Greetings from Minneola, Florida,
Wow, am I tired and my ass is sore and my sciatic isn't happy either.
But we didn't quit! And that is something with the weather report showing a high probability of rain all day and two friends offering to come rescue us.
We left the lovely LA Quinta Inn at 9:00. If we would have waited another 45 minutes we wouldn't have ridden in the rain at all!
I had planned on cutting over on Lake Mary Rd but when we got there, we saw the road was very busy with no shoulder or sidewalk. We were only about 1/4 mile from where we needed to be at the start of the Seminole Wekiva Trail, but we had to detour.
We went back to the Cross Seminole Trail where we rode yesterday. We retraced our steps and headed north to a trail that goes over Interstate 4. The whole detour was about seven miles.
There we saw some places where I might have been able to get a room, if only I had known that Lake Mary Rd was not at all bike or pedestrian friendly.
This trail is also called The Painted Trail. There is a section where artists have painted the fences along the trail.
We met up with the Bike Florida women riders. They told us that our friend, Holly, had fallen in a three-bicycle pile up yesterday. She is sore but not broken, they told us. We never saw her.
At the southern end of the wekiva trail, we had to take roads to get to the west Orange Trail. We took the sidewalk along hwy 436 all the way to the West Orange.
We stopped in Winter Garden for lunch at 2:00. We were both over hungry.
Now after 48 miles and many moanings from me about my ass and tired legs, we are resting at the Orange Motel.
We have to decide, do we do a long ride tomorrow or do we stay in place or just go a short distance. 🤔
We will see. Steve tells me we have ridden 181.6 miles in the past week. It is OK to be tired. And my bicycle is only four days mine, and four days of riding. It's OK to be tired and sore...
We are so glad to hear you are now taking a break in Winter Garden. You have to be complemented on riding so far on a new bike - and seat. No wonder you are sore! Tomorrow, again, looks iffy for weather. It is not a crime if you decide to get a lift across the “gap” after Groveland. None of the alternative routes have looked particularly great to me in spite of the fact that many ride through there - some on dirt, some along Rt 50 and some detouring north but still on roads with no shoulder. Good luck, whatever you decide!
ReplyDelete