zzOtherlandzz

Yep.... I ended up riding today. I can officially cross off "riding in a tropical storm" from my list of things to do I really didn't think anybody was going to show up for the Sunday shop ride.... But I wanted to go ride anyway. So parked about 4 miles down the trail from where everybody was supposed to meet up. And sure enough when I rode by at 3pm NOBODY was there. Ended up having a GREAT ride in the rain... Lots of wind but NO lightning. Only saw 3 other people out on the trail in the whole 20+ miles I rode.

Had fun... and now I can bug people when I see them for NOT riding .. haha

Lindaosm

yep, Sunday. Never seem to get out early enough to beat the heat but we did beat the rain. Really having a tough time with my breathing though. Guess it's from not doing much for the last 6 months. Went down to ride the Withlachochee @ Inverness. Decided to head north. Had all intentions to get to at least Hernando and turn around since that would be about 10 miles. First couple of miles were really rough. I think part of that may have been the heat. But, after the first couple of miles did ok. Only did a little over 8 miles but still an improvement from the day before's 6.3. The hip and knees are feeling great! Now I just have to work on stamina and my breathing. I know part of it is the weight I have put on back on since last August. Planning on getting back to the gym routine this coming week so hoping that will help. No ride today. Looks like we've got rain most of the day which we need. Not that I mind riding in the rain. Actually enjoy it as long as there's no lightning.

michelinmike

Finally got rid of the rear brake squeal that has been tormenting me for the past month. Took the bike out around noon today but the rain started up so I headed back to the garage. I have done lots of it but I just hate riding soaking sopping wet. It's just the drudge work that has to be done to get all the equipment back in shape after you've completed the ride. Now the sun is out so I will make another attempt. Yesterday and Saturday rode an hour and a half each on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail. Last weekend was the biggie. Since having had major surgery in December of 2011 have only gotten back on the bike in late February. So last weekend Saturday did a 50-miler on the Suncoast in 3.75 hrs averaging about 13.3 miles per hour. Had soreness through Monday but rest of the week went okay. I'm pushing for 60 miles as that was where I was at before being hospitalized. The goal at that point had been 100 miles I can only hope to live that long.

RonH

50 miles is good. Congrats.
Good luck with the goal of 100 miles.

Went walking for an hour and 15 minutes with my wife and a neighbor this morning. Then left for my ride. I did 31.5 miles.

A friend who works at a health food store and is big into natural foods and supplements (even more so than we are) suggested that I give up Hammer gel and Gu gel (too many chemicals) and try what they sell at the store -- Vega Sport. I tried the raspberry on my last ride and orange zest today. Yuk. It tastes like medicine. I guess I'll stick with Hammer and Gu gels. They taste like real food.

zzOtherlandzz

Yep... Sunday with group from the bike shop.. Started riding a bit after 5pm.. Some of the trail was in shade.. half way through the ride most of the trail was in the shade..... Nice ride... about 30 miles...

michelinmike

Thanks for the good wishes. Now, how do you indicate the model of the bike you ride after your message on this thread?

mrz80

Made it out twice recently. First was 42 miles with my usual group on Saturday. The morning started out VERY nice, but got very hot very rapidly, and we were pushing the upper edge of our "stated" group pace. Result was, by mile 40 I was lightheaded, breathing shallow and fast, and had stopped sweating. Once I noticed the not-sweating thing, I slowed way down and fell off the back, dumped a half a water bottle down the back of my jersey, and sort of loafed the last couple of miles. Felt better by the time I got back to the car. First time I've ever overheated like that. It was weird.

Yesterday I got to the usual Tuesday Vet school ride a bit late, and figured either I'd have to chase 'em down, or nobody showed 'cause of the looming rain. Anyhow, everything was fine even through the rain (not too heavy) across Payne's Prarie. It was still fine when I flatted (so much for kevlar tires!). It was even fine when I patched the puncture. It stopped being fine when my old faithful Blackburn mini pump failed while reinflating the tire, leaving me 7 miles from the car in the rain on a mostly-flat rear tire. Sure this wasn't Monday instead of Tuesday? After about a quarter mile convinced me there was just NO riding it home no matter HOW slowly I went, I started walking back across the Prarie. God provides, though, and a good Samaritan in a pickemup truck pickemup'ed me and carted me back to my car.

Next ride is with the club on Saturday, through Cross Creek. Gotta remember to buy some more tubes between now and then!

RonH

Go to the top right of any page and click on "Settings". When the new window opens scroll down to "Edit Signature" on the left. Put whatever info you want in your signature (as long as its within the forum guidelines -- see FAQ). You can add text, pictures or links (like I have in my signature).

RonH

I guess we had summer during April and May.
Today it was kinda cool. It was all of 70 degrees when I was riding. Did 36.7 miles.

zzOtherlandzz

Yep... I think i'll get the road bike back tomorrow.... So took the mountain bike for a ride today. Rode about 9 miles in the dirt and 10 on the pavement. About 2 miles down the paved part on the way to the dirt I came across the first road block. There was just enough room to get around that one. A bit over a mile down the non paved part I came across the second road block. There was no getting around that one. I had to double back and take the road. It added a few miles.. But it was all fun. Started raining when I got into the woods proper.... And just made the sand sticky enough to really really stick to my tires. Ohhh that was fun Made the tires 3x as heavy!! Had fun...

RonH

Should have taken the camera today. Did my usual ride but saw lots of police action on my way home, about a mile west of Stone Mtn. About 1/2 block north of Ponce de Leon (on Juliette Rd) there were about 8 police cars visible. Not sure how many were farther north (the other end of the apartment complex). There were 2 more police cars in the office park pulled in behind the apartments. Three more police cars passed me on the other side of the road heading toward the crime scene. Not sure what happened. Nothing in the AJC yet. Shooting? Hostage situation?
I decided to get out of there fast in case shots were fired (toward me??) or they ended up chasing someone with a gun out the back and toward the office park.
Other than that is was a nice, uneventful 36.4 miles.

zzOtherlandzz

Yep..... The plan was a morning ride that somebody else had planned. (I don't do mornings). But the person that planned the ride was sick and the weather looked like rain. Soooo they cancelled after I already got up, got ready and got there by 8am. So called the guy who invited me asked if he was going to ride anyway... he said YEP. So just the 2 of us set off in the drizzle. Went down a bunch of hardly used side roads.. Great riding!! At about mile 18 or so I got a flat... Got that fixed and we went and checked out a new trail they are paving that comes out of St. Augustine. Rode the part that was NOT paved and got dirty soupy limestone mud all over us and the bikes. Ended up riding 45 miles... didn't see a BIT of sun but realized when I got home that my neck and face are FRIED!! I haven't been this sunburned in years.. Rode back to the bike shop in Palatka to bug the owner who didn't ride with us... LOL He told us to get our dirty bikes out of his shop.. hahah Great ride... really enjoyed it !!!

Lindaosm

Had a doc appt in Gainesville on Friday. Had plans to ride the Gainesville/Hawthorne trail but rain changed that. Today we took a short ride on the Withlachochee. Managed to get in a just over 8 miles. Took the road bike out this time. First time I'd been on it in over a year. Last mile or so was in the rain but at least it wasn't hot. Not sure about tomorrow. Hubby and son have been working on a new front porch on our house for the last few weekends. If they finish up early enough we may be able to get out for awhile.

zzOtherlandzz

Yep..... Had a ride planned with a cookout afterword on the Palatka Lake Butler trail. Well most people were scared off by the weather so only 6 of us showed up. It was pouring when we got there. So we waited it out under the pavilion for about 20 minutes. It cleared up and we went for a ride. Not a very long ride but a good ride, about 13 miles or so. Came back had some good food and some good BS. It looked really bad for awhile be we never got rained on. Glad I wasn't scared off by the rain!!

First ride on the road bike after getting it back from the shop.... rode like NEW again...

Lindaosm

yep, went out to Inglis to the Withlachochee Bay Trail. Rode almost 10 miles. No rain, just hot. We did see that it looks like they are extending the trail to the east. I've tried to look up on-line as to when and how much further it will go but couldn't find anything. It's already paved but they had it blocked. Hoping it might go down to where the man made lake is that we discovered when we rode out there on the mountain bikes. Nice ride and it seems to be getting easier each time we go out.

RonH

Yay, the rains finally moved on out so I got to ride.
Did my usual route to Stone Mtn. Got in 27.4 great miles.

mrz80

Went out with the Gainesville club's Bee-17 group (target rate 17mph) on a loop from a park east of Gainesville down through Cross Creek, Citra, McIntosh, and Micanopy. As has usually been the case lately, our fearless leader Ed got the bit between his teeth early and most of the ride (except for those hills between Orange Lake and Micanopy ) was ridden at a rather more enthusiastic pace, with various deleterious effects for all concerned by the latter stages of the loop. We had one dropout from cramps, and the rest of us got spread out quite a lot on the hilly stretches. And who was that [bad word redacted] idiot (the author is speaking reflexively here about those whose metaphorical eyes are bigger than their stomachs) who set a 20+ pace leaving Citra? Weren't for him, I'd have felt pretty good at the end of the ride. Still, 45 miles at 16.8mph is pretty respectable.

OH yeah, forgot... at the Pearl restaurant rest stop in Micanopy at about 33 miles, one of the slower group that was riding with us today called our group the "Seventeen my a**!" riders.

RonH

I could tell that it is a "holiday" weekend (Fathers' Day). The parking lots were all full and with all the pedestrians it seemed like there were a zillion people there. Because of the crowds I only did one lap around the mtn. Total ride was 27.4 miles.

Lindaosm

Yes, another nice ride on the Withlachochee. Got out early this time. Only 10 miles but much quicker this time and I wasn't so out of breath. Tomorrow we are going to ride the Gainesville/Hawthorne trail. I want to start on the Gainesville side to see how well I do on those hills. Might just be a short ride but we'll see.
Happy to say I am also back to the gym and have lost almost 10 pounds in the last 2 weeks. Now that I am feeling so much better, I am determined to get off the 30 pounds I packed on in the last 2 years during all these surgeries.

kjc9640

Nice 40 miler ride today with The Florida Freewheelers today. Stopped at Panera Bread for breakfast at about the 10 mile mark then did the next 30 pretty hard.

zzOtherlandzz

Hey way to go... Glad to see your back out and riding again... Good luck with the ride tomorrow on the G.vill trail. That is the most scenic end of the trail too.... Sooo if you get tired just remember your in the scenic area .... Rest bench at the top of the big hill... and at the bottom of the bill hill just in case..

zzOtherlandzz

Yep.. Got out for another Sat morning ride.. Took some of the same roads as last weekend... sept we got lost today... Which was cool ended up at the St. Johns river... Should have taken a picture... BUT NOOOOO I didn't remember to do something like that.. VERY WINDY!!! Ended up riding just a shade under 40 miles.. 39.87 ..

I had the camera mounted on the bike again.... I need to adjust the shutter speed or something.. Or maybe a bit less resolution. Because even the shot that was not taken on the cobbles below has a few waves in it.

A shot of main street (or what was main street) in Hastings. Not much there now.


A shot of bill riding over the cobbles.... Wasn't actually trying for the wavy effect just turned out that way LOL..

kjc9640

Just say that it was a cross wind no will question you...:-)

zzOtherlandzz

I like the crosswind idea... because there sure was a lot of wind that day...

Yep.. Made it out to the Sunday evening bike shop ride... 23.5 miles... Nice ride... Temp wasn't too bad... even the wind didn't bother us too much.

Lindaosm

Sunday, 13 miles on the Gainesville/Hawthorne. Wanted to start on the Gainesville side but hubby thought the hills were still too agressive. So, we started at SR 234 and headed towards Hawthorne. Good thing as there was a sign there as you head towards Gainesville that mile 1-5 were closed for tree trimming. Got out early and we were done by 11:30 so the temp was great. Plan on spinning at the gym during the week and then back out on Friday.

just saw on the website that it's mile 1-2 that is closed and it looks like it's just through this Thursday (21st)....just in case anyone plans on riding from the Gainesville trailhead.