My first try at the BBG kicked my butt. I might have squeaked by but I wasn't satisfied with the ride or my performance. So I climbed back on the horse that kicked me off and road that old gray mare again. I had one day off from work this week and it was Tuesday so at 5:09 I got my first gas receipt and was headed out of Dodge on I-4 headed up to Jacksonville. The Temp was about 60 and it was clear. I brought all my winter riding gear with me but didn't have it on. I also brought a couple of Primus fuel cylinders (1.5L) along because George said that if I was going to do crazy stuff I needed extra fuel! I made it through Jacksonville before the morning rush hour traffic and headed west on I-10. The sun was now nearly up but the temp was steadily dropping the further inland I went. It got down to about 55 and stayed there for several hours. I found out that at 55 I was still fine with out all my winter gear and I was averaging less than 10 minutes a fuel stop. I blew right by all the rest stops as there was no need to fiddle with this and that. I was in a grove and life was sweet. I finally had my iPhone and Uclear head set connected and enjoyed the music as I headed west. I kept it at 75 all the way to Pensacola and had no problems getting 200 miles to the tank. I haven't done my MPG stats yet but I was only putting in around 4 gal at each fuel stop. By the time I reached Pensacola I was an hour ahead of my schedule. I was relaxed and enjoying this grand adventure. I-10 is most all just 2 lanes in each direction but traffic was light and there were no issues. Quite frankly, there is not a whole lot to see in north Florida except for trees and more trees. The old Blue Angles planes up on the slanted poles at the rest stops are always a welcomed sight. I made it to exit 7, got fuel and turned around and headed back to Jacksonville. i kept thinking that I had been this way before. I-10 can be boring and I was finally glad to turn the corner and head south on I-95. I cranked it up to 80 and again I had no trouble getting 200 miles on a tank (it seemed to be a pretty calm day without much wind). As you can imagine, the temp started to slowly rise and eventually it was up to 70 - nice! At Daytona Beach I passed the junction to I-4 and there was a bit of a temptation to just head home (I was only 20 minutes away) but I hadn't gone this far to just give up. Besides I was still enjoying the trip. By the time I reached Cocoa for my next fuel stop it was dark but I was still an hour or two ahead of schedule and feeling good. It was a good thing that I had the reserve built up as I had no idea what I was in for. i jumped over on the turnpike at Jupiter and as it was approaching 9pm I had no traffic issues going through the urban sprawl that is south Florida. I have SunPass on the NT so just breezed by the toll booths. It was approaching mid-night as I turned on I-75 and headed west on Alligator Ally. By 1am I was at Naples and made my last dog leg turn and headed north and home. But then bang, I ran into serious trouble - thick, nasty fog - and it stayed with me off and on all the way home - about 250 miles. I might be crazy but I am not a fool so I slowed down. I got fuel at the Flying J in Tampa and headed up !-4 for home and my last gas receipt. I started to worry as I was running out of time. In the end I made it back to my starting out gas station with 32 minutes to spare. I was a happy camper and never had the fatigue of the last trip - it was a good trip. So in the end I had run two BBG's less than two weeks apart but this one was entirely within the state of Florida. I solved a lot of the issues I had on my first run and this one was a lot easier and more enjoyable. Practice makes perfect. When I get the stats worked up I'll add them to this report. In the end I did 1,537 miles in 23 hours and 37 minutes. I'm happy with that. (And yes I know - I'm crazy). Wendell
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