mrz80

Well, the dork in the mirror actually commuted by bicycle this morning, probably the first of several such outings. Mind you, there's a lot of making a virtue of necessity here, as I had to stop driving my car. Some deferred maintenance caught up with me, and now my brakes sound like someone trying to belt-sand a sidewalk! Six miles, mostly downhill, so I'm not too sweaty. I expect the trip home this afternoon will be about an order of magnitude less pleasant, though.

RonH

Congrats on the commute mrz80. Its great fun. I did it from 2001 thru 2009 when I lived in Atlanta. Believe me, riding in Atlanta traffic is "loads of fun".

RonH

Decided I needed to work on my "climbing" so went down to the Suncoast Trail today. Rode from SR50 because the north end of the trail is still closed. Headed north and stopped at the blockade for a gel and water. Then rode south to Spring Hill Dr. Then headed back to the car. Rode a total of 29.3 miles.

RonH

Rode north from Inverness to the top end of the Withlacoochee Trail and back today. Stopped at Holder on my way north to talk briefly with 2 volunteers putting up a banner reminding folks of the Rails to Trails ride on Oct 6. Did a total of 33.8 miles.

mrz80

Phew. HUUUUUUUUUMID!!!! Did the club ride this morning - 48 miles @ 15.5. Feels like I'm getting back into something approximating decent condition. Good thing, too. The Tour de Tow is coming up in just three weeks. HOPING to be in good enough shape to do the metric.

RonH

Got a late start today. It was almost 11AM when I finally got to the trail. Rode south from Inverness to Croom Rd. Saw a large group of mtn bikers (~15) just getting back from a ride and loading their bike on their vehicles. I've seem mtn bikers down that way before. I guess there are mtn bike trails in the area. Anyway, turned around and headed back to Inverness.
The temperature/humidity wasn't bad. Quite comfortable in the shade when I got back to the car. Is fall on the way?
Rode a total of 39.3 miles.

IDOutlaw

Light path riding with my Wife...absolute fun.

Lindaosm

Lots of great bike riding last week. Hubby and I took the rv last Wednesday up to St Joseph Peninsula State Park which is between Apalachicola and Port St Joe on Cape San Blas. Great paved trail that starts just outside the park and goes for 8 miles. Great scenery and very little traffic to contend with. We managed to get out early several days and then hit the beach to cool off. Lots of great riding all around the park too. Beautiful sunsets and great beaches. We timed it just right and left on Saturday before the crowds came in. Today we went down to Inverness and rode to Floral City and back. Met a guy at the trailhead in Floral City who told me about a website he does called www.bicycletrailreview.com. Thought I'd pass it on in case anyone is interested.
I've emailed him as I've tried to get into the review section but wasn't able to. Probably won't get any riding in except for the spinner in the gym until next weekend.

RonH

Linda, glad you had a good trip to the panhandle. My wife and I really like Apalachicola. There are several good places there to eat.



You rode south from Inverness and I rode north from Inverness.
Had a nice ride with no rain. Did you get rain?
Rode a total of 33.6 miles.

Lindaosm

Ron, nope, no rain for us. We managed to start early and were gone by just after 11AM. I think the rain came after that as we hit some on the way home. Yes, we managed to get to Apalachicola as well but ended up eating at a little place near Indian Pass. I think my husband finally got his fill of raw oysters.

zzOtherlandzz

Met the bicycletrailreview.com guy this spring at the Palatka bike festival. If I remember correctly he rides a recumbent. He rode the century and did a pretty cool video slide show thingy.

I have been riding some.. Not posting a whole lot though. Hit a milestone for me 10,000 miles on the road bike Tuesday.. NOT a lot by some standards but quite a bit by mine... 46 miles on the Tuesday night ride.

Busted a spoke Sat 8/31 with about 3 miles to go on a 26 mile ride. So Sunday attempted to ride my mountain bike in Etoniah Creek State forest. Made it about 5 miles into the ride when my tire started going flat. Friends supplied the C02 and I got another 2 miles, before we had to air the tire up again. I turned back while 2 friends pushed on. I made it back to dirt road where I decided to call the SAG wagon. Didn't feel like hoofing it 6 miles back to my truck in the 90+ deg heat. Sooooo went home fixed the flat and drove back to the PLB trail. Ended up with about 17 miles on the paved trail with the mountain bike (different set of friends lol )...

Thrs night .... Road bike repaired I got about 30.5 mile ride in with friends... Last 8 or 9 miles in the dark with an awesome lightning display in the distance.

RonH

Slept late so got the the Withlacoochee late. Rode from Inverness to the top end and back for a total of 33.8 miles according to the CycleMeter app on my iPhone. The battery in the pickup on the fork was a little wacky today so it didn't read right. When I got to the top end of the trail it read 5.4 miles for my distance.

Isaiahc72

Got no sleep last night and headed out riding at about 6:30am. I ended up getting lost in a city about 15-miles away. I had to take the most hilly backroads to get home and I ran out of water.

Lindaosm

out to the Withlachochee Bay Trail this AM. Headed east and managed to not have the hills whip my butt this time. Turned around and headed west feeling pretty good about my speed and realizing my breathing seemed better. About 2 miles from the Gulf end, I ended up with a flat tire. Hubby had been in front and didn't realize I had stopped. Since he left me in the dust, I decided to get off and walk it to the end thinking he'd miss me and turn around. Well, he had decided to turn off on the dirt road and when he came back on the pavement thought I was ahead and continued on. After about a mile of walking in the 95 degree heat, I decided to stop in the shade, turn over the bike and start changing the tire, only to find out that I didn't have a tube. About that time he made it back and luckily did have a spare in his backpack. However, his hand pump didn't work and mine had issues. Did manage to get enough air in it to turn around and head back to the trailhead. Overall only about 10 miles but I was whipped from the heat anyway.

RonH

Sorry you had tire problems Linda.
That's the reason I carry a CO2 inflator with me.

Lindaosm

Thanks Ron. I've passed this on to hubby. Sounds like something we need to get.
Rode the Gainesville/Hawthorne Trail today. Started at SR 234 trailhead and headed towards the hills on the Gainesville side. Going is always a tough ride, for me anyway. But coming back always seems easier. Just a little over 12 miles and not as hot as I would have thought. Good workout. Luckily no flats today.

Isaiahc72

I ride everyday.

Lindaosm

Nature Coast trail today. Weather was not as hot and the humidity was not bad at all. Started in Fanning Springs at the State Park and went about 9 miles north. Turned around and did a few scenic side roads next to the river on the way back. Overall 20.5 miles. First time using my "Map this Ride" with my smartphone. Pretty cool. (yeah, I know, I'm a little behind the times.)

Isaiahc72

About 30-miles in today. Pretty good

fire

Good one Linda! As you know, I'm a big fan of the Nature Coast Trail. Is the swimming area open at the spring hole in Fanning Springs Park, yet?

We drove up go Floral City this morning, and rode the Withlacoochee State Trail to the North terminus at Gulf Junction, and back. We knew we only needed another 5 extra miles to make the 50, so we decided you do that and rode the extra 2.5 miles south of Floral City on the return and back up to where we had parked. The total was 50.8 and the heat and sun was beginning to wear on us by the time we finished up, you know how that is.

RonH

Saturday night lookinUp invited me to ride with her and two friends I've ridden with before. We met in Inverness and rode south to the county park just south of Istachatta (Townson Park?). Stopped for water, snack and pit stop. Then rode north to Inverness.
It was nice having someone to ride with and to talk with while riding. Thanks Sue.
Rode 30 comfortable miles.

RonH

Took the Litespeed to the Withlacoochee today. Rode north. The ride north was ok but kinda tough riding south from the top end of the trail. The wind had picked up today and I think it was out of the S.E. so I had a bit of a headwind going back to the car.
When I got home my wife said the realtor called and wants to bring a few other real estate agents to see the house tomorrow.
I'm tired and don't feel like cleaning but .....
I'll be glad when we're in our own house (Oct 2).
Rode 33.2 miles.

RonH

I thought about riding but that will wait till tomorrow. Got my new Camelbak from Nashbar today to replace the one I sold before I left Atlanta. I thought there would be water everywhere on the trails down here. Now I can ride south on the Withlacoochee or Suncoast without worrying about running out of water in the "dry" sections on these hot days.

Lindaosm

First time riding since last Sunday. Only about 12 miles on the Withlachochee from Central Ridge park in Holder to Hernando and back. Not like last weekend. Much warmer today. Riding tomorrow but not sure where. This coming week we are headed north for a camping trip. Going to try the trail in trail up in Blountstown (west of Tallahassee). Doesn't sound very long but love riding new trails. I'm also thinking we might head over to Wakulla Springs and check out the mountain bike trails there.

mrz80

Only got one commute in this week 'cause of errands requiring the car, and a two day road trip for work. Did the club ride this morning out to Worthington Springs. Felt pretty good, but misjudged my fellows and timed my sprint too early and got caught. Looking forward to the Tour de Tow metric next weekend. Anyone else heading down to Bartow to face the headwinds and the big hill in the orange grove?