7/18 42.4 miles today.
432.9 miles this month
3912 miles this year
122 ride days LY vs 124 ride days TY
3587 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 52% of my goal. I need to be @ 66.6% (5000 miles) by the end of August
367 miles ahead of last year at this date
Today’s ride as seen thru the eyes of my bike:
Although I got a late start (9:00 am) this morning and the temp was well on its way to 90+ degrees again today but I felt great and pretty strong. I felt good enough to pass my usual stop at Panera Bread for coffee and a bagel (mistake # 1). My destination and goal was to do about 45 miles and visit a small war memorial park on Lake Monroe in Sanford FL. They have been restoring the downtown area of Sanford as well so I thought this would be a good way to see the progress. I went north on the SWT (Seminole Wekiva Trail) for about 10 miles then jumped over on International Parkway for about 5 more miles then took Wilson Road to SR 17/92. Once on 17/92 as it is called here in Orlando I started east with Sanford about 5/6 miles away.
About a mile down the road I passed the Central FL Zoo, and since I had never been to this zoo (I have lived in this area for over 15 years) I decided to just ride in and take a look.
It is called The Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens and they have opened The Zoom Air Adventure Park at the Zoo. Zoom Air Adventures is an aerial adventure course that will allow you to explore the tree tops from an animal’s perspective. Families can “Zoom” from tree to tree using rope bridges, zip lines, suspended disks and a variety of unique systems for this exciting addition to the Zoo. Guests will immerse themselves in the canopy of the forest, much like an animal would pass through the trees and view the world.
From there it was on down 17/92 with the lake on my left, the view was beautiful. I was still feeling great when I got to the War Memorial Park so I peddled around and read the markers and took a few pictures. The restored area is only a couple of blocks away so it was off to see what had been done in that area.
At this point I was still feeling good so I headed for home (temp was now in the mid to high 90 degree area). I stopped at a 7-11 and got a couple of snacks and refilled my camelback but that turned out to not be enough. I was about .5 miles from my favorite Panera Bread and I bonked completely. My legs were cramping really bad and I thought I was going to have to call the wife to come and pick me up. I struggled on to Panera and got inside to cool off and get some liquid and call my daughter to see how many miles she had rode in the morning. I sat there for a while to get my body temp a little cooler and I thought I could make it home (another mistake). I got about a mile down the trail and the legs were so tight I could not turn the crank over. For the next 9 miles it was ride a half a mile walk a half a mile. With about 6 miles to go I gave up and called the wife but she was out and didn’t get the message, so I had to bit the bullet and forged ahead (that was one looooong 9 miles ride/walk).
About the time that I got a mile from the house the wife got my message and started frantically calling me to see what was wrong. I assured her that I was going to make it, after all I had gone this far another mile could not kill me. At least I hopped it wouldn’t. I hope you enjoy what my bike saw today as I really paid a price for them.
Note to self: Don’t plan a bike ride tomorrow.
Part one Photos
Photo #1 Central Fl Zoo entrance
Photo #2 An accident waiting to happen on a narrow 2 lane road. Cars were moving into my lane to get passed this gentleman.
Photo #3 People on the Air Zoom
Photo #4 When the zoo abandons this RR line it will be converted to a Rail Trail