Friday, February 28, 2014

58 miles from the Venitian Waterway Park in Venice, FL to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL and back.  It was a spectacular day for bicycling. High 60s, no humidity and not a cloud in the sky.  We bicycled down the Legacy Trail which goes into Sarasota. We still had 16 miles to go after getting off the trail.  We stopped at the cutest restaurant for lunch. In the small world category we saw the woman from the RV next to us as we entered.  She was amazed that we had bicycled there.  The Ringling Museum was fantastic.  We could have spent many more hours there.
There was a guy riding his Elliptigo (an elliptical bike) on the trail. While speaking with him, he mentioned a 71-YO ex-marine is riding one across the country. That's a workout!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

27 miles from the RVcamp into Venice, FL. and back.  Venice is a really cute town with lots of shops and restaurants.  It was once the winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus.  We saw a live armadillo on our ride back.  He was totally unaware we were there. I suppose that is the reason this is the first live armadillo I have ever seen on my bicycling trips.

Monday, February 24, 2014

31 miles from the KOA to Clearwater, FL and back.  We rode down to Clearwater and met Donna and her family for lunch.  We ate at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill On The Beach.  The food was delicious and the beach very beautiful.  Our first view of the Gulf of Mexico was on the bridge as we biked over to Clearwater.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

23 miles from KOA to downtown St. Petersburg and back on the Pinellas Trail.  We bicycled down to see Donna, Leo, Billy, Erin, and Abigail.and  visited the Salvador Dali Museum.  The museum houses an incredible collection of 96 works from his early to late works.  It's amazing to see how his work progressed.  Definitely a brilliant genius.

Bicycling at sunset.

View from Donna's balcony

Saturday, February 22, 2014

28 miles from Tampa, FL. to St. Petersburg, FL.  The bulk of the ride was on the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail which runs from St. Pete To Tarpon Springs.  A gentleman at the RV camp in Tampa said he avoids it because it can be crowded.  I saw less than a dozen people today and wondered what he would think of the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda.  I really like that there is a separate trail for walkers.  That's a big problem on the CCT. We will be here for a couple of days visiting Donna.  Her daughter is moving to the area and they arrive tonight from San Diego.

Mobbly Bay, Safety Harbor, FL.

I've actually never seen these "air plants" growing naturally

Friday, February 21, 2014

40 miles from Zephyrhills, FL to Tampa, FL. I had a bicycle lane for most of the ride, rode through some very nice neighborhoods, USF campus, and the Upper Tampa Bay bicycle trail.

It's amazing to see azaleas in bloom in February!

Upper Tampa Bay Trail

Thursday, February 20, 2014

35 miles from Bushnell, FL. to Zephyrhills, FL.   I can definitely tell I haven't been bicycling much distance.  Between the heat (81°), the wind (13 mph headwinds) and the hills it was a strenuous ride.  I knew I was going up and down rolling hills, but got tickled when I spotted the elevation sign. I felt better about being winded.  After all, when you are used to bicycling at sea level, 240 feet altitude is significant LOL

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

28 miles from The Villages, FL. to Bushnell, FL.  Beautiful, sunny day.

New trip from The Villages in FL to St. Petersburg, Fl

We have picked up and organized the new trailer. I'm trying a new approach for this trip....using Google maps' bicycle program.  I'm going to take it easy and bicycle only about 30 miles per day.  Have to get acclimated to 80+ degrees!  I''ll post some photos later.