of the day, we passed by Disney World. We crested a ridge and we could see it off in the distance about five miles away. I felt like Frodo gazing upon Mordor. There was even that big pyramid building playing Mt. Doom. Our route went to the west of Disney World. Then went east along the highway that leads to the main south entrance. This highway is awful. It is all big ugly tourist places and chain restaraunts. We ate at Ponderosa there because there were no other restaraunts for mile around, and we hadn't eaten yet. This was mile 56. I had a pop tart for breakfast.
I think bike touring is the antithesis of Disney World. While bike touring, you are dealing with events as they happen, and you don't know what you are going to find. You are traveling through the real world, where real people live and work. On the otherhand, when you go to Disney World, it is an artificial experience, planned so that there are no surprises. Your experiences are known and understood ahead of time, by Disney, so that they can maximize their profit on the money they know you will spend while you are there.
Because we were on a mission to watch football, I only took one photo, for our friend Laura (the silly person on the right) whose name was once Seidel. This was on the west side of Disney World. Those are orange trees in the background.
Here is the route for today, and it was a long one.
