Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.Kurt Erlenbach
03-16-08, 03:54 PM
… but it sure has wind. Especially in March.
Saturday was a great day here in sunny central Florida. When I got up, the temperature was in the low 60s, it was perfectly sunny and completely calm. A great day for a ride.
I headed for the beach, my usual weekend ride. I go through town and east through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to Canaveral National Seashore and Playalinda Beach. The wildlife refuge was created in the 1960s when NASA bought the land to build what is now Kennedy Space Center. The north half of the land has been set aside for a wildlife refuge, and it has been tremendously successful. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has the greatest wildlife diversity in North American, and the Canaveral National Seashore is the longest undisturbed Atlantic beach in the nation. The ride out and back is about 40 1/2 miles, mostly east and west, except along the beach, which is four miles north and south.
Getting into the refuge I am feeling great and riding smoothly. I look down and to my surprise I am cruising easily at 19 mph. Ordinarily not a problem, of course, but the only time I ride that fast on level ground is when there is a wind behind me. The trees are starting the sway, and when I get to the beach entry station, the flag is showing a strong SW wind. I get to the north end of the beach in under 1:10.
The road ends at parking area 13, which is a large clothing-optional beach. The traffic on the straight, narrow road out was light; early in the morning the only people heading out are fishermen and the nudists, looking to get one of the 30 or so parking spaces at the end of the road. I stopped at the crossover heading out to the beach and finished a bottle and a powerbar, knowing the ride back was going to be tough because the wind was really blowing by now. (I did not stop, as I am frequently accused, to peruse the nude beach. Most people on clothing optional beaches should opt to keep their clothes on, if you know what I mean.)
Heading south toward the space shuttle launch pads was not too bad, but as I turned west the wind really hit me. It’s the kind of wind that embeds sand in your face; the kind that makes your chest feel like a parachute when you sit up to take a drink. My speed drops like a rock as I struggle into the wind. Traffic coming toward me is heavy now, full of teenagers on spring break heading to the beach. Twice cars heading toward me came into my lane to pass other cars, making for some unpleasantries. I’m struggling to stay above 14 mph, and losing the battle.
I wobble into the driveway at 2:33, the slowest time for this ride in a year. 18.36 pace heading out, a pathetic 13.99 coming back. On the upside, I got to jump into the pool to cool off, and then spend an hour in the hammock relaxing. There are benefits to Florida in March.
Saturday was a great day here in sunny central Florida. When I got up, the temperature was in the low 60s, it was perfectly sunny and completely calm. A great day for a ride.
I headed for the beach, my usual weekend ride. I go through town and east through the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to Canaveral National Seashore and Playalinda Beach. The wildlife refuge was created in the 1960s when NASA bought the land to build what is now Kennedy Space Center. The north half of the land has been set aside for a wildlife refuge, and it has been tremendously successful. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has the greatest wildlife diversity in North American, and the Canaveral National Seashore is the longest undisturbed Atlantic beach in the nation. The ride out and back is about 40 1/2 miles, mostly east and west, except along the beach, which is four miles north and south.
Getting into the refuge I am feeling great and riding smoothly. I look down and to my surprise I am cruising easily at 19 mph. Ordinarily not a problem, of course, but the only time I ride that fast on level ground is when there is a wind behind me. The trees are starting the sway, and when I get to the beach entry station, the flag is showing a strong SW wind. I get to the north end of the beach in under 1:10.
The road ends at parking area 13, which is a large clothing-optional beach. The traffic on the straight, narrow road out was light; early in the morning the only people heading out are fishermen and the nudists, looking to get one of the 30 or so parking spaces at the end of the road. I stopped at the crossover heading out to the beach and finished a bottle and a powerbar, knowing the ride back was going to be tough because the wind was really blowing by now. (I did not stop, as I am frequently accused, to peruse the nude beach. Most people on clothing optional beaches should opt to keep their clothes on, if you know what I mean.)
Heading south toward the space shuttle launch pads was not too bad, but as I turned west the wind really hit me. It’s the kind of wind that embeds sand in your face; the kind that makes your chest feel like a parachute when you sit up to take a drink. My speed drops like a rock as I struggle into the wind. Traffic coming toward me is heavy now, full of teenagers on spring break heading to the beach. Twice cars heading toward me came into my lane to pass other cars, making for some unpleasantries. I’m struggling to stay above 14 mph, and losing the battle.
I wobble into the driveway at 2:33, the slowest time for this ride in a year. 18.36 pace heading out, a pathetic 13.99 coming back. On the upside, I got to jump into the pool to cool off, and then spend an hour in the hammock relaxing. There are benefits to Florida in March.