Well..... Got out for a ride today after taking mom to the Doc.... and shopping. The day was shot as far as working on the house. So 2 friends and I took the mountain bikes to Belmore State Forest and got a good 15 mile ride in... in the woods. Then went and did a 1.6 mile out and back on a short piece of single track in Etoniah Creek State Forest. That short ride was tough for only being 1.6 miles.... But fun!! GoPro battery was dead at this point so no video... Had lots of fun!! Here is a short video of part of the ride if anybody is bored and wants to check it out...

http://youtu.be/KYdLXztmvsM

My wife and her cousin wanted to see the manatees yesterday so I went riding so they could have some girl time. Nothing spectacular, just a quick ride to SR50 for water and then back home for a total of 24.8 miles.

Just got back from a 31 mile ride on the Suncoast. The wind was brutal. :notamused: I keep telling myself "the wind is your friend".

We just got back from a 25 mile ride on the Suncoast. Like you, we rode south first so we could have a tailwind home, but then again, we were on one of our tandems, so the wind is not as big a deal for us as on a single.

I have a friend who's ridden RAAM multiple times, and he has a mantra for days like today, that I've slightly modified to my liking:

Climbing makes you strong.
Distance makes you lean.
Intervals make you fast,
But the wind makes you MEAN!!

So you get in the drops, grit your teeth, repeat that 1000 times and you're home! :thumb:

:beer: I like it.


I didn't see anything from you about the Tour de Withlacoochee ride next Sunday. Will you be there?

That's because I didn't know anything about it! :cry: I spend most of my time in the Tandem forum and only remember to check in here occasionally. BUT! Maggi and I could make it, so I'll move my questions about it right on over to the appropriate thread. Meet me on camera three! :lol:

Got out Sunday for a ride or 2... Took a 15.5 mile solo ride in Etoniah Creek State Forest. The trails/roads were in nice shape considering the 170 runners that used part of them the day before in the Iron Horse endurance run. I had parked in Florahome on the PLB trail ... So got back from the forest ride just as some friends were pulling in for the paved trail ride. So we headed out (on the road bike) and me 3 more friends down the trail a bit. I ended up riding a bit over 30 miles on the pavement. Yep... lots of wind even in the late afternoon/evening....

Linda, you need the Weather Channel's hourly forecast, so you can check it and ride against the wind first! Just click the link and change the zip code in the address bar from my "34610" to yours, and save it wherever you like.

http://www.weather.com/weather/hourb...nav_undeclared

Well we did it. Suncoast Trail. Left 9:38am at Lutz-Lake Fern Rd Trailhead and rode to the Cortez Boulevard Bridge and return for a total of 62 miles. Ken unbelievably rode without breakfast and/or any snacks except for a 16 oz water bottle and experienced some major energy/muscle atrophy by the time we reached mile 50. Ride was prolonged due to this unfortunate event. We reached the railhead at about 3:30pm. Terrific day, sunny about 80 degrees. Those three back-to-back hills south of the Cortez trailhead continue to be a challenge to me. It takes all of my gears to be able to negotiate them. I told Ken (who is 55--I am 65) next time we ride he has to bring an orange and a Clifbar with him and have eaten breakfast or I'm not riding with him. I hate seeing a cyclist buddy stretched out on the ground because he can't stand up!

Going out on my road bike this AM to do 40 on the Suncoast. Leaving about 8, and heading down to the SR54 trail head and back up. Looks like it'll be a nice day, albeit a tad cold early for my taste!

MichelinMike, I've been that guy on the ground flopping around like a fish out of water and unable to stand for a half hour. I'm willing to bet your buddy eats and hydrates correctly next time. Pain is a great motivator! :thumb:

We closed the B&B last Monday and have been sitting on our backsides all week. Why does everyone who doesn't live in FL think that we are running a B&B now that we live here. We still have two more "bookings" for March and April. :notamused:

Anyway, I finally got out today and rode down to Anderson Snow park and back -- total of 37.5 miles. :)

Kudos to you.
The bigger hills are north of Rester Rd. Try them next time.

:roflmao: You just got here! Wait'll word gets around!

I'm a native, but my wife is from Ohio. I kept track of visitors after she and I bought a house in Clearwater with a pool, a spare bedroom, and a big side yard with a 30 amp power supply and a sewer connection. Out of the 10 years we owned that house, we had company either in the house or in our/their camper in the side yard for just over 4.5 years out of the ten.

I feel your pain!

I met Onegun (Bill) today. We planned to meet at the SR50 trailhead but I got there early so headed south. Ran into him about 5-10 minutes south of the trailhead. We talked while we rode south. Stopped at Extreme Bikes and he introduced me to the owner. Nice guy and nice shop. Then we headed down to Anderson Snow Park. Stopped there and spent the next hour(???) talking about bikes, life, etc. It was getting "late" so he headed home and I rode back up to US98.
Nice guy and very knowledgeable about all kinds of bikes, old and new.

Bill, we'll have to meet and ride again. :beer:




I dropped my 4 year old bike computer on the garage floor and it broke into 3 pieces so I had to use my iPhone to track my mileage today. According to it I rode 37.8 miles and climbed a total of 620 feet -- oh wow. :rolleyes:

Wow! That's a MOUNTAIN in Florida! :lol: Actually, it's twice as high as the highest point in our fair state!

Ron's being too kind about me. I'm actually an opinionated old Vietnam vet grouch, (think Jeff Dunham's "Walter" on a bicycle)! Ron, on the other hand, is a nice guy, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the conversation.

But he tricked me. You've got to watch him folks! He apparently studied the weather forecast better than I did, and he knew if he kept me talking long enough the wind was going to clock around, so he'd have a tailwind, (and I'd have a headwind), both ways. (Like I need any outside stimulus to "keep me talking"!)

I did 32 miles, but was having trouble with something in the back of my knee. So I caused us to stop a bit more than either of us would have liked, I'm sure. But a good ride on a great day in the low 70's with sunshine.

We'll definitely have to make this a regular thing.

Headed out early today. The headwind from the south gave me a good workout all the way to SR50. Stopped there and rested and got water and then headed north. Managed a pathetic 24.8 miles according to the Cyclemeter app on my iPhone.

My replacement cycling computer (Simga BC1909 STS) came this afternoon so I'll be back to reliable data on future rides. :)

Maggi and I got out on the Suncoast Trail on the tandem. Just 22 miles, as the wind, (as Ron noted from yesterday) was still kicking up about 15 to 18 mph. Slow going against it, but we were supermen on the way home! :)

Nice day, mid to high 70's, lots o' sunshine.

The predicted rain didn't happen. It was sunny when I headed to the Suncoast Trail. There was a slight headwind while heading south but no big deal. Rode to Anderson Snow park, got water, and headed north. It was getting a little cloudy when I got to the car but no sign of rain. Did a total of 39 miles.

The winds were really harsh today, 22kts with gusts to 30kts, still got in a ride but the west and south legs were like being on a treadmill. Any ride is a good ride, though, I'll take it.

Bill

Haven't ridden since last week. It was good to get out today. Rode to Anderson Snow park. Stopped at Extreme Bicycles on the way north and picked up a Hammer bar. Never had one before -- tasty. :beer:
Did a total of 37.8 miles.

Rode to Anderson Snow Park, got water, had a gel and headed back north. I ran out of gels so stopped at Extreme Bicycles to pick up a few and went on my way. Did a total of 38 miles. As luck would have it the gentle north wind picked up speed for the ride north. :o

Well, we're going to try and get out tomorrow on the tandem about 11:00. Heading north on the Suncoast, probably to Extreme bikes, (on Powell Road), ourselves as Z is supposed to have some tubes for me. If you're out and see a red Trek T2000 with white trim, be sure to yell "ON YOUR LEFT" as you go flying by!

15 miles today. Feeling good and ready for the 17 mile ride out to my woods. Gonna pack for an overnighter but may bail out if it's too mushy out there

Hi sotramk. Glad you got out for a nice ride.