The Rider by Tim Krabbe'

I just finished reading The Rider by Tim Krabbe'. It wasn't the easiest book to read, but I did enjoy it. The book pretty much covers a single race kilometer by kilometer with some other stories mixed in. I could feel his pain and understand the feelings and thoughts that he had as he progressed through the race. In the end I would say that it is a good book and recommend it.

UWF/Scenic Hills

Yesterday I rode with the Firestone & Summit group. We did the UWF/Scenic Hills Loop. You can read a different take on the ride here.

After having ridden 68 miles the day before my legs were heavy. I had a hard time getting my cadence up. There were only five of us. The average speed was a little over 15; so it wasn't a fast ride, but there were some fast sections as usual. I enjoyed the route, especially riding through Scenic Hills. I did take one hill and came in 2nd for the finish on Maygarden.

This morning my son and I were going to ride with our FSU friend, but 40 degree temps caused us to stay inside. The wind is up too. To tell the truth, my legs are heavy today too.

Molino 68mi

Yesterday my son, a friend, and I rode my Molino 68mi route. It was a nice day. I dressed warmly, but never got hot, just nice and toasty. I did get cold at a rest stop. This was the first time I have ridden some of these roads in over 20 years. Not much has changed, just more traffic in some areas and a few roads have better pavement. But, some roads appear to have the same pavement as 20 years ago.

Our friend is a student from FSU and is on the team there. It was the strongest rider of the day. I came in last. Towards the end of the ride going down Scenic Hwy I had very little left in my legs. To think that our friend had wanted to ride the 200k, there's no way I was ready for that.

We got a 9am start and ended at 1:30pm with 4 hrs of riding time. There was quite a bit of traffic on Pine Forest and the turn onto 297A. After we turned up 97 the traffic thinned and the pavement was good pretty much all the way to Muskogee Rd. The pavement all the way to Molino was about average with some good pavement thrown in from time to time. Molino Rd was pretty good.

The stores on Muskogee Rd and in Molino on 95A were open which is good. But we didn't stop until we got to Five Points. Quintette Rd is no better than it use to be. I take that back. The first half had good pavement, but the Santa Rosa part was numbing. I've never been a fan of Quintette Rd, but it does connect the two counties which opens up the possibilities of nice long rides without having to double back.

The traffic on Woodbine was intense at times, but it was around 12:30. The traffic on Hwy 90 was heavy and it was difficult to make the left onto Scenic Hwy. Some were saying how cruel it is to finish up the ride on Scenic Hwy. I think it is a good way to finish up the ride; although my legs were screaming at me.

We had a great ride! It was about the right distance for me for this time of year. I might make some modifications to the course to avoid Pine Forest Rd and the 297A intersection, but we'll see. This was the first time my son has ridden this course. He enjoyed it so much that he thinks it should be a weekly ride. BTW, I designed this version of the route just for him by going directly to Summit Blvd instead going via Bayou Blvd. He doesn't much care for riding Bayou Blvd.

Our friend will be in town until after the first of the year, so I'm sure we will get some more nice rides with him. It sure is nice having a 3rd riding to ride with; especially since he does a lot of pulling too. Thanks Joe!

A Little Warmer

My son and I rode Loop-T-Loop today. The temps were in the 50's. All in all it was a nice ride, but my son pushed me pretty hard. I rode the 928 for a change, but I could feel every bump in the rode. We are hoping to ride the Scenic 25 tomorrow if it doesn't rain with a friend. Got to ride when you can...

Pine Forest Loop

I got to ride Saturday with the Firestone & Summit group. We rode the Pine Forest Loop. There were 7 riders total. I was a little tired and the pace wasn't very fast. All in all it was a nice 40 mile ride. I'm not really crazy about the route, but I knew that the colder temperatures were coming, so I very much wanted to get some miles in while I could. I'll have to try to remember the route and post it on MapMyRide.com.

Today it is too cold and windy for me. I'm thinking about getting some more winter clothing; otherwise I'm going to have to learn how to ride rollers. I don't want to loose my fitness.

Cold Weather

I don't like cold weather. I rode yesterday, just a short ride in the afternoon. I never warmed up. I couldn't wait to get back home just so I could warm up. The legs felt heavy after saturday's ride. This cold weather has got me down. The thing is, it isn't really that cold. 50 degrees isn't cold, but it sure feels cold to me and I don't like riding when I'm cold. Some how I'm going to have to get use to it if I'm going to build upon my fitness which is my goal.

Innerarity Point Ride

Today I joined the Firestone group on the Innerarity Point Ride. The ride started a little after 8am at the Fish and Wildlife parking lot (I can't help but call it the Marine Patrol) with very little wind. The pace started reasonable, but it sped up several times and finished fast. The temps were slightly chilly to start, but it didn't take long before riders were shedding some of the extra clothes.

I hadn't been down Innerarity Point in years. The last time I road down there, there were only about 3-5 houses. The pavement was pretty good. It was fun.

Going through the back gate of NAS not all of the riders had ID's. The gate keepers let us through anyway. Very nice guys today. Riding along the water was very beautiful.

Main St. is still torn up towards the end of the ride, so we took Garden St. instead.

I have mapped the course and it is now listed on the right under rides. The course maps at just under 50 miles.

This was the first time I have ridden this course. All in all I would say that this is a very nice course. There was some traffic here and there, but for the most part the traffic was reasonable.

It was a beautiful day and I got home before 11:30. I really needed this ride as I haven't ridden much lately. The legs are sore now, so hopefully I will ride tomorrow to work out some of the soreness.

The Cold Weather Has Arrived

My son and I had some good rides over the Thanksgiving holidays. It was nice and I was starting to feel strong again. Then it got cold. I'm not a cold weather cyclist. On top of that, I've been working non-stop the last several weeks (except for those nice rides).

So, I'm not sure how much riding I'm going to get in this winter. I had high hopes at the end of the season. Maybe I need to learn how to ride the rollers. I sure don't want to loose the fitness I have achieved.

Just the same, if I don't do much riding I won't be posting much either.