First Ride of THE YEAR - Sarasota

[Mr. Bloom]

Plane arrived at 1:06, had lunch at picked up the bike at Ryder Bikes in Downtown Sarasota. Weather was 58 and windy.

Seat rail bent in transit- cha ching! - $168.
Changing clothes - cha ching! - Brand new contact lense ripped!
Ready to ride - helmet bracket broken - cha ching! - $178.

But, I'm about to ride!

So, I set out - You could tell me from locals (coat bound and shivering):eek: from me (the midwesterner in short sleeve jersey and no leggings):D

I set out!

Route from Sarasota to the northend of Long Boat Key (today I'll go to the tip of Anna Maria).
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/LongBoat.png

The wind was about 12 from the north...and this was tough due to my lack of miles in '10. But, today, my knees feel fine :cool:

At the northend of Long Boat Key:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/IMG_0102.jpg

Along Long Boat Key, the beach was lush (I left snow covered fields behind!)
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/IMG_0101.jpg

I stopped on the draw bridge and a walker said "this will be an awesome sunset tonight"...
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/IMG_0103.jpg

...and it was (as seen from Bird Key at the inlaws house)

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/IMG_0099.jpg

[Catrin]

Incredible photos! Sorry to hear that you had travel-related damages, but very good to read about your beautiful ride!

[Bike Chick]

Ahhhhhhhh! It looks like heaven! Enjoy!

[kmehrzad]

The beauty in your surroundings - priceless. Cha Ching!

AMI (Anna Maria Island) is so small it'd be easy to do a bike tour around the entire island in an hour or less. If you're into fishing, can't find any better than off the City Pier. The Spanish Mackerel usually run in the morning and early afternoon. Tie on a white crappie jig and go at it. They're very tasty grilled or blackened and baked.

Coquina Beach, on your way from Long Boat Key to AMI, is also a nice stop off point. The beach is very wide with lovely shells. If you can get south to Venice Beach, you're guaranteed to find shark's teeth in just about every scoop of sand at the shore's edge.

Have fun. I'm envious.

[Grog]

I'm envious too. I have very fond memories of the sunsets there... Lucky man!

[arielmoon]

Love the pics and recap! It was pretty chilly here in FL for those of us that are not used to it!

[Mr. Bloom]

Day Two was tough on me. Because of other distractions, I only did 870 miles last year:mad::eek: and I've not riden in weeks. So far, I've done 10% of last year's miles in three days (which means my rear end has to be reconvinced that riding is fun...;))

Anyway: Day Two was about 43 miles from Bird Key to the tip of Anna Maria Island...into the straight northerly wind! The traffic on Anna Maria Island was bad and the bike lanes were not consistently maintained...but it was neat to reach the northern tip.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/6e87a458.jpg

At the end of the key, I came upon this trail:

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/ba9d9676.jpg

That led to the beach looking north to the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Tampa in the distance on the other side.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/883cd9b4.jpg

Coming back south, I made a quick stop at the hundred year old Community Pier which was bustling with people:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/3.jpg

I only averaged 16mph and the prior day, I averaged 17.3mph in heavier wind...so the fact that I'm diving in head first on miles is having an affect. I'm also not used to riding in traffic this heavy...but I don't generally feel in danger.

[Mr. Bloom]

Day Three was an easy 20 miles. I wound around the area hitting Bird Key, Long Boat Key, St Armand's Key, and Lido Key before venturing into Sarasota.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/photo.png

South of Sarasota was McClellan Park, a neat area of stately homes with spanish moss and bamboo:

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/5.jpg

Then back along the beautiful waterfront:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/6.jpg

and then ice cream at Kelwin's on St. Armand!
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/9.jpg

Tomorrow, I'll venture to the south end of Siesta Key.

[kmehrzad]

I'm loving those pics, Mr. Bloom and seeing where I spent many a day enjoying the sun and surf. Since I'm usually on AMI in the summertime, it's off season and the traffic is virtually non-existent.

Be safe ...

[Owlie]

Sorry about the travel-related damage, but those are some beautiful photos.

[Mr. Bloom]

So, yesterday, I road from Bird Key to the south end of Siesta Key. The weather was perfect, the roads/bike lanes good...28 miles round trip at 17.4mph and I felt great!
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/3e196e97.jpg

Then, an hour later, this was me (with the marks from my cycling shorts still evident!):
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/4a194268.jpg

Hmmm...what to do today?

[indysteel]

Boy, that pool and the view sure look inviting. Hope you and Mrs. B. are having a grand time!

[Catrin]

Oh man that pool, sunshine, and ocean view look GREAT! It looks like you really felt good after the ride - glad to hear that you and Mrs. B. are having a great time! Does she ride as well?

[Mr. Bloom]

No, she doesn't ride...but ironically, yesterday, unknown to me, whole i rode, she road three miles to Long Boat Key...NO HELMET!...but that's a start

[PinkBike]

thanks for the pix Mr B. I can live vicariously thru them while I heal (off the bike for maybe 8 weeks). I hope you had a GREAT time, you lucky dog!

[kmehrzad]

Looks like you're really enjoying your vacation.
Can't get much better than a visit to Florida in the winter for us northerners.

[Mr. Bloom]

Today I repeated the Siesta Key ride with no discomfort or pain. By far, the most consistently good bike lanes. I think tomorrow I'll rest (or maybe not...:rolleyes:) and then shoot for a metric on Fridaygoing east on Fruitville to Hwy 70.

I'm tellin' ya...this is the most urban riding I've done. I'm not used to so much traffic moving so fast. I now see the value of well designed bike lanes, and prolific quantities of signs pronoucing the rights of bikes.

[Mr. Bloom]

Today, my ride was awesome! 62.15 miles at 18.7mph with no assistance from the wind! I don't know if I like these lowlands. At least with our hills in Bloomington, you get some occasional moving rest...here, you're like the energizer bunny!

The route was both very dense urban and very rural farms.
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/dd14e98c.jpg

Horses and cows:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/032727da.jpg

Citrus Groves:
http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/7448f7ad.jpg

I met a Brit at mile 27 that rode and conversed With me for 8 miles. After he split off on his route, I came upon this canopy of live oaks with wild turkeys high in the trees! What a surprise!:cool::D

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m516/MrBloom1963/027d13d5.jpg

After only 870 miles last year, I got off to a good start on '11 with 205 miles in six rides this week! With today's pace, I'm confident that this will be a great year! After a tough year, I'M BACK!:D

[kmehrzad]

Hi,

So you were out by Myakka? Any chance you went to the state park there? What an awesome place and the gators are everywhere. Riding over small bridges the gators are on the shore along the river as well as floating in the river. If you take the airboat ride, you're sure to see lots more gators plus all types of beautiful birds. Certainly worth the trip ...

[Mr. Bloom]

That last pic is Myakka Road just north of the Park. I didn't go to the State Park, but now that I know how close I was, I'll plan a ride through there to the rail/trail and then back to Sarasota via Clark (based on insight provided to me by the Brit). The bike shop indicated I wouldn't like the rail/trail because of a speed limit, but I might see it as a restful reprieve on a long ride.

Plane leaves in a few hours:(, so I'll start planning For future rides...:)