Category: Florida Coast 2013

51.8 miles Total this tour: 180.2 miles The hot riding so far is prompting us to get up a little earlier, so this morning we hit the road by 7:30AM.  We’re off the AC route again, and so improvised our way back across the bridge and into Port Orange in order to get back on track. The quiet and beautiful river road eventually led back to US1 – ugh.  Lots of traffic there but at least the bike lane was pretty good.  There was a slight tailwind and I felt good, and so ended up cranking along at 14-15 mph. 

51.7 miles Total this tour: 128.4 miles Solid sleep and slow rise around 8AM.  Yesterday’s tough ride took its toll I guess.  We rolled out down A1A and soon through Summerhaven.  Jack and Fran have been threatening to buy a vacation house in this community, and Jack pointed out the area as we rode by, a beautiful location on the waterway.  Then twelve miles to breakfast, which seemed like long miles into the continuing headwinds. In Palm Coast, Google Maps pointed to a cafe on the ocean, but as we headed there nothing felt right – no shops or sidewalks

76.7 miles Total this tour: 76.7 miles Ever sticklers for frivolous cartographic details, Jack and I decided that an authentic “top-to-tip” ride of the Florida Atlantic coast would have to start within sight of Georgia.  So instead of starting our ride from our rental condo in Fernandina Beach, we packed up the bikes and took a morning drive north into Fort Clinch State Park.  We reached the entrance gate, and hoping to avoid the entrance fee, we explained that we’d simply be driving up to the northern end of the park and riding our bikes out within a few minutes. 

Met up with Jack today! Sweet!   We’re all staying at a condo in Fernandina Beach.  Linda has made arrangements so that Jack can safely park his car here while we pedal. A pizza joint for dinner, then back to the condo.  Some kind of insects, locusts maybe, make a huge racket at sundown here, then stay quiet the rest of the evening.  The condo residents say it happens every evening. Jack and I are stoked to go.  It is a tour that almost didn’t happen, and yet here we are ready to start.  Adventure awaits.

Made it to Florida.  It is soupy hot with a constant threat of thunderstorms.  So far, it appears that the days usually start out decently, with maybe a few rain cells moving through.  Then, every afternoon the storms roll in.  On days when we plan to ride 50 miles, that may not be too big a deal, but on days when we plan to ride 70 or 80 miles, we’ll get deluged for sure. Winds have been primarily from the east or northeast, at least.  We’ll be riding SSE and then S and SW, so I hope the winds stay

The Florida Tour is officially underway, in that we’re at least on the road headed to the start. This morning I unloaded the bike, assembled a little bit, and set off around Lincoln Illinois for a morning spin. I eventually found Illinois SR10 headed east and continued out to a little farming neighborhood called Beason.  Nothing much going on there except a dad playing with his kids in a backyard pool.  Idyllic midwest scenes, like something from Normal Rockwell. Nice foggy conditions this morning, cool and wet.  The runs through corn and soybean fields had me thinking of such rides

The days for conditioning rides are drawing short.  I took the loaded rig for our weekly meeting of the minds at ASU Karsten, where Jesse and I solved all manner of problems related to golf, finance, and race relations. On the way back, I decided that the day was shaping up to be nicely overcast, and figured a few bonus miles were in order.  At first I thought I’d jog up Alma School, then east on McKellips to head home, which would add about 2 miles.  That route was soon modified to go up the Beeline and then south on

Did the ever popular floor check today, you know, laying all my tour gear out on the floor as an inventory.   Since it’s a relatively short tour I think I’m just going to bring a paper notebook for trip notes, and my iPhone for email, maybe a book of Sudoku puzzles. And since the trip is Florida in September, we’ll require much less for warmth.  Even the inevitable rain riding will likely be so warm as to not need leg warmers or rain pants or even those Rainlegs I used in 2011.  I’m thinking just a rain jacket and

Today I was reminded that we’re not riding bicycles, we’re riding rigs. A full load conditioning ride today.  Both front and back panniers and handlebar bag.  I filled the back panniers with the usual tent, sleeping bag, mattress, pillow, and an assortment of lights.  In each of the front went a 5 lb dumbbell and an extra filled water bottle.  The bike felt about right, maybe 5 lb more than usual and weighted a little heavier in the front than usual. The ride tested a bit of recent maintenance, too.  New rear tube (slow leak caused by not one but