Apr 1 - back to two

Well, back to two of us this morning. Abby's going to be mucho bored.

Yesterday, however, there were still 4 ... and we went for a boat ride.

For the second time this year we were able to go out to the ocean. It was much rougher this time though, somewhat marginal. We did not hang around long, saw no dolphins or turtles, just went out to one of the buoys, turned south for a few hundred yards and then came back.

As usual we then went over to the sand bar to give Abby a chance to run around like a fool. The tide was very high and parts of the sandbar were separated from the others. There were no minnows but that didn't stop Abby from looking. The sand was soft and spongy - it was like walking in crusty deep snow - hard going.

The water and air were both warm -- 72.5 and 80F. It was cloudy and very humid - the sun poked out a few times and the water was flat calm in the Intracoastal Waterway all the way to Caribbean Jack's for lunch. It's the furthest that we've been with Carol and Allister. The first time that they visited we had the Boston Whaler, too small to go any distance. The second time was when Abby rolled on the dead fish, impaling herself on a spine and we needed to get to the vet so we ate at the restaurant at the east side of the Port Orange bridge. Allister wondered if we were trying to make a run for New York ... ha !

While we were eating we could see some heavier cloud moving in south of us and then a very dark cloud encircled from the north. Hmmm. The wind picked up and suddenly a light rain started. We moved in under the awning, didn't dawdle over our food and headed back to the boat.

What a difference an hour makes ! The waves in the ICW were about as big as we've seen them. At least they were going our way. I was hopeful that we'd be able to outrun any big rain but that was not to be. Once we were past the manatee zone and moving at 25-30 we could see an area ahead where clearly it was raining. It rained hard, but with the wind going with us, the windshield and the bimini we were relatively dry. Allister had brought an umbrella and we'd all laughed at him but it was perfect for deflecting any rain that made it over the bimini onto them in the back seat. We needed a picture of that !

By the time we got to the slower zone again the rain had stopped and we made it back to the end without any significant precipitation. There were only about three other cars/trucks in the parking lot but huge rain puddles, so clearly they'd gotten hammered. Huge puddles along Saxon on the way home caused a couple of cars coming towards us almost to lose it ... but didn't. I did the usual cleanup on the boat with my rain jacket and hood because it had started to rain again. I'll have some more cleanup to do this morning because I left the bimini up and no doubt some leaves will have accumulated.

We'd had a huge lunch. Allister had the fish rueben which came with battered fish; Sandy had the Caribbean Chicken; I had the grilled fish sandwich (yes, I know, boring since I have that all the time); Carol had the same. Carol ordered onion rings which they messed up - her plate was full of french fries. To make up for their error they brought a large basket of onion rings within a couple of minutes so we had extra fries etc. and polished off most of the plates. Having finished the megalunch around 2:30 no one was hungry but we knew that we would be later. Sandy went to the fish store and picked up some golden tilefish and that, along with a salad and baguette comprised dinner after 8pm. I'm still full.

Everyone turned in early -- well, I turned in late, for me, and Allister was up at 5:30 a.m., Carol a little later, and they were out of the house by 6:45. From the sounds of things they intend to go about half-way through their 1350 mile trip to Hemmingford.

We will miss them -- and I'm not saying that just because I know that Carol will read the blog. They are easy to have around, eat what we eat, drink what we drink, and have a level of intensity similar to ours -- that is, fairly mellow. I am definitely mellower than I used to be, but no matter, there's enough room here for my somewhat jack-in-the-box habits of going to the computer, going to bed early etc. It's probably more stressful for them since they are guests and its hard to completely relax as a guest. Who knows -- perhaps we don't want them to completely relax !

Sandy has gone back to bed. Abby has gone back to bed. I'm at the computer as usual. The sky is getting light but we won't see any sun until mid-day according to weather.com. I"m planning on going out for a short bike ride today, probably 50 miles. There's no point in overdoing it since I do have a "little" ride coming up on Saturday.

A large bottle of Perpetuem arrived in the UPS delivery yesterday. It's like gatorade powder in that you dissolve it in water, but unlike gatorade it has no "ose" sugars. No sucrose, no fructose, no ... you get the idea. All complex carbos and electrolytes, it's supposed to be easier for the gut to absorb and does not produce the highs that you get from simple sugars. With protein and fat in appropriate amounts, it's supposed to be a complete meal replacement. Apparently -- yet to be tested by me and for me -- proper consumption of this stuff over the course of a ride would mean that I need nothing else other than water. The bloated feeling from undigested food would be no more. It's worth a try. I'll pack enough of it in my pack in measured doses in ziploc bags and see how it works out.

The weather is supposed to be good for Saturday with scattered thundershowers on Sunday. That gives me incentive to keep on riding. Of course incentive cannot overcome complete exhaustion, but then again I was never completely exhausted at the end of previous rides. I'm prepared for anything -- I've got my hotel room -- we'll see. I'll have to pack a little differently this time since I do get back to the hotel room and can shower and change, whether or not I use the bed.

Also delivered yesterday were a couple of new pairs of cycling shorts. They are my usual Performance Century shorts. There are probably better ones out there that would be more comfortable for long rides, but I don't want to experiment at this point. Also, shorts are not really something that you can return, so I'd want to try on any alternatives in the store before buying and riding. I've read mixed reviews of the ones with a gel chamois, for instance, and do not know if those would work for me. From a "fit" standpoint, I like these shorts. The next step up, the Performance Elite shorts, I find uncomfortable. Anyway, these are the first new shorts that I've purchased since the ride across America so I'm due. I bought a lot of shorts at that time to reduce the need for washing, and I'm sure that the chamois padding has gradually gotten thinner.

I got an email from Dan Wallace yesterday, one of the organizers of the Central Florida rides, assisting RBA Tim Bol. Dan had been reading my blog and told me not to worry about the 1200 km rides. He'd attempted to do 5 - five ! -- of these in 2006 and completed 4 but had a mechanical problem on the 5th. Five (5) 1200's !! Perhaps once I'm through the first it won't seem so daunting.

Speaking of which, I sent of my registration for the Shenandoah yesterday, along with an application for a 200k Permanent out of Birdsboro. Birdsboro you ask ? Well, Birdsboro is close to Reading PA where Jeffrey has moved and I'll do that Permanent on either the Thursday or Friday when we're there. Who knows -- the Permanent starts 11 miles from Jeffrey's place -- I'll probably ride there and back as well since Sandy might have the car. It has plenty of climbing -- good practice for what I'll be experiencing in the Shenandoah 1200.

I also heard from Judith who was supposed to ride the Deland Permanent on Saturday with a friend who needed that ride to complete her R12. The R12 medal is given to those who complete a 200k+ ride in each of the preceding 12 months. Well, the friend had hurt her back earlier in the month and the doctor prescribed steroids to help recover. She did not make it through the ride -- 8 miles from the end she could go no further and had to have her husband pick her up. Between back pain and digestion problems from the steroids she was done. That's really a heartbreaker. Even though the ride is 140 miles and she really went over 200k, that doesn't count. The ride must be completed, no partial credit given.

I'd contacted Judith to see what make/model of light she was using on her helmet and it's actually one of those headlights like David got me the Christmas before last. She zipties it to the helmet -- I'm going to look at it on Saturday at some point and decide from there. I've also found a couple of Cateye lights that are supposed to be helmet-mountable. Would 2-3 oz on the front of my helmet drag my head down ? Probably not ... but the Cateye lights mount further back on the helmet and are more flashlight-shaped. This time I'll pay attention to what people are using and order something in advance of the Gainesville 600. It's not been an issue for these rides but I suspect that on the Shenandoah and Granite Anvil rides I'll be way out in the countryside by myself and might need something.

Ok -- that's enough typing for one morning -- enough blathering on -- I wonder how many readers actually get to this point and have read most of the words leading up to this point !