Heading says it all: Thank you so much for the warm greeting! Truly, I am in the right place!

Nanci--I am quite familiar with Alachua, lived in Gainesville from '84-'89 while hubby was in grad school. SO pretty up there! I'm amazed at how much Gainesville has grown since we've been away, don't know if sprawl is catching up to Alachua yet or not?? We live down here in the Melbourne area, about three hours away and on the coast. VERY nice down here--beaches if you like that sort of thing, lots of nature, stuff to do but not overgrown yet. Yes, the Horse Farm Hundred is the thing--I am doing 35 miles of it and I'm looking forward to it! Not sure I'm ready for the hills in Clermont but there's always next year, right? (Alas, the only "hills" we have here are highway overpasses...)

And to the other Nancy (Bike Goddess), yes, it is a hybrid--a very BASIC hybrid but it is perfect for me! It has an upright position, but I have had a lot of lower back trouble so I'm working on building those muscles before I look at lowering and going faster.

And to all of you non-Nancys (and you know who you are!)--thank you so much for your encouragement! I am riding in the cool part of the day, which is great because the egrets and the sand-hill cranes are out. And being in Florida, I did not know what a goat-head is, and just between us, I'm glad I still don't!

Best wishes to everyone for a great Monday and a GREAT ride today!

Nancy