Zen Existence

Afternoon, all.

I'm new to this forum and am getting back into riding road after a decade off a road bike. I've done a fair amount of commuting here where I live (Tampa, Florida) and a small amount of trail riding but after arriving at my 35th birthday last month I was hit by the road bug again. Did this resurgance of personal interest come from a serious dose of media coverage due to the upcoming Tour combined with an urge to mix it up with 'the roadie youngsters" blasting by in lycra?
Sure, I'd be a liar to say it didn't.
Also, I realized that there's a dimension to road riding that I just don't experience from a commute or from riding a trail, and I miss that.
So, long story short, I started searching online for a decent road bike and stumbled across this forum. After reading a good many posts here I think I've found a pretty diverse and interesting online community that shares similar tastes. And that is pretty damn cool.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear, err, eyeballs,
Scotty

PS Oh. If anyone has a lower-priced 54cm road bike they're looking to part with, feel free to PM me. Major repairs on my truck just drained me, so the cheaper the better. It doesn't have to be pretty, just functional.

shmanz

Hey I am in Sarasota, Maybe we can get together and ride the suncoast path. From the tampa exit, to the end in crystal river, it is 32ish miles. Fun ride on an early morning, paved the whole way, and fenced off from traffic.


Keep in touch,


Shmanz

Ps. Pm me for anything else.

bab

Hey,

There are a bunch of people from the area on the forum. You should be able to find plenty of people to talk about rides in the area. What area of Tampa do you ride in?

KingTermite 

Same here.

I'm technically on the other side of the pond now, in Clearwater, but have spent most of my life on the Tampa side.

Just turned 35 last month, eh? I'm turning 35 next month (oh wait....month after next).

skydive69

Be sure to check out some of the St. Petersburg Bike Club rides. A great one for you would be our Saturday morning group meeting at 8:30 AM at the North Shore Pool. We have various speeds including a training ride (very fast), 26 mph, 24 mph, 22 mph, 18 mph, and a couple of slower groups. We have everything from current pros and ex olympians, national and world champions to recreational riders. Something for everyone.

https://www.stpetecycling.com/

Our big "Share the Road" ride is this coming Sunday at 8:30 AM

Zen Existence

Sounds good to me, Shmanz, I just need to get a bike first. I'm desparately searching for something local (and trying to avoid the dreaded Ebay as the answer) but my wallet is pretty thin right now. As soon as I locate something I'll PM you, although I fear I'll be of little use as a riding partner until I get in better shape. Let me know if you hear of anything low-priced there in Sarasota in a 54cm ballpark.


I used to ride the ten mile loop off of Fletcher, I think it is, past USF? It's been a while, so I'm not positive. Now I live ten minutes from Bayshore in South Tampa, so I was thinking about starting off there for the time being.


I was thinking of moving to that area but I found a great loft over here. Yes, 35 snuck up and made me realize, "Hey, you need to get up off your butt and do something," and cycling was always a love, it just kinda faded. Pressures of life and all that. 35's not that bad, by the way.


Sounds great, although I fear, for the next couple of months, I'll be riding with the "a couple of slower groups" category, lol. Thanks for the info.


If you guys hear of 54cm anything in a lower price range, let me know?

KingTermite 

I don't know of any good bike shops on that side as I did my looking on this side of the pond.....but if you want to make the drive, I can recommand a few good ones over here.

In the meantime, maybe this website will help.
https://www.ultimatesupport.com/ussbi...cator.asp?s=FL

bab

Dude Thames Bicycle shop is on Macdill near you.
Address: 2409 S Macdill Ave, Tampa, FL 33629
Phone: (813) 839-0410

If you are close to Bayshore, then you are only 5 minutes from there..

I bought my road bike there, but I was looking for new. They are a lot of help and might be able to tell you where the best deal on a used 54cm bicycle. I think they might be under new ownership recently because I know the owner was looking to cell last year.. If the employees haven't changed too much, they were always a great source of information even if you weren't buying anything..

Good luck in finding a nice ride.. Davis Island is also a great place to ride..

KingTermite 

I haven't been to that one, but my friend (who works near downtown) has...as I recall she liked it too.

BTW....isn't it "Dud", not "Dude" ?

indie kid

I live in New Tampa. You might want to check out University Bicycle Center. www.ridingbicycles.com is their website.

KingTermite 

Wow! There is a blast from the past. I've never been there, but back in my USF days I drove by it 9742 times or so.

Zen Existence

Yep, 'Dud; it is. I like the shop and bought my Trek mountain bike there although they do have new management so I haven't had a chance to get a feel for the place yet.


Great place, I go there often; they even have a used bike sale area in the back of the store (which used to be the original store about ten years ago) so it's worth a shot. Employees are uber-helpful, too.

Zen Existence

Alright, the fiance purchased a bike for me for our anniversary (now I definitely have to marry her!), which I'll pick up Saturday. So it looks like I'll be ready to ride by next week.
Congratulate an old roady for gettin' back on the bike; here I come!

el diablo

I live in South Tampa as well (Harbour island), I ride 3-4 times a week. Suncoast Parkway, Davis Island, Flatwoods Loop and on Sunday I ride in the group ride out in San Antonio. The San Antonio ride is a hilly and long ride, either a 40, 60 or 80 mile ride

KingTermite 

I briefly lived over in the San An. area and thought the cyclists that came out on weekends were nuts.

Now I am envious and strive to be that good.

el diablo

What bike did she purchase for you?

Zen Existence

How long a circuit is there on Davis Island? I live, literally, a mile from there and never thought to ride there.

I'm also really excited about the St. Petersburg Bike Club rides. That's organized by the Tampa Bay Freewheelers, correct? They sound incredibly well organized. I used to do the ride that met at a school, I believe, then rode to BuddyFreddys and back, in Plant city. It was a fun, low-paced ride with a goodly amount of quick riders thrown in, of course this was a decade ago ...

el diablo

The circuit I ride is roughly 4 miles. You can extend it about a mile if you ride out to the Yacht Club, but that involves turning off the loop. It is a short circuit, but it can be made more challenging if you go against the wind (which is always present). I usually only do Davis Island if I am pressed for time, or for a quick ride in the evening.

bikecrate

Hey,
I live in central Tampa and ride to South Tampa on the weekends. I almost always end up on Davis Island. I use Himes as my main North - South route. It's relatively quiet most of the day. Some people use Westshore also, but I only go on it early in the a.m. From either of those streets you can take some east - west streets like Bay to Bay or Interbay. Its also fun to ride to the Freedom trail off of Gandy or to Picnic Island park off of Interbay. Of course, no ride is complete without braving Bayshore Blvd. If you pull out a map you can put together several combinations depending on how many miles you want to go. I generally travel out of my neighborhood south on Boulevard St., west on Morrison, south on Himes, west on Interbay to Picnic Island, then turn around and head back out east on Interbay. I then hook up with Bayshore and head north till I get to the Davis Islands bridge. I ride to the Davis Is. Yacht Club and then go home. It is about a 35 miles route. Depending on the time of day you'll see plenty of riders. I've only had a few encounters with annoying motorist. I think they are use to seeing bikers in this area. Maybe I'll see ya' out there.
P.S. It's dang hot almost anytime of the day right now so bring lots of water and don't push yourself too hard!!

KingTermite 

Actually....I went over there today to look at these used bikes you mentioned.

Sorry....you were mistaken. They only have a few (very few and mostly kids) used bikes out front under a canopy. That part in the back is their service shop and the used bikes you saw were customer bikes in for repair.

I asked the guy.....the few out front are the only used bikes.

No biggie....just thought I'd make sure everybody knew that. It was a nice bike shop though...hadn't been there before. Their prices did seem a tad higher than others I frequent, but very well stocked.

Zen Existence

Yes, I noticed that when I stopped by University Bikes a few weeks ago. There used to be an area in the back of the store that at one point sold bikes on commission, I believe, but that seems to be no more.

Sorry El Diablo, missed your post -- it ended up being a Motobecane Record with Tiagra, which seems fine for one just getting back on the road. We'll see how that works out.

Truth be told, I forgot how much it takes to get a decent set of gear together, i.e. clipless pedals, cleats, shorts, helmet, gloves, computer. I'm buying things slowly but surely, although it still adds up. Not a problem, though, it'll be worth it to be back on a bike, riding again.

Also, this'll actually be my first time with STI brake/shifters, due to the fact that when I used to ride so many years past it was only a high-end option. Let's just say I'm pretty excited.

TheRobbStory

Scotty! Let's Ride.