Nope not mosquitoes... They are annoying bugs that fly around while mating for about 3 weeks 2 times a year, mostly in the southeast. They are out in the spring but not nearly as bad as the fall. They kind of just drift on the wind they don't fly around like a fly would for instance. You can swat at them but it does no good. In some areas there are thousands upon thousands of them. For instance on my 3 mile drive to the post office the other day I think about 500 of them died on the front of my van. And there guts are sort of acidic if you don't get them off of the front of your car quickly they will start to eat into the paint. And in Florida they kind of bake on because it so hot.... And riding your bike through them is NOT fun... You get them all over your clothes, in your hair, and the worst part in your mouth..... NASTY!! They prefer the sunlight. Today it was nice and cloudy when I took a ride... Didn't see many at all....

anyway..... here is a link if you really wanna know what they are... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug

9/18 40 miles
9/20 52 miles
9/22 50 miles
9/24 50 miles

Today’s ride:

Excellent ride today, rode with Jim and his wife Rebecca. Our morning started with a flat tire on Rebecca’s bike at the trail head so we were delayed in starting by about 30 minutes (tire came off easy but it was a bear to get back on). Once we got started it was our usual ride to Panera for breakfast then we decided to ride to the De Berry Mansion since Rebecca had never been there. The weather man is calling for 60% chance of rain today but we beat the odds and stayed dry. Very hot and humid and plenty of LOVE BUGS today.

Statistics for: 09/24/2011

 Miles today: 50+
 Mileage this month September: 667+
 Mileage this year: 7739+ (96.7 % of my 2011 goal)
 Miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 8,000: 260 miles
 Over/under riding days 2011 vs. 2010: +11
 Over/under riding days Sept. 2011 vs. Sept. 2010: -1
 Over/under miles 2011 vs. 2010: +3160 miles
 Average miles per ride this month: 47+
 Average miles per ride this year: 45+
 Average ride miles per month through August 2011: 883 miles
 Number of rides over 50 miles this month/total ride days this mo. 8/14
 Metric Centuries this month: 3 ( Metric Century = 100km = 62.2 miles) This year: 22
 I surpassed last year’s total miles (6500) on 8/9/2011
 A 10 thousand mile year is not out of reach.

Tomorrows plan: Don’t know yet.

9/18 40 miles
9/20 52 miles
9/22 50 miles
9/24 50 miles

Today’s ride:

Excellent ride today, rode with Jim and his wife Rebecca. Our morning started with a flat tire on Rebecca’s bike at the trail head so we were delayed in starting by about 30 minutes (tire came off easy but it was a bear to get back on). Once we got started it was our usual ride to Panera for breakfast then we decided to ride to the De Berry Mansion since Rebecca had never been there. The weather man is calling for 60% chance of rain today but we beat the odds and stayed dry. Very hot and humid and plenty of LOVE BUGS today.

Statistics for: 09/24/2011

 Miles today: 50+
 Mileage this month September: 667+
 Mileage this year: 7739+ (96.7 % of my 2011 goal)
 Miles needed to hit my 2011 goal of 8,000: 260 miles
 Over/under riding days 2011 vs. 2010: +11
 Over/under riding days Sept. 2011 vs. Sept. 2010: -1
 Over/under miles 2011 vs. 2010: +3160 miles
 Average miles per ride this month: 47+
 Average miles per ride this year: 45+
 Average ride miles per month through August 2011: 883 miles
 Number of rides over 50 miles this month/total ride days this mo. 8/14
 Metric Centuries this month: 3 ( Metric Century = 100km = 62.2 miles) This year: 22
 I surpassed last year’s total miles (6500) on 8/9/2011
 A 10 thousand mile year is not out of reach.

Tomorrows plan: Don’t know yet.

Yep... Still LOTS of love bugs around here too...... Really getting tired of washing them off of the van every time i go someplace...

Haven't been posting lately, but have been riding. Gainesville club group I ride with started doing preview rides of the Santa Fe and Horse Farm routes. 55 and 57 miles, both at about 17mph, last couple of weeks. Today I did the Tour de Tow - 63 miles at 16.4mph. I'm not sure, but it certainly seemed like there was more uphill than down. I'm still trying to work that out. :) Got a little too rambunctious on that last long downhill leading into the last rest stop. Coming out of the rest stop I just about died, but being stuck at the front of the paceline does wonders for motivation. :)

How do you like that Rocky Mountain Vertex 29'er? I rode with a friend today that was riding a Rocky Mt 29'er (not sure which model) His son ownes a bike shop here in Lake Mary and is the dealer for Rocky Mountain bikes. He has a Rocky Mt road bike on the showroom floor that is very nice (lots of bling). The price tag is right at $2000.00. He and his dad keep trying to get me to buy it (not gonna happen).

We got back yesterday from a week in FL and you are right. There are plenty of them. They're all over the front of the car. :notamused:

After sitting and driving and eating and sitting and driving and eating and .....
Haven't ridden since last Saturday (9/17) and I needed a ride today. Did my usual ride to Stone Mtn --- 30 miles.

I really like it a lot. It is my first 29'er and once you get it up to speed it really likes to roll more like a road bike. I test rode a few other 29'ers before I bought this one and none of them seemed to fit right. The stand over height on the Treks & Gary Fishers wasn't quite right. The smaller framed bike just seemed too small & the larger frame bike just seemed to big. It is a bit strange at first riding a 29'er after riding 26" mountain bikes for 6 or 7 years.... seeing that big ole front wheel & tire out in front of the handle bars.. LOL It really doesn't weigh any more (that I can really notice) than my GF Tassajara (before I put all of the touring stuff on it).

You are correct they will roll. We were riding south on International Pky today and I pulled for about 3 miles and we were riding at 18 to 21 mph and he held my wheel. I was impressed and I think he was as well.

Damn sounds horrible - thanks for the clarification!

My wife and I babysat for a set of twins in our extended family. Got there at 11AM and stayed until 6:30PM. :eek: We were exhausted when we got home.
I really needed to ride today to get the kinks out from babysitting. Did my usual 30 miles. Then went for a massage. :D :thumb:

Rode yesterday, not today - I wooda needed a boat!

No ride today. Worked late and then had to log into work again when I got home. Just finished up. :mad:

Did my usual ride to Stone Mtn today plus some. :thumb: Total of 33 miles. They were setting up for 24 Hours of Booty. It starts tomorrow at 2PM. I know where I'll be tomorrow --- with my camera. :)

So you just like ride in a loop till you decide you don't feel like riding in a loop? LOL I dunno... :D

How is the rehab going? Back up to speed or still getting there?

I'm going for a ride on one of my bikes for sure Sunday..... love bugs be damned..... :D

Did a quick 21 miles tonight for the last ride of Sept.

Finally....only 4 miles and verrry slow on the Withlachochee Trail. Sure felt good to be back on the bike. Glad we went today as the Rails to Trails is tomorrow and it will be packed. Too many speedsters for me! I'll leave that up to the racers. Been there, done that. Too many "on your lefts" for this old lady especially since I am still kinda recouping.
Great weather today. Could not be nicer. Lows in the low 60s this AM and the love bugs seem to be gone...hopefully. If the knee is still feeling good tomorrow I might just try to double it.

20 miles in 50* with winds gusting up to 20mph for coffee on the Fixie. Beautiful!!! May have to do a pre-dinner loop!

October 1st Ride!! 84.3 Miles
 

On Saturday I went for the longest toughest ride of my life. 84.3 miles from downtown Milwaukee, WI to Kenosha and back! Still a little soar but a little closer to my first century!

Yep...... I rode 48.64 miles yesterday with the bike fully loaded for a 4 day tour (only test ride). I took the LONG way to Golds Head State Park. Today I got up at about 6am .. after a fitful night sleep in the tent.... OHHHH the pillow is just tooooo small. Got packed up and left camp at about 8:15.... Rode 18.64 miles back to grandin (trail head) where I got picked up.

Pictures and more in my other thread later today..... In The "soooo I'm planning my first tour" thread..... Or whatever I called it.... LOL

Jay....

October 1st Ride!! 84.3 Miles


Fantastic!!!! I hope to get to that level of endurance!

Yesterday, I rode 40 miles with a stiff breeze out of the north creating a challenge on the upgrade portion of the ride (first 13 miles). Skies were deep blue and the scenery was spectacular. Only saw one lonely love bug, so no free proteins!

Now that you mention it..... I only saw a few the last couple of days.... so no protein for me either... LOL

Took the Specialized out with the new tires (see the General Cycling forum for more details). The rolling resistance on the tires is greater than on the GP4000 (my average speed was down). No surprise there. :rolleyes: Did 33 miles.
After the cool front we had this weekend the temps are still lower than last week so needed arm warmers and a base layer undershirt for the first half of the ride. I'm not looking forward to fall/winter. :notamused:

Did 40 miles on the Silver Comet on Saturday the 1st, and did a 20 mile group ride with the Epic crew on Monday. Last week was my longest mileage week so far. Looking forward to a 30 mile ride tomorrow.