It is still raining heavily here near Jacksonville FL. I have been resting here for just over 2 weeks now and I have stopped losing weight. I am still eating like 6 big meals a day in the hope that I can build up a bit of reserve for my ride going up the East Coast. The last 2 mornings have been dry enough for me to get in some decent rides. Yesterday I road 48 miles toward the beach but turned around before I got to the beach because the clouds were building up quickly. I made it back to the house just before a heavy downpour. Today I rode 54 miles in the direction of downtown Jacksonville or JAX its airport code. I almost ran over a snake on the ride today. I have already killed two snakes by running them over before I could stop but today I managed to stop in time to get out my camera and grab a couple of pics before the more than five foot long rat snake slithered back into the longleaf pines along the road. The last four or five snakes were too quick for me to get my camera out and get pics but today I scared this one into curling up as I skidded to a stop about three feet away from it. I took a few pics as it uncurled and slithered back into the longleaf pines. Look at the pic above to see how well they blend into the leaf litter on the forest floor. There are also lots of turkeys, wild pigs and deer around. Vultures are circling overhead all the time. I see a lot of roadkill armadillos but have yet to get a good pic of a live one. One of these days I will see one with enough light and time to get a pic. I want to go gator hunting one of these days to get some pics of wild gators. I am getting more and more ready to hit the road again but it is raining for hundreds of miles up the East Coast which is the way I want to ride. AS soon as I see a break in the weather I am going to scoot up to Virginia. After Virginia my plans are not set in stone. I might go North or I might turn West on the Bicentennial trail. We shall see...more later...
