Haven't been able to post in a few days, but I have been riding. 30 miles Thursday, 15 miles Friday, and 21 miles today. I have been doing my best to maintain my cadence and have been able to achieve a solid 90rpm. It has been pretty rough with the heat moving in, it has been around 100 with the humidity around 90% for the past few days.

Still enjoying the new bike. I have now equiped it with new KEO Look pedals and got a pair of Bontrager RXL Gold Series Road Shoes (sorry Slow Spoke no pic yet). This is my first bike with pedals like this and I am really enjoying being able to pull the pedals as well as push them. It is really helping me maintain a good speed and I have actually picked up my avarage.

I think it was close to noon when I took off from the parking area on me bike. I rode on the Palatka Lake Butler trail in Keystone Heights and then up to Golds Head State Park, and rode around in the park this time. It had just got done raining when I started my ride (man the trail dries out FAST). Ended up riding 30.6 miles total. I usually ride on the trail that follows SR21 up to Golds Head but they had just got done mowing it and it was covered with grass clippings and who knows what else. So I rode on the shoulder of the road which is actually pretty nice, and wide. I really wanna go to the park one day and just spend the whole day there... Maybe check out some of the off road trails too. I had to put the camera away on the way back it started to rain.....

1st pic.... They are getting closer to putting some pavement down to extend the trail.

2nd pic ... Just a shot of the trail going towards Keystone Heights.

3rd pic... SR21 Going towards Golds Head State Park... Quite a few hills on this stretch of road at least for florida.

pics 4,5 & 7 ... Just shots of the main road in the park... Small rolling hills nice to ride on.

Pic 6 ..... One of the cabins you can rent in the park...

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Saturday I got in my longest ride yet, 18.3 miles! Funny, I think I'm the only one posting right now that is riding in the city. I headed to Piedmont Park again, then had the plan to take Piedmont Rd. over to the Morningside neighborhood, cut through to Druid Hills/Virginia-Highland and start working my way home.

On the way to the park I get a "hey beautiful" shout out and the "way to travel" wheelchair guy was out giving encouragement as well. Who knew the old fourth ward was so friendly?

The park was super busy. I hadn't been on a Saturday morning yet. There might have been an organized run. Tons of joggers, dog walkers, baby pushers. A couple of cyclists. Had to work my way through the Green Market setting up. I sat on the bench at the Piedmont Rd. entrance and ate a Larabar and drank some water. So this is what I saw:

Green Market setting up
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/...e494449ac6.jpg

Park entrance:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/...7898056382.jpg

The greens:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/...80c4363eb1.jpg

I'm getting much more comfortable around traffic. After I left the park, I rode a bit on Piedmont Road which is a pretty main street. After I wiggled through to N. Highland Ave. I made the mistake of crossing over it to find a less busy route through the neighborhood. Oh the hills, so many hills. It just kept getting worse and I didn't want to get totally wrecked and not be able to get home. So I worked my way back to N. Highland and took that instead. It's a tight busy street so I was worried about the cars getting cranky or worse but I didn't have any problems.

My last pic is waiting at a light at N. Highland and Ponce de Leon. I thought I had the Plaza Theater and the Majestic diner both in the pic but just got the Plaza. Oh well.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/...e8694173ee.jpg

Not sure where I'm going to ride this morning. I better figure that out and get out there.

abracapocus ... Saturday I got in my longest ride yet, 18.3 miles! .....

Congrats on your longest ride yet..... that's awesome!!! The closest thing I come to riding in a city is when I go to Gainesville.. Not really a city but it does have a LOT of traffic in some areas. But being a college town it is in general more bike friendly with bike lanes and people more aware of people on bikes. I think the worst thing about riding in G.ville is all the stop & go, stop & go... So your 18 miles with a bunch of stop and go is a lot to me.... I did ride some back roads in Jacksonville Fl once 5 years ago .... LOL

Sunday 7/25
35.0 miles today.

569.3 miles this month
4049 miles this year
124 ride days LY vs. 129 ride days TY
3450 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 54% of my goal. I need to be @ 66.6% (5000 miles) by the end of August
452 miles ahead of last year at this date

No pictures today, I had the camera with me but never took it out of my jersey pocket. The heat and humidity was terrible today so I just concentrated on mileage. lots of people out today again. Didn't see as many club rides as I did yesterday.
If any of you read the 50+ forum you should have seen a post about leg cramps. One of the guys that posts on that board recommended Hammer Endurolytes capsules. I have been taking them for a week now and they have worked wonders. I can now leap tall buildings in a single bound.:lol::lol: I take 2 before I leave then 1-2 about every hour during the ride.

Now if I could just find a capsule that would make me faster than a speeding bullet.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

zzOtherlandzz, nice pics. I need to figure out a way to come up and ride some of your trails.

LOL Evey time I see your pictures I think... wow his pics are way better than mine... lol But I'm having fun... taking pics helps keep me motivated, and in the past I have had probs with the motivation part. Reading other posts on here helps, seeing the pictures, reading about different places to ride.. Its all GREAT!! to me....

If you have never ridden the Ganesville Hawthorne trail it is really nice. 30 miles or so out and back, with more trails at the Gainesville end if you wanted to go exploring a bit more. Although the "extra" trails are in g.ville so there is a bit more stop & go for roads, lights and other stuff.

This fall when it cools down a bit and HOPEFULLY have a few more miles on my legs I want to go ride the Withlacoochee Trail. Years ago I had plans to go camp or stay someplace near the middle of the trail and ride north and back, and then the next day ride south and back. NO way I could do the whole thing in one day though.

I am getting back into the flow after a couple of weeks of sporadic riding due to vacation and some bike maintenance issues. Last Thursday I did 25 miles in the late afternoon (96 degrees), and this morning I did 30 (90 degrees). It's good to be back on the bike despite the heat. There were a ton of other riders out on my usual route this morning, Blunts Bridge Rd. in Ashland, VA (part of US Bike Rte. 76). It's becoming quite the popular cycling area. I guess a lot of people wanted to get their riding in before the real heat today.

Man, I'm loving seeing everybody here posting up and riding... keeps me motivated, too! I wish I had time to ride longer rides each day, but I'll do what I can... and with my new beginner riding partner, I'm not going to be knocking out 50 miles on a Saturday for a while, unless I do a second lap on my 22-mile loop. Hmm...

I'm training for the MS 150 tour here in October, for a good friend of mine who was just diagnosed with MS this year. She's in her late 30's and is really taking it hard, so I'm doing what I can to raise money and raise her spirits, too. Last year, I rode a heavy bike and made it 114 miles until the event was called by rain... this year, I want to make the whole 150 miles. I still haven't done a one-day century, but our local club does one every year in the spring.

[QUOTE=zzOtherlandzz;11170349]I think it was close to noon when I took off from the parking area on me bike. I rode on the Palatka Lake Butler trail in Keystone Heights and then up to Golds Head State Park, and rode around in the park this time. It had just got done raining when I started my ride (man the trail dries out FAST). Ended up riding 30.6 miles total. I usually ride on the trail that follows SR21 up to Golds Head but they had just got done mowing it and it was covered with grass clippings and who knows what else. So I rode on the shoulder of the road which is actually pretty nice, and wide. I really wanna go to the park one day and just spend the whole day there... Maybe check out some of the off road trails too. I had to put the camera away on the way back it started to rain.....

1st pic.... They are getting closer to putting some pavement down to extend the trail.

2nd pic ... Just a shot of the trail going towards Keystone Heights.

3rd pic... SR21 Going towards Golds Head State Park... Quite a few hills on this stretch of road at least for florida.

pics 4,5 & 7 ... Just shots of the main road in the park... Small rolling hills nice to ride on.

Pic 6 ..... One of the cabins you can rent in the park...

[

Can you tell me more about the Palatka Lake Butler trail? I can't find anything on any of the state websites about it. Do you know where I can find a map? I think I'm gonna take both bikes this coming weekend when we go up to camp. I didn't realize until you showed these pictures that there were so many paved trails near there. Thanks so much!! I just love all the pictures that everyone is posting.

LindaN

Ventured out to the Baldwin Trail outside of Jacksonville yesterday, but nothing today. Spent a few hours at the LBS shopping around.

Man, I didn't get to ride yesterday, and it looks like it's going to storm today... I guess I'll have to wait. Grr,

Monday 7/26/2010 no ride today.

Bike cleaning this morning and then driving to St Pete for two days of riding with my daughter. We plan to ride the Pinellas Trail and downtown St Pete and the Ft Desoto area weather permitting. I will not have internet access until Thursday so I should have plenty of pics to put up then.

I hope everyone has a good week to get out and ride.

Sunday I dialed it back a bit, 11.6 miles. My legs were a little angry with me over all the hill climbing Saturday. Of course there is no total rest from hills for me. I live in a bit of a hollow so every ride involves climbing out. At least it's gradual.

As part of my plan to take it easy, I rode up to one of our MUPs, the PATH Freedom Park trail. On the way there, I had a first. Riding along the road, I see another cyclist coming towards me. As he gets closer I think "hey, I know that guy!" It was a friend of friends. Odd that I should run into anyone I know riding before 8am. :-)

I hopped on the trail by Candler Park golf course. And it's lovely at that end. I'd never been that far down it. Little bridges over creeks, lovely landscaping and.....rolling hills. Yay, more climbing! I stopped for a second just as I got on the trail and snapped this pic:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/...dcc7af52fe.jpg

See that dog on the trail? Well, just as I start pedaling down the trail, another dog, off leash, comes up from the right, was at the creek I guess, and sits right on the trail in front of me. At least he got up before I got there. It was early enough that there weren't too many people out. Mostly joggers and dog walkers. A couple of cyclists. While I enjoyed the nice smooth path and scenery, I wouldn't want to ride it much busier than it was.

I ended up following the trail to just short of the Carter Center and looped back towards home. No rest stops this ride, just the regular lights and the pause to take that one picture. zzOtherlandzz, it depends on the route how many stops I have to make. If I have a clear view, I don't always stop for stop signs or lights. There's nothing worse than having to climb a hill or come to a full stop after you're all comfortable in your saddle. It gets my bits all out of whack. Then I'm wiggling on the saddle trying to get right again. :-)

Not sure when my next ride will be. Maybe Wednesday.

Abracapocus ... That is a really cool picture. I'm having fun taking pics but yours and slo spokes look better lol ...

I did get out for a ride today actually started at about 9:30am, early for me. For about 80% of the ride I just felt kinda yucky. Feet hurt a bit (could be the new shoes, but they were fine Sat), hands hurt a bit, legs felt like led. Every little thing seemed to be bothering me on the bike today. Maybe because I was under the weather yesterday I dunno... I feel good now though after being home awhile and cooling down. No pictures, same ole ride same ole nothing to see. Well that's not totally true. Workers were edging and cutting the grass between the sidewalk and the road and blowing ALL of the debris into the bike lane. I almost had to come to a complete stop before they saw me, but they were cool and let me pass. But there was SO much stuff in the bike lane I had to ride the sidewalk for about 2 miles. They used a street sweeper to clean it all up later... so the next ride should be nice with a clean bike lane. :)

Ended up riding a bit over 23 miles... Glad I went...

I'm a bum today... didn't ride. No cookie for me.

zzOtherlandzz, street sweepers? I almost forgot what those were. I've only seen one in Atlanta the twelve years I've lived here. On a ride last week, a construction worker was sweeping debris out of the bike lane as I passed. I thanked him.

Finally got out for a ride this morning. Just a 10.6 mile loop. I left around 9:30am. It was around 80 degrees when I left and humid as always. Even though I didn't have any cloud cover this morning, the sun didn't bother me as much as it has in the past. Boy the first two miles always seem to be the hardest. I wish I had flats to warm up on, but I just don't.

Didn't take any rest breaks, just pic breaks this ride. This is the other side of Candler Park Golf Course from the trail I took last week.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/...87dfe84efa.jpg

And on the other side of the road, this is what the neighborhood looks like:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/...9887f85d5a.jpg

I passed through this little shopping area known as Little Five Points.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/...533eccdb32.jpg

Then I passed by this, built by one of Coca Cola's founders, Asa Candler.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/...2a2b657192.jpg

And, back through Krog Tunnel which has a new coat of paint.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/...96a9fa4fe1.jpg

A lot more cars out today. A few crowded me a bit, one sort of pulled out in front of me but no harm done. I got accepted into the commuter rewards program starting 8/1. Maybe next week I'll do my first commute! Just wish it wasn't so unbearably hot in the afternoons...

Yep I got a ride in today, VERY HOT!! Sister needed a ride to Crescent Beach today to clean a condo. So I loaded up the Mtn bike and headed that way. Decided I would ride the Moses Creek trails. Trail head is on SR206 just east of US1. I actually took my Road bike too thinking I would ride some on the trails and then ride some on the road. Didn't end up riding the road bike though. I did ride about 6 miles (including about 1/2 mile of walking, see pics below) on the trails and a bit over 11 miles on the road. For a total of 17.35. The camera quit working when I got out to the road.... The thing EATS batteries... I did get some rechargeable batteries but forgot to charge them.... DOH!! It sure shakes around a lot when riding on the trails. Really didn't know how the pictures were going to turn out. One thing for sure.... its harder to take pictures bumping around on the trails than it is on the road....

1st pic.... Is the sign at the trail head the more western trail head.
2n pic .... Just a shot of the trail about 1/2 mile from the trail head.
3rd pic .. Patch of sugar sand... walking time ... so so so hot walking through that stuff.
4th pic .. Is a shot of the power lines, NO WAY i can ride down that. There are more nice trails down that way though if you want to walk the mile or so in the sugar sand to get to them. There is also an observation tower set up next the the power lines that somebody uses to observe some kind of birds nest on top of one of the power polls. Its not really a tower it is really just a telephone pole with a seat on the top of it. Might be and eagle nest? I'm not sure.
5th pic... Moses Creek..... When we have had some rain it can be at least 2x as big as it is in the picture.
6th thu 10 pics.... Are pictures of the inland waterway. That is a floating dock in the picture so no matter what the water level is the doc is still usable. Nice place to canoe and kayak i'm told.
pic 11 ... Is a shot of the primitive campsite. There is a hand water pump and even a Porta-Pottie set up there. Picnic tables and a fire pit.

18 mile ride with my friend Mike Jones this evening... He did get in 8 more than I, as it's about 4 miles from his house to mine. Had some fun sprints and great conversation. First time on a bike since last Tuesday.

Today’s ride as seen through the eyes of my bike… 7/27/2010 36 miles


Julie (my wife) and I drove to St Petersburg on Monday evening to spend a couple of days with my daughter and get some ride time with her. Tina (my daughter) has Tuesdays and Wednesdays off from her job so it makes for some good riding time for us.


Upon arrival in St Pete, Tina told me that she was having a problem with the back wheel of her bike dragging against the break pad, so I started to do a little investigating and discovered that the rim was starting to split at the holes where the spokes came through the rim. Two of them were bad enough that the spoke was about to pull out of the rim causing the wheel to wobble. We had to put our Tuesday morning ride on hold and make a trip to the LBS for a new rim. We purchased a generic wheel and put a cheep cassette that I had on the wheel to get her going short term. I plan to take her damaged wheel and cut the Campy hub and cassette out of the wheel and have a new one built for her when I get back to Orlando. Not wanting to ride in the hottest part of the day we decided to do an evening ride into downtown St. Petersburg.


With a new rim and everything in repair we rolled out about 6:00 pm and headed south towards the Sky Way Bridge and Pinellas Point. After a swing thru Maximo Park at the southern most point of the Pinellas County mainland, we started riding north towards downtown St Petersburg. Tina has been riding a well marked ride called Share The Road route over the last week or two. This 60 mile route is marked by the St Pete Bike Club and takes riders thru some very nice areas of Pinellas County and St. Petersburg, we road past The St Pete Country Club and the Boyd Hill nature Area then thru downtown then north towards the Gandy Bridge. Most of this route runs alongside Tampa Bay to the right and some very expensive homes/real estate on the left. The route takes you past Albert Whitted Air Field and Progress Energy Park (formerly known as Al Lang Stadium) in downtown St Pete. This baseball stadium was used as a spring training facility for some Major League Baseball team’s years ago before they started moving much of spring training to Arizona. A short distance north of the airport we road by the construction site of the new Salvador Dali Art Museum. Salvador was one of the world’s most famous and controversial artists. His extraordinary works popularized the art movement known as Surrealism. Next was St Pete Pier that has been a land mark tourist attraction in Pinellas County and St Pete for decades. Time has taken its toll on this location and there is a lot of discussion about tearing it down and just utilizing the park area around it. A little further north we passed the Morean Arts Center where the Chihuly Collection is on display through the end of next month. Dale Chihuly was blind in one eye and created all of his art by blowing glass. A short distance up the road is the world famous Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club. Just north of the Vinoy the route starts to turn residential again with beautiful homes on our left and boat docks and expensive boats on our right.


At about the 20 mile mark we decided that we had just about enough daylight to get us back home before dark. Both of us have plenty of lights some of which we have on even during the daylight hours, however I am not a big fan of riding on the roads with traffic after dark.


Our trip back was about the same route that we took going north with a side trip out to the end of the pier for a cold drink. While enjoying our Pepsi and the sunset we spotted two schools of dolphin swimming about fifty yards out in the bay. I tried to get a picture of them but all you can see is the dorsal fin as it breaks the surface of the water. One of the locals was fishing at the end of the pier and he had two pelicans sitting beside him waiting for him to catch something that he would share with them.


An amazing bird, the pelican it is said that his beak can hold more than his belly can. (A little attempt at humor here)


The remaining ride home was very relaxing with cool breezes and minimal traffic. We arrived home about 9:00 pm and my wife served us large bowls of strawberry ice cream to top off a great day.


I hope you enjoyed our ride…

Photos 1-3 Riding into and the view from Maximo Park
Photos 4-5 Arriving in the downtown area of St Pete. Progress Energy Field is just in front of my daughter
Photo 6 Yours truly standing in front of the art museum that was displaying the Chihuly Art Collection
Photo 7 The world famous St Pete Pier
Photo 8 Two fishermen trying to catch dinner
Photo 9 The Salvador Dali Museum under construction. When this is finished it will be a very beautiful tribute to Dali
Photo 10 The entrance to the Vinoy Resort and Golf Club

Slo Spoke .... When I first got my Trek a few years ago I was riding home from the coast and had a flat. My ride was coming along soon to get me anyway but before she got there I noticed EVERY spoke hole on both rims were starting to crack. I was never more glad I got a flat than I was that day.... If not for the flat I may not have noticed how bad the wheels were. Anyway Trek upgraded my wheel set for free. At the time the upgraded set cost $499. Didn't have my bike for a week or so, but got some nice wheels in the process. Turns out it was a manufacturing defect and they were replacing a lot of wheels. Without looking I don't remember the model of the wheels. They were made by Bontrager though. .............. Very cool pictures btw!!!

No ride today.... I was just sitting in the living room about 20 mins ago watching it rain.... I didn't see any lightning for about 10 minutes so i said to self..... self lets go for a ride in rain... So rushed outside with my mountain bike and started getting my bike shoes out of the van.... Before I had my shoes on.... another part of the front must have rolled in because there was a LOT of lightning now... Stayed outside until about 5 minutes ago.... and gave up and came back in..... <sigh> no ride in the rain... I don't mind the rain.... but I'll pass on the lightning... Now the scared'y dog is sitting behind me while I type thing because she is afraid of the thunder.... It's not really comfortable sitting like this.... LOL

My rides for the day started at 12am this morning.. 7/29/10..From my Facebook log.

"Just got back from a 30 mile ride with Mr. Brown...Several foxes, and does were on the trail...Close call with a Doe who made a last second dash from the treeline..Drove from the trail to Wallworld and dropped off the van with the wife...Rode home from Wallyworld...2:30am time for a shower then ZZzzZZZzzzz..Once I complete my work ride today will log 41 miles."

Work ride ..
Work bound.. 84f and 14mph headwind..
Home bound.. 85f and a 13mph headwind..
Gotta love them ever changing winds...Logged 41 miles for the day and 496.90 for the month..I'll break 500 miles for this month !!

[QUOTE=zzOtherlandzz;11197957]Slo Spoke .... ........... Very cool pictures btw!!!

The daughter has let me know that from now on she will not ride in front of me when the camera is mounted on the bike. Some people are just so vain.

[QUOTE=kjc9640;11198145]You were supposed to tell her that it was a radar for seeing how fast other riders are going..... not a camera LOL

I rode 3 miles today and felt completely wiped out. I have no idea what happened to me today :mad: