I got to my third stop in 49 minutes today. I clocked 14mph at the speed check, well below the 25 mph speed limit. Very few vehicles pass that place at a legal speed. I'm kinda proud of myself!

I did my usual 22.3 mile ride today on my '83 Puch. Wind was terrible today, gusty and shifting around a lot. I didn't get a tailwind until the last mile on the way home. The wind did feel good at soccer practice tonight, kept it from getting too hot.

I got 2 rides in today. First ride was a 15.4 mile ride on the road bike, with wind at my back for most of the way..... WAS FUN!! Awesome weather quite windy but like I said was at my back I didn't care... LOL

The second ride was with my friend down from Upper Michigan & the son of another friend. The friend from up north has had 2 back surgeries and really doesn't ride fast nor very far (not that I ride anything close to fast btw). He test rode a recumbent the other day at the bike shop LOVED it but didn't love the price so much. So he worked on his mid 90's Giant MTB bike today. Repacked the wheel bearings, trued the wheels (as much as we could).. So he wanted to test ride it... I think the new packed bearings gave him some super powers or somthing... (coulda been the wind behind our backs on the way out).. Anyway... the 3 of us rode the MTB's for just over a 16 miles... (mostly on paved roads with about a mile on a SANDy WASH BOARD road, they had to walk about half of it, I managed to make it through without walking)..

Longest ride to date for both my friend from up north and for my other friends son. And the longest i have rode in one day in a long time :P

Great day, great weather, great ride with friends...

Same old same old, 22.3 miles. More wind howling out of the east, someone make it stop! Other than that it was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the blue sky.

Ride east against it for 25 miles. Then, when you turn around, fully expecting a tailwind all the way home, it will stop!

It is far more diabolical than that. When you turn around it shifts against you!

20miles last night

It's called a bikers wind---always in your face---

:cheers:

Friday 10/23/09... I did a slow 30.54 mile flat, solo ride today. The legs are still not up to speed(I thought it would come back a little faster than this). Weather was just outstanding today but very windy. Lots of gopher turtles out sunning themselves along the trail. Mileage and ride days will be a little low this month... Oh well it is what it is.......

All is well in Slo Spoke Jim's world.

30.54 (s)miles today
347.36 (s)miles this month
5546.99 (s)miles this year
10 ride days this month (Oct.)

:cheers:

Did the usual 22.3 with high winds in my face for 10 miles. Luckily I was blessed with a tailwind all the way home! It felt good to cruise along in the big ring for a while. I have seen at least one snake every day this week, today it was a 3+ foot Black Racer. Anybody else seeing lots of snakes? I think it must be the cool weather, they are coming out on the trail to warm up in the sun. I have seen a few Gopher Tortoises as well.

18miles on the beach last night
did the belle air and walsingham bridges

Saturday 10/24/09... I did a slow 23.04 mile flat, solo ride this afternoon. The legs are still not up to speed, very weak (I thought it would come back a little faster than this). Weather was just outstanding today clear sky little wind. Oh well it is what it is.......

All is well in Slo Spoke Jim's world.

23.04 (s)miles today
370.40 (s)miles this month
5570.03 (s)miles this year
11 ride days this month (Oct.)

:cheers:

yes we did. 28.5 miles on the Withlachchee from Inverness to Lake Townsend Park and back. This time we finally got to see the camel. I was beginning to wonder if ya'll were kidding me. They apparently had a ride earlier in the day for the Cooterfest. It was a little crowded at the park in Inverness but hubbie has found a public parking area near the park that always seems to be empty so we missed the crowds. Weather was great and we had a wonderful lunch/dinner at Sonny's on the way home.

LindaN

Today I rode the Horse Farm Hundred hosted by Gainesville Cycling Club. The weather was fantastic along with their volunteers. This was my first long bike ride and the event could use a few more porta-potties at the SAG stops; maybe it was because I rode with Team VetMed from University of Florida Vet School. They are a great bunch of people! Riding with this large group made the 100 miles (sort of) fly by. But when our group pulled into the SAG the facilities were a little overwhelmed.

Yesterday I did my normal ride on my '83 Puch. I was going to go down to Inverness, but the sky was looking really ugly, so I came back early. Of course, no sooner than I get home the sky starts to lighten up and then the sun eventually came out! GRRR!

Today my son and I were going to ride the Gainesville/Hawthorne Trail. But right before we left I realized that it was being used as part of the Horse Farm Hundred and decided it may be a bit crowded. So we took the bikes down to Istachatta and rode south to Ridge Manor and back for a total of 19.3 miles. We'll do the GH Trail another time, maybe when the wife can come along as well.

Linda, one of these days we are going to run into each other!

I think you are right. I've told my hubby that too! We love the Gainesville/Hawthorne trail and did it last weekend. The Gainesville end is always a little challenging for me with the hills but the trail overall is wonderful and now that the weather is cooler it should be great.

LindaN

Went to the G.ville/Hawthorne trail this afternoon with my friend from WAY up north. Only 6.5 miles out and then 6.5 back to the Hawthorne end. My friends back did pretty good today after he changed the stem and got a bit more height. But his legs told him it was time for us to turn around at 6.5 miles out. Says he is ready for another ride tomorrow though.... We shall see.. :)

Weather was perfect BTW....

DANG, totally forgot to post Saturday. Did the 55 mile loop on the Santa Fe Century. When I left home I thought it looked to be clearing up and getting warm, so I decided to do without the arm warmers. Naturally, by the time we got to Alachua it was cold and raining. The rain hung around off and on for most of the ride. Given how little prep I'd done I'm pretty happy with how I did. Swapping the 42t ring for a 39t saved my fanny a couple of places, though. :) Thanks to the remarkably tall lady whose name I neglected to catch who stuck around the last few miles into Hague and back to the Boys Club; the bit from Traxler to Hague was awful lonely/desolate. And kudos to the club for whomever it was that was providing that first rate bbq pork! Highlights of the ride included simply surviving :)... managing one lengthy stretch at 20MPH; my normal pace was around 15... and getting lapped by the lead bunch of 100milers just as I was turning off 441 onto 43rd Street. Buncha animals! :)

I rode the GCC Horse Farm 100 Sunday. Great ride. Great weather. Good turnout. Very pleased with myself.

I did 100.46 in 5:05 before flating out and walking through the projects the last mile or more barefoot with my bike on my shoulder.

http://i37.tinypic.com/123w6eb.jpg
My Jamis Xenith Comp on the left and "team mates" litespeed on right at the 3rd rest stop (75m).
http://i37.tinypic.com/4q25mq.jpg http://i33.tinypic.com/ng7xug.jpg
My feet post ride/walk. The reason for my walk.

Yeouch! That's a pretty sincere set of blisters you racked up there.

That sounds like a route designed to provide an excuse to stop at PJ's for some seafood. :) I love riding on Gulf Blvd when I visit the inlaws, especially since they did all the widening/improvements.

Sunday 10/25/09... No
Monday 10/26/09 I did another slow 20.67 mile flat, solo ride this afternoon. The legs are still not up to speed, very weak . Weather was just outstanding today clear sky, little wind.

2 Gopher tortoise's today

All is well in Slo Spoke Jim's world.

20.67 (s)miles today
391.07 (s)miles this month
5590.70 (s)miles this year
12 ride days this month (Oct.)

:cheers:

The droob! Sick bro. The first 5 hours and the last one, the strength. You

Thanks, the ride (http://gainesvillecc.org/gcf/index.html) was epic, heavy on the Fred factor though, but I would suggest it for anyone.

When I was walking and heard wheels behind me I looked for the coworker/team mate that I started with. He passed me 100yds before the finish. Had I not stopped to wait on him at the 2nd and 3rd rest stops I'd be waiting on him for 20-30 mins.

That was the longest ride I've done in a decade, easy. I plan on doing it again next year while trying to stay with the 4 hour group, which was 4:15 this year.

I'm waiting to see how many pics pop up of the 6-10 shop riders that went down.

btw: I saw 2 guys riding fixed and brakeless, trully sick. Maybe next year...


...or not?!

A five hour century sounds really fast to me. You should consult a physician before attempting four hours, perhaps a psychiatrist. :)

I rode in the rain all day. Approximately a nine hour quarter century, but I took a rest stop that was at least an hour long which included chinese food and a brief nap.