Bike Florida 2014 My Summary
Bike Florida 2014
Getting on the train was not the best
experience as Amtrak would not load my bike, so I boarded without it
and watched it sitting in its box on the platform as train 97 pulled
away. The train was already 2 hours late so it was 9:34 and past
business hours.
In the morning I called Sun Cycles Shop
and told them my dilemma, they texted the guys at the event and they
called about 90 minutes later. When I arrived in Palatka FL I was
asking for directions to start walking with my large 40 lb wheeled
bag and overnight bag. Some told me they had come to pick someone up
and take them to the Overturf Center and to throw my bags in the
truck and jump in! They dropped me off at the Sun Cycle tent and I
looked in to see only two bikes but one was tagged with my name! It
was a nice blue Trek 1.1 Alpha. I had brought my own pedals and had
them put them on the rental bike. Day One rides were 7.5, 29 , 53
and 70 as it was already 2pm by the time I got registered and staked
out a place in the gym I did the 7.5 but rode around town and few
extra times to get a feel for the rental bike. That evening the town
had a street party with a blues band and car show. Bike FL also had
a hospitality tent with refreshments downtown.
Sleeping in the luxurious “indoor
camping” areas was better than last year. Again I took my binaural
ambient sleep music to mask the noise and this year Trish bought me a
nice sleep mask (last year I used a sock). The yoga mat and blanket
added some padding under the Walt-Mart sleeping bag. To me the gym
floors with a couple hundred people were much more conducive to sleep
than the Amtrak coach seat in a moving train with 20 some stops
between DC and Palatka.
Next day I ride the shortest 35 mile
route and find the rental seat pretty uncomfortable. Also the
limited training compared to last year shows some but mostly the seat
is painful! The WX is not quite as hot as yesterday but it felt
great after a cold winter in MD. Back at the school, I decide to put
my old Brooks seat on for the rest of the tour. In the evening I
taught Yoga at 7:30 and it felt great to have the class outdoors as
no space was provided for the evening class. The temp was perfect
though and we finished the class under a clear sky full of stars.
Off to sleep with the sleep mask and ambient noise sound isolation
earbuds.
The lights come on at 6 am but I don't
even notice them but I do sense folks moving about and I get up to
eat breakfast in the cafeteria, pack and throw the bags in the
luggage truck. As I have no lights I have plenty of time to get
ready to take off on the 62 mile ride to We are riding to Daytona
today and it was a nice ride even though it was way over my 25 mile
or so max training ride this year. The old brooks saddle felt much
better on the sit bones. In the evening there was talent show and I
taught a Yoga class again for those that wanted to do that. This
time the venue was a wrestling room which felt a bit strange with the
soft had foam floor but was probably great for those that came with
no yoga mat. It was difficult for balance poses as your feet 'sink
in', one person complained of the chemical smell. Oh
well....Tomorrow will be a local day and the WX guessers call for
another nice day.
Today I don't even wake up at 6, when I
finally peek out of the sleep mask and ambient noise it's nearly 6:30
and almost everyone is up and moving. I have only been waking up
once to pee at 4 or so and sleeping well. I take off on the 25 mile
ride to Daytona Speedway. At the speedway it is warmer and I take
off the long sleeves and ride around the 2 mile track twice just
enjoying the sights. The banked curves are much taller than one
would imagine. The banking is so steep one needs to get on hands and
knees to crawl up to the top. We were asked not to ride bicycles up
past the yellow line. We stopped to take pictures and saw the
victory circle, the pits and had pictures taken by the professional
photographer covering our event. The Speedway was open to other
bicyclists and human powered vehicles until 11am so it was great to
have gotten there early enough to enjoy the track.
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| Failed Brooks Seat! |
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| At Daytona Speedway |
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| North of Daytona.. |
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| Surfer Taco Shack Flager Beach |
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| I did not know how steep the banking is! |
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| Nice Rest Stop |
Rode back to the Seabreeze High school
on the other side of the inter-coastal waterway. Some of the ride
was on a bike path and it was very pretty, until a motorcycle pulled
out and stopped right in my path. I hit the brakes and tried to
swerve around but the bike started to slide so I straightened out and
hit him in his left saddle bag. I called him several names such as
DA MF and a few more and rode away. A few hundred yards later my
seat felt funny, then I heard parts falling off the bike. I stopped
at the base of the bridge over the intercoastal and upon dismounting
the front 2/3 of the Brooks leather seat fell off! I took the safety
vest and wadded it up as a pad and just set the piece of the seat
back on and rode the final 4 miles or so back to the school. Back in
the gym I changed to my casual shorts and shirt and headed back out
to the Beach only blocks away. At 4 pm there was the Bike FL beach
party and I stayed for a while but missed the bonfire as I went back
to teach Yoga again.
Today would be a “travel day” of
about 60 miles with the added bonus of a 17 mph direct headwind all
day, maybe increasing. Today I was glad that I was riding without a
cyclometer. All I could do was ride into the wind. My new friend
Bill had reminded me that “that is what gears are for” Nancy and
I rode together as she was going 'my speed'. Seeing the wave and the
beach much of the time was very scenic but was offering little
protection from the winds and sometimes was riding in the 2nd
to the lowest gear for long periods, if we went behind a building or
high dune I could up shift a cog or two but then a gust would hit and
I would have to downshift again. Stopping at all the rest stops for
10 min or so we finally made the Oasis restaurant south of St.
Augustine and stopped for a nice Fish Taco. After about 45 min or so
we took off again and finally made it to the Solomon Calhoun Center
which would be our home for two nights. Again there was no assigned
place for the PM Yoga class but it was not too cold to have it
outside next to the baseball field on the grass behind the outfield.
Layover rides were 45, 60, 100. I choose to ride to the 1st
rest stop on the 45 mi ride which was right up the beach but the wind
was more of a direct x-wind with a slight downwind component on the
way out and slight headwind on the way back but nothing like
yesterdays grueling ride. Back in St. Augustine we bought lifetime
senior passes for National Parks so we could visit the famous Fort
“Castillo de San Marcos” and walk/ride around downtown St.
Augustine for several hours. Later we went back to the center for a
shower and took the shuttle bus back downtown to the “Fountain of
Youth” in time for the last Planetarium show and 20th
Anniversary Party. I left early to teach Yoga but it was lightly
attended as the party went till 9:30. Light out at 10 PM.
Up early again and off to ride about 40
miles back to Palatka. Todays ride was very pleasant but I was
really having butt pain and overall tiredness from the tour. It was
one rest stop at a time till we got back to the long term parking
area. Nancy and I rode together and stopped for a few pictures. At
the end we had some time to shower and pack up, turn in the rental
bike and then have a great soul food style BBQ Ribs with all the
fixin's and dessert. Nancy dropped me off at the train station which
was only 45 min late this time. I got on the train and rode the 17
hours back to DC. In Jessup GA it started raining and rained all the
way back home. It rained all day Sat and Sun turned to some sleet
and snow in the DC area. I slept a lot. Next year the tour may be
in Sarasota FL. I hope I can go again.
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| Ready to Leave at Palatka |
