Apr 11-13 - time flies

Friday went by quickly, so quickly I don't remember what I did.  Yes, I do remember -- some computing, packing etc; Sandy, Marda and Patti had a late lunch; I walked over to Liberty Collision with Abby and picked up Sandy's car (a 1+ hour walk, I might add); I had dinner of sorts; picked up Dick at 6pm and we drove to Jupiter. 

Up around 3:30, we were rolling at 5am.  There was a good crowd; I'm guessing just under 30 riders.  All the usual suspects were there.  It started off warm, got warmer and ended up warm.  Of note it was even warm overnight; I was sweltering in a long sleeved jersey underneath my reflective gear.

Dick started off strong but ended up middling.  We drafted much of the first day because we were in the wind a lot.  From Jupiter the ride went to Lake Okeechobee, partway around the east side of the lake, back south on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST), east and then north to Fort Pierce and then back south to Jupiter.  We finished the day around 7:30 ... not too shabby, but then again it was "only" 300k.  I was happy to finish in daylight.

We had some dinner, got two hours sleep and then headed back out, a little before 11pm.  Riding north to Melbourne, the ride takes us out on the barrier islands, the beach.  The wind from the east was fierce !  The elevated causeway /  bridge to Hutchinson Island was a bear into that wind; I think that I was down around 6mph and had to peddle just to get down the bridge.  I knew that this was only one of a handful of times that we'd actually be riding east that day so I just took it easy, got 'er done. 

Approach  Melbourne pre-dawn, Dick was having a hard time staying awake.  I struck up a conversation, keeping him awake.  He really needed a power nap but there really wasn't anyplace to stop, other than simply at the side of the road.  We had already hit every open 7-11.

Recovering somewhat at the 7-11 and welcoming the dawn, we turned south.  That east wind was really a southeast wind and the next 21 miles was tough.  The angle of the wind made it impossible for Dick to draft behind me and indeed he was too tired to draft anyway.  We crossed paths with other riders heading towards the turnaround point but even though our average for the rest of the day was 12-15 mph, they never caught us ... didn't even catch us when we were stopped at the end of the ride. 

Once we turned west on 510 the riding was immensely easier but it was still slow.  We made ample use of the controls -- when he's this bagged, Dick is very slow at the controls.  I say that and yet I know others who are much slower, even when they're fresh ! 

The last 10 miles down Jupiter Island and to the finish were great riding.  Once protected from that East wind, it was almost like we had a tail-wind; not really but in comparison.  We finished the day at about the same speed as we'd been riding the entire 600k.

5am - 3:17 p.m. the next day made for one of my longer 600k rides but it was quite enjoyable.  Riding a little easier than normal meant that I wasn't as wiped myself.  It was a good ride.  I stopped by the gate that I'd flipped over last year and pondered my good luck.

 Dick slept part of the way back; we stopped at my place for me to shower and then headed to Dick's hotel to join the girls who were camped out on the balcony, watching the surf, drinking wine and chatting.  I had one beer -- any more and I'd do a face plant -- and we headed home for shrimp, rice, beans and bed ... in that order !

Today ... perhaps I'll go for a bike ride but on the noisy bike !  I also need to get my taxes into the mail. 

Sandy will take Marda to the airport today; our next guests arrive on Thursday !

Onward ?  I sure hope so !