Nov 22 - St. Pete's and home

Our hotel was only 2.5 miles from Paul's house so I simply rode my bike over.   It was sort-of drizzling, so I was appropriately dressed in rain jacket and shower cap over my helmet.  The shower cap stayed on for a while but eventually they both came off as the day warmed up and we didn't get any more rain.

Was it ever windy !!!  Blowing like a banshee from the ENE as we headed north; gradually changing sometime in there to ESE.  As a result we never had a tailwind but there was so very little N or S in the wind that it was just the cross wind anyway.

The ride is called Pinellas Beaches and that's what it does, right up the barrier islands St. Petes and Clearwater, over to the mainland and back.  Most of the ride southward is on a very nice bicycle trail.

For a change, I stuck with the group.  I did lose the group at 27 miles but picked them up at the 34 mile Control and didn't lose them again.  It was a good ride; flat except for causeways but that wind made up for any possible climbing !

I rode the Lynskey.  I think that was my first ride on that bike since I got the chainstay fixed.  I need to tune the shifting.

I called Sandy at 6 miles from the end, another Control, and she was walking on St. Pete's Beach with Abby.  She got to Paul's soon after me; Abby made friends with all the cyclists and we then headed home.  Nothing worthwhile presented itself for lunch so we stopped at a Subway. 

Home again, we relaxed for an hour and then went out for Sushi.  It was very good -- a huge amount of food. 

Another day, another trip, done or rather, finished.

Onward !