Sunday Ride

1:30 PM -- We're done with our ride and are back at the house where I'm procrastinating leaving the sweet air conditioning for the hot, humid garage where I can start breaking down the bike and get it ready for shipping home.

As for today's ride, we chose the 41 mile route and added a few extra miles of our own to reach a total of 52.2 miles. We rode to Little Wier Lake which was quite pretty, surrounded by trees and lush green plants. I wouldn't have guessed we were in Florida if you'd just dropped us off there and said, where do you think you are?"

Well... Time to go get busy.

Saturday's Ride Results

3:35 PM -- we've been back at the house since a little after one o'clock and have gotten showered and all prettied up in our tye-dye finery. Today's ride from the house and back totaled 50 miles even. We ran into about a minute's worth of rain shortly after our lunch stop, but other than that the weather has been nothing but warm... and humid.

Saturday's Ride

8:30 AM -- We're waiting for the mass start of Saturday's ride, which is about 15 minutes away. I'm finding that the skin on my nose where my glasses rest has been worn raw. This should make for an interesting time... The sweat is already burning and we're not even riding yet! The rider's meeting has started... gotta go!
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Friday's Total

2:18 PM -- Back at the house, out of the shower (ahhhh!!!) With 52.4 miles logged for today's ride.

The Friday Ride

1:50 PM -- We're sitting inside a Starbucks on the SOFT chairs after riding almost fifty miles today. As soon as we're done with our ice cold drinks we'll ride the last few miles back to the house and drag our sweat-drenched carcasses into the shower. I can hardly wait!

It's Started...

9:00 AM -- I was up making a run to Starbucks this morning when I noticed a group of tandem riders going by. This is an informal ride day, so we're dragging this morning; tomorrow they have a mass start at 8:45 so we'll actually have to be up and out while it's still relatively "cool" here!

Evening Swim...

7:35 PM -- We got out the trusty golf cart and made the short drive down to the community pool for an evening swim. It seems that as the sun dips lower in the horizon, "they" emerge from the shade of their homes and seek the pleasant waters of the pool. It was hard to swim the length of the pool without zigging and zagging to avoid older folks bobbing around on their floats. Still, all things considered, it was a relaxing way to end the day.

It's a Parade!

5:22 PM -- Just got back to the house after being witness to an Italian themed parade going around the village square.

There were a few brass bands, a bagpipe band, women marching with batons and about a million or so golf carts decorated in some fashion statement or another. One was even done up to look like a gondola being navigated through the canals of Venice.

It's nice to see that not all the world's retired folk are indoors in front of the TV!

Lunch

3:46 PM -- Having a late lunch at a place called Toojays after riding a short 15 miles, finding both bike shops in the area and getting registered for the rally. Tomorrow the real riding begins!

Early Morning Transport

I'm at a Starbucks in one of the "squares" at The Villages -- a place where there are shops, stores, restaurants and outdoor areas for many different forms of entertainment. Pictured is one of the preferred forms of transportation around here: an electric golf cart. Cheaper to use than a car, and legal on most of the roads within The Villages. Where there's a busy road that the carts aren't allowed on there will also be a parallelling trail for carts, cyclists and pedestrians. The cart in the picture??? It's what I drove to Starbucks this morning!