September rides, bringing in the fall.

[Crankin]

You might get sick of endless summer, NWG!

I did not ride this morning. Woke with the sinuses pounding again, but I don't feel sick, like achy and all the other stuff I've had. The front finally came through around 5, pouring rain and thunder. It's still lightly raining. Thank God. This weather is so depressing to me. We broke a record for heat today.
Just went and put the GPS and "big" light on the Ariel, put air in the tires, to ride to the gym at 5:15 am. It will be my first attempt with the flat side of the campus pedals. It's only 1.3 miles, so I probably won't have to put my foot down!
If I feel OK, I will then ride to work at 8:15. I am working all day tomorrow, because of Labor Day this week. Won't be able to use the dirt path, though, after this rain.
I've had so many client crises this week I am fried. People mouthing off to the medical prescribers, one on the way to the hospital now, another had to leave college before classes even started.
I need to ride.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, I'm definitely a four seasons type of gal, but, as always, I can adapt when need be, Florida, included. Today was my best day, yet, on my Florida visit. Made it a point to get out, earlier, and that did help with the heat. Did 21 miles on the rental clunker and, once again, could have done more with a better fitting bike. That, and I had to be back in time for one of the conference meetings at the motel.

Tomorrow, the bike goes back and on Sunday, so do we, back to our north woods home and 70 degree high temps. Can't wait.

[Crankin]

Sheila, hope the hurricane stays far away from both of us!

I rode to the gym with the flat pedal side of my campus pedals. Ugh. The left one flipped over and I was riding on top of the cleat. I felt like if I kicked it, my other foot would fly off, so I just pedaled like that for 1.3 miles. Going home it was better, as it was light out, but at one point it did the same thing, but I was almost home. My legs felt fried from the class and riding.
Then, of course, I rode to work. I didn't have too much in the Topeak bag, as I wore the clothes I rode in all day and I bought lunch. So, just shoes, my mini flat iron and snacks. I still felt like the gears were either too hard or easy, in a way I don't when the bag is not on. But, it was nice and cloudy and cool. On the way home, I took the dirt road, where I did fine avoiding the mud from yesterday's rain. However, the next little path, a combo of dirt, gravel and grass has lots of roots. I got off of my bike right before my street, but taking these 2 paths really eliminates all traffic headaches.
I hope to ride both days this weekend, but we have an early dinner with friends tomorrow and preparing for Rosh Hashanah Sunday night. I suspect they won't be as long as I would like. Getting ready to go to the grocery store, now, so I won't have to do it tomorrow.

[north woods gal]

I've never had good performance with 50/50 style pedals. Really a pain in the butt. You always end up wasting time trying to get the correct side up when you want it and the clip in side tends to be awkward to use when you use cleats. They're also heavier than need be. I use flats, exclusively, now, and have been for three years. I wouldn't go back to SPD if you held a gun to my head. Do yourself a favor with flats and get a good set with replaceable metal pins. They can be had for a reasonable price and are the only fair test to see if flats are right for you. A good set of flats can be used with any type of shoe - don'get conned into thinking you need special shoes. This time of year, I use Wal-mart sneakers and have never had a foot slip on a good flat with pins and I'm talking aggressive trail riding, here, not just road biking.

Lastly, keep an open mind when testing flat pedals and give them a fair test, using a good set. Yes, they may feel different at first, but you may actually find, the way I did, after a summer of careful testing, that there was NO difference, NADA, as far as your average speed. As far as SPD being more "efficient"' that has been repeated so often as to be a gospel with many, but the fact is that it has NOT been strongly supported with scientific testing. Not trying to convert anyone, here. Just saying that your choice of pedal type should be based on what you, yourself, have tested and not what someone else tells you is best for you, same as with any other part of your bike and biking.

[Crankin]

NWG, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to switch to flat pedals. I am not such a speedy rider that I care about any differences in speed, etc, but at this point, I feel safer being clipped in. I cannot remember the brand of these pedals, but they *are* much better than the first ones I had on my Jamis, about 10 years ago. They are weighted to be on the side with the cleat, which is what I preferred. They don't swing and flip the way the other ones do, but I think that the fact it was dark out when I rode to the gym, and my light, obviously was not pointed near the pedal, had me starting out on the wrong side. If I had attempted to flip it, it would have stayed. The point is, this is my own lack of coordination and ability. I've mentioned before that I have a lot of difficulty going back and forth between my bikes. Once I get something in my muscle memory, it is hard to switch, even if I am switching to something I was good at before! My cure for this is to make myself switch more than I want. I am comfortable on the Ariel and I am having no issues going between my Speedplays on my Trek and the SPDs. That has been an issue in the past. Given that I will probably never ride on the flat side, except for going to the gym (I used my bike shoes when I went to work), I just need to work on this a little more. I may take some rides around town on the flat side, but I can't imagine riding in traffic that way... my one attempt to do that a few years ago, almost got me killed when trying to make a left! I almost froze with fear when we did the bike tour of Chicago! It was only the specter of extreme embarrassment in front of people who could barely ride and teens on the tour (along with the fact the leader made me the sweep because I was "experienced") that made me not quit and turn around. It was definitely more the flat pedals than the traffic.
So, it's my own anxiety and klutziness, which pisses me off!

[Crankin]

Actually, those look like the new Spd pedals I have on my Guru. But, they are double sided. The big platform eliminated any and all hot spots I was getting from less float.

[north woods gal]

No pressure from me on switching to flat pedals. As always, use what works for you and the way you like to ride. I fully respect everyone's choice to do things their own way.

Last ride, today, of 12 miles, then dropped the rental bike back at the bike shop, then took the trolley back to the motel. Can't say I'll miss the bike, but I will say that I enjoyed this visit to Florida. I especially liked the open horizons on both sides of me via the bay and the ocean. Really helped to comfort me and my love of the open spaces, something I don't get a lot up in our ever dense north woods.

Emily, now I understand why you avoid riding on the weekends. Wow! Haven't so many bicyclists out at one time since my Chicago days. Bikes, everywhere, today, compared to only a few, yesterday, on Friday. They all come pouring out on Saturday, apparently. The narrow bike lanes on the streets can't begin to fit them all.

Early morning flight out, tomorrow. Can't wait to get home. Nice visit, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Hey Emily, there are people who are cancelling their trips to Hunting Island this week because of the storm. They want recommendations for campgrounds on the Gulf Coast. Any ideas?

And where are you approximately? Will you have to leave?

I have my reservations made for a hotel near a state park just outside of Atlanta. Easier to avoid the traffic when I arrive. But near enough that I can go into town if I desire. When I stay in Atlanta, it seems like the entire trip is spent negotiating freeways. And I don't know where anything is. I want to just be able to wander and find a lot to do.

Hi Sheila,

The only place we've camped on the gulf coast is Grayton Beach State Park, which is east of Destin. We absolutely loved it there and would highly recommend it. There are other state parks (Topsail Hill, I think is the name) along there as well as commercial parks. I am sure anywhere along the gulf coast would be nice if your friends can get a spot.

We should be fine here. We are just west of Orlando. We had to evacuate a year ago when Hurricane Irma was forecast to come up right through Florida, so we headed far enough west (Mississippi) to be out of the storm's path.

This time around I'm super worried about my brother, who lives in Wilmington, NC. He is really good about hurricane preparation and can head to the western part of the state to my mother's if needed, but I just heard on the Weather Channel that even far inland SC and NC could be iffy. With memories of other hurricanes that caused major damage far inland (Hugo that made it all the way to western NC and Fran in central NC, where we lived at the time), even just getting off the coast isn't always enough.

Glad you have a safe place to go. I am really hoping Florida is quiet this season, but I don't want anyone else to suffer either.