March 12 -- the bikers have gone home

I went out for a bike ride first thing, travelling north in calm winds -- I was very interested in seeing what remained of all the biker venues. They were mostly cleaned up and road crews were removing cones, signs etc. I probably only saw a half dozen bikers in total -- amazing when you think of what was cruising the street all last week. It was soooo quiet -- and the traffic was almost nonexistant. I turned around just past the US 1 / I95 intersection.

I'm happy with the new tires. They are rolling well but I was still not sure about the weight -- hard to tell on the flat. I had left an email for Specialized to query the tire weight but called them when I got back from my ride because I need more tires for the cross-country and need to order them now. The fellow that I got on the phone was quite helpful -- 277 grams for the Armadillo Elites clinchers and 230 grams for the Mondo Pro clinchers. I can live with 277 grams -- perhaps I should try some lighter weight tubes to reduce rolling weight ... hmmm. It might be worth a try ... I ordered 3 more tires.

Jason et al left at 7 a.m. for Disney World and their plan was to stay overnight and do some shopping in the Orlando area tomorrow. They had also planned to go back later in the week for a second day of Disney but they called us in the evening and have decided to do their two days at Disney back to back. Even though two days at Disney in a row is tiring, it's probably a wise move since they only have until Thursday and they'll be more rested if they spend two days in this area before leaving. They want to work in a day at Kennedy Space Center as well so they'll have a busy week.

I took the car in to the BMW dealership again so they could run diagnostics or whatever on the alarm system which has been going off and also calling BMW Assist, annoying to say the least. They found that it was the hood sensor that was faulty so I opted to wait for the replacement, since they had the part in stock. I probably spent about an hour at the dealership, which was better than two trips. Although the item is covered under the Easycare Warranty, it was less than the $100 deductible. Hopefully that is the end of the alarm problems.

After the BMW dealership I went to Boaters World to look at a few things -- I picked up fuel stabilizer, wheel bearing grease for the trailer and also an expoxy-based filler to fix the deep scratch in the boat that I made three years ago coming up against a rusty nail. I filled that spot and used the balance to better anchor the depth finder -- it was only held in place with caulking and Jason had leaned on it and dislodged the base -- just as well because I knew it would not last.

I spent a lot of time in Boaters World -- browsing around but also looking at their huge selection of sandals and deck shoes. I have to go back because I could use another pair of shoes, but the selection was so large that I gave up.

Back at home it was quiet -- Abby was not happy to have everyone gone and to be left alone. We had barbecued Grouper for dinner.

Back to the ride ...

Nutrition -- 1.5 bottles of water; 1 gel; some liquified carb-boom.

Ride stats -- 61 miles; 17.8 mph avg.