Yep.... Got out for a ride today... Went to town paid bills, rode bike awhile got picked back up. Decided to ride the Palatka Lake Butler trail from Palatka to Grandin (well not quite to Grandin). The last 4 miles they are still working on... so had to ride on SR100. I think I rode about 3 miles to the trail, about 10 miles on the trail & then 4 miles back on the road. Was a great ride... felt pretty good considering I haven't been riding much. Took a few pictures....

This is where the Florida Trail joins the PLB trail. Both trails run together for about 8.5 miles or so.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231193
Railroad trestle ... (same one from the other thread). It is in a lot worse condition than I remembered. Some very rotted railroad ties. And some of the 1x4's they put across the ties did NOT feel all that sturdy. I think they pretty much have to put plywood down when they run the ultra marathon there in FEB of next year.
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Just a random shot of the trail....
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231194

47 miles today with some friends. Weather was perfect except for a head wind on the way back.

Yep.... I rode today.... Took mom to the doc in G.ville, ran around a bit and almost ran out of time for a ride. I rode about 3 miles on the dirt trails off of the G.ville Hawthorne trail and about 10 miles on the paved part back to Hawthorne... Nice ride.... Got back to the van at about sunset.. Ohhhhh seen a flock (is that what you call them) of wild turkeys. But before I could stop and get the phone out to take a picture they fled.

Yep..... Although just a short ride... But like I used to say..... "A short ride is better than no ride"... Rode to the post office and bank... Didn't really give myself a lot of time to make it to the post office (they close between 1&2pm here in hickville). So although it was only 3 miles I pushed pretty hard into a nasty head wind to make it there. The ride back was a cool breeze. The bank said 82 deg when I went by..... About 7 miles total.....

Merry Christmas all.......

The rain finally moved on so I had to get out. Did a very cool 33 miles on the Litespeed. Had a strong headwind most of the way home. That's how it is when these fronts move through.
They're saying rain again on Sunday so I'll have to get out again tomorrow. :)

Took the Felt (my birthday/Christmas bike :beer:) out for a quick ride in the cold. Had to hurry home (because it was cold :notamused: and we have family Christmas stuff this evening) so skipped doing any laps around the mtn.
My new Giro Pivot gloves were warm yesterday but my hands were kinda cold today until the sun came out (sort of) on my ride home.

Yep....... For a short ride to the post office. Was going to go further/more but just wasn't feeling it... Tomorrow I plan to go ride the section of the Palatka Lake Butler trail they are working on... They wont be working so figured I could go check out the progress.. Take some pictures...

Yep... Got out for a Christmas Day ride.. I was allowed to go as long as I promised to be back by 4pm. I did end up going to the Palatka Lake Butler trail to ride the part they are working on. Looks like they are making pretty good progress. I had a great ride.... 4 miles out on the part they are working on... about 2 miles on the un-paved part. And then I turned off in to Etoniah Creek Wildlife Management Area, part of the Etoniah Creek State Forest. And about 4 miles on the forest trails & another 4 back to the van. For a total of about 14 miles in the dirt/sand/hard pack/railroad gravel bed, & washboard bumps with a nice layer sand on top just to make it more fun... (NOT)... lol About 1hr 20 min ride I think.

The bridge is really coming along.
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The entrance to Etoniah Forest. Lots of riding to be had back in there, including the Florida Trail.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231459
Little bridge over Etoniah Creek. You can primitive camp there. Also where I lost my iPhone and wallet a year and a half ago. Had to ride the trail again that same day to find them. Better luck this time... kept my wallet & phone.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=231458

Where I exited the forest... only to ride about 1/2 on washboard bumps covered with sand... FUN....
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why - how old are ya???

32 miles with my daughter in downtown St Pete on Christmas day. Fantastic weather.

Yep.... It was looking like the day was going to slip away without a ride. People kept showing up and it was getting later and later... But I got a break and went for it. Drove to the G.vill Hawthorne trail and rode 5.5 miles out... did a couple of loops on one of the side (non paved) trails for about 2miles. Then rode the 5.5 back to the van. I was warm until I took a lil break after riding the 2 loops. I was sweaty and when I started back to the van I was a bit chilled. It was 59deg when I got back to the van about 5pm'ish. I was surprised there were a lot of people out enjoying the trail today. Plus 2 lil kids maybe 7yrs old out on the trail all alone... Riding all over on both sides... I asked if they were having fun.... they said yes.... But if they were my kids i'm thinking they looked a bit young to be out on the trail alone.... <shrugs>. I was thinking about being a smart a$$ and thanking the equestrians for supplying the paved trail with horses crap... But I didn't lol... Good ride.... glad I went....

Yep (Thursday) ... Went to town to get prescription for my mom.. While waiting for them to fill it went and parked & rode in the Rice Creek Conservation area. Looked like they either re-cut an old trail or made a new one... I'm not sure. But it was pretty nice. A bit chilly in the shade but once I got moving a bit it was all good. Rode about 8 miles in the woods.. Then decided to go check out the new paved trail that was just finished off of State Road 100. It goes from sr100 to a municipal park. It is only about 1.5 miles long or so. They just finished it a couple of weeks ago and it was nice to see about 10 other riders checking it out today. Anyway rode that, a bit of the PLB trail and a bit on SR100.. For a total of about 14 miles 1hr 23 mins on the bike i think. NICE ride... :) I'll post a couple of pics later...

Did I ride today? I wanted to. The weather was supposed to be sunny and "warm" (high 50s) but I woke up to cloudy skies. It was warm enough so I decided to head out. As I was getting everything ready the sprinkly, misty stuff started and continued for too long. :notamused:
I haven't ridden since last Saturday (Christmas eve) and I was tired of saying, "Tomorrow will be ok for riding. I'll ride tomorrow." And when tomorrow came it would be rainy or very windy. So I went out to the shed and unpacked the trainer. I rode the Litespeed for almost 2 hours. Just long enough to see the last 2 episodes of Luther on Netflix. Good show :thumb: somewhat boring ride. :o
Tomorrow will be ok for riding. ;)

Yep... All in the woods no pavement riding today.... 13.5 miles.. 1hr 34 minutes long... Parts of the Florida Trail, some power lines, and part Rice Creek.. Good ride perfect temps.. (Friday that is)...

40 miles today, 10,240 for the year

Yes, yes I did. Finally.

Did my usual ride to Stone Mtn. Only did two laps but still tacked on 33 miles to my year end total. :beer:

Haven't been on the bike much lately - chilly and damp equals torture for the sinuses. :-| But, we're spending New Years with the inlaws in Largo, and the weather is gorgeous, so along came the bikes. First order of business was some cleaning, adjusting and relubing...
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That was one DIRTY chain! Burned through half a can of EngineBrite getting all the crud off of it.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=232120

Time to ride! Up the trail to Clearwater, then out over the first Big Hill (tm) - the Clearwater Causeway Bridge...
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Next, the Sand Key Bridge...
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I wonder, if I hit a Ben & Jerry's with this jersey on, will they give me free ice cream? :)
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The fog/mist/cloud/whatever rolling in off the Gulf shortly reduced visibility to maybe 100'. Cars, buildings, people, road signs, everything disappeared into the murk. It was cool.
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Out of the murk and over the Bellair Beach Causeway. I was going to go all the way down to Park and up the Trail, but I remember there was a Panera at the top of the hill on West Bay. Just after I snapped this, a pack of hammerheads blew past me heading east, including what looked like that bamboo tandem I photographed at the 2010 Santa Fe ride back home in G'ville (http://www.afn.org/~scotsman/photos/...c01871.640.jpg) . Lot of Suncoast jerseys in the pack. Just didn't have he ambition to chase 'em down. (yeah, RIGHT :) )
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Time for breakfast!
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Aaaand the reward for a job well done - Largo Subs gyros, and an afternoon of basketball watching with the father in law. UK and UF both win. YEAH.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=232119

10 meandering miles at Kandahar Airfield
 

I rode about 10 miles today. I live/work at Kandahar Airfield,Afghanistan. It is very, very dusty here.

Well THAT was an unexpected complication! Headed down the Trail to Central Ave. with an eye to coming across to the beaches at Treasure Island. That's where I hit the "NO BIKES" signs. Oh brother. That meant I ended up going down to Pasadena and getting on Gulf Blvd. way down at Boca Ciega. The wind was an extra fun complication, and traffic was rather heavier than I'd expected. Cut back inland at Walsingham and rode back up the trail to the inlaws', wishing I'd stuffed my arm warmers in my jersey pockets. When the Sun goes down, the temperature goes with it! Brr! Anyhow, got in 33 at about 14.4mph, and there's a house full of inlaws, nephews and nieces, and a huge pot of my wife's rockin' awesome gumbo with extra crabmeat on the stove. Happy New Year for sure! :)

mrz80 ....... Cool pictures.....

For fun... Looked up what I rode last year on Jan 1st.... ----------> Yep......... I got a ride in today on the way back from the flea market... 13.57 miles into the wind the WHOLE way. First 3 miles were on the road NO break from the wind. Well I got the first fall of the year out of the way..... DOH!! Pulled off the side of the road to umm take a break for a min. Coasted a bit too far hit some loose sand.... was almost stopped and over I went.... could not get un-clipped fast enough. Ended up keeping pace with a guy in front of me about 1/4 mile.. Made the ride into the wind a bit better. Said hello at the end when he turned around and I got picked up.

Great ride....... Enjoyed it even with the wind....

ytd= 13.57 <----- lol

And today I did get out for a ride... (33.5 miles total) I could not decide weather I wanted to ride the Mountain bike... or the road bike. So dusted off the Road Bike loaded it on the bike rack. Put the mountain bike in the van & took off. Went to the Palatka Lake Butler trail head in Grandin. Jumped on the road bike and headed west on the paved trail. Rode to the end 10 miles and back for 20 mile total on the road bike. Swapped bikes and took off the other way on the 4 mile part they are still working on. Rode to Holloway Road (where they are stopped working) and then did a loop on the state forest trails. Ended up doing 13.5 miles on the un-paved trail and dirt. GREAT RIDE... lots of people out.

Pet peeve...... First off I love seeing people out on the trail especially little kids riding with the parents. I think its awesome that the kids are riding and enjoying biking at an early age (wish I would have).... But my pet peeve is...... The parents aren't teaching them ANY trail riding rules... Three times today I had to slow almost to a stop for fear of crashing into a little kid. Don't get me wrong I slow way down when I see little kids anyway.... But this family was coming towards me.. and this little girl with training wheels on her bike keeps drifting further and further to her left (towards oncoming traffic ME)... I am literally almost stopped and was inches from the side of the trail..... The parent did NOT say one word to tell her to scoot the other way..... Who would let there little girl just keep riding towards oncoming traffic...

Happy New Year!!!!

It finally warmed up enough to get out and ride. First ride of the new year. A faster than usual ride on the Litespeed. Not sure why my average speed was up. My climbing muscles wimped out at the end of the second lap around Stone Mtn. Riding every 5-6 days is NOT good. :notamused: Did a total of 33 miles.

Yep... Took the bike with me on my way to visit with my mom. Told her I was going to ride first then visit. Rode a part of the Florida Trail I had not ridden before. This part follows some HUGE power lines for about 2 miles maybe. DON'T touch your brakes or anything metal while riding under huge a$$ power lines because you will get shocked.. well under these you do anyway. I was going to go further but the trail just kind of ended at a gate with a big power sub station behind it... Wasn't sure If I was supposed to go through or around or what.. So just turned around and rode back to where I had parked and hit some more trails. 14.91 miles and about 1hr 34mins on the bike... GREAT ride perfect temps.

Today’s ride:
01/07/2012 63+ miles
Rode with Dick and Jim. Rode on the new trail out to SR. 15 in Osteen. Weather was chilly in the morning but warmed up as we rode out. Stopped at Panera for breakfast going out and lunch on the return trip. Dick had a flat just as we left Panera after lunch so he walked over to David’s World Cycle to get it fixed. Good timing.
• Miles today: 63+
• Mileage this month ( January): 182+
• Mileage this year 2012: 182+
• Over/under riding days 2012 vs. 2011: 0 days
• Over/under riding days Jan. 2012 vs. Jan. 2011: 0 day
• Over/under miles 2012 TD vs. 2011 TD: 73+ miles
• Average miles per ride this month: 45+
• Average miles per ride this year: 45+
• Average ride miles per month through December 2011: 853 miles
• Number of rides over 50 miles this month/total ride days this mo.1/7
• Metric Centuries this month: 1 ( Metric Century = 100km = 62.62 miles) This year: 1
• I have ridden 4 days out of a possible 7 days .
• Miles needed to hit 2012 goal of 8,500 miles. 8317 to go
• Tomorrows plan: Bike will be out of service for one week while at the powder coater .