Get the Knots Out

Well........What do you do after a long ride?

Actually it wasn't that long, just to the office in the morning and back in the afternoon, 23 miles. But that ride back was at 2:00 PM, ninety two degrees and about 90% humidity. The water sure helps the muscles relax, and about two quarts of Gatorade.

Maintenance Day

Thursday was a decent day to ride my new tire. It held up, so I guess It will be OK. Today is clean-up day. Need to clean and lube the chain and make sure everything else is in good working order and not ready to drop off at the next speed bump. Did 30 miles this AM after stopping for a haircut. Rather late though, did not finish until Noon. Stopped to talk with Sam the produce man at Fire Tower Hill. Bought some boiled peanuts. Need to ride over to CardioStart later today. Not sure I want to go out in this heat. Might just drive. Tomorrow is the Tampa Freewheelers Picnic at John B Sargent Park over on 301 North of Tampa. It's a good ride north of Brandon.

Call AAA

Flat tire, actually not really flat, just bald as my head, with the tire threads showing, so I figured maybe I better not stray too far from home today. Bought a new tire and changed it last evening, and proceeded to pinch the tube while putting it back together. Now I have a flat. Hang it up. Bought a new tube today so I'll be ready for tomorrow. If the sun stays hidden, as it has thus far today, maybe I'll ride this evening.

Good day for a ride, but.....

I had a call at 7:30 AM that I had two truck loads of dirt scheduled to be dropped at CardioStart this AM. So, had to postpone my ride so I could get over there and show the driver where to dump it. 40 tons of sand makes two pretty good size piles. Now all I have to do is spread it.
The weekend rain washed a lot of dirt away from under a new concrete slab I had poured two weeks ago, so needed the dirt to fill and grade. Maybe ride tomorrow.

Footprints

Went for ride out towards Lithia. 18 miles total. On the ride back along Kingsway Rd, a narrow, no shoulder road, a guy pulled up along side, rolled down his window and proceeded to cuss me out for riding in the street. I couldn't really understand what he was saying other than something about the sidewalk. So I took my left foot off the pedal and placed a swift kick against his rear right side door. Gosh, I wish I had golf shoes on. He stepped on the gas and left me. I wonder why these guys never want to stop and discuss the issue?

Great Day in Tampa Bay

Raining like a tropical storm. Oh.......Yeh.......Barry is in town. That's TS Barry. No ride today. And I really felt like heading up to Hillsborough State Park. Maybe tomorrow. So......over my breakfast of Jimmy Dean Sausage, Grits and cheddar cheese scrambled eggs(I did use some "egg beaters"), some Papaya, Mango and Banana, I look out the french doors to the yard and watch the rain water the garden. Jack is in bad shape. He has days when he thinks he is a puppy again, and then the next day he can barely walk. At 16 yrs old he goes out into the yard in the rain and stands there, wondering what he is doing there. Poor guy is not long for this world. He will soon be crossing over the Rainbow Bridge. Probably the lawn mower will get a workout this week. I guess today, because of the rain, I will use the truck to go to Publix and do some grocery shopping.
Hey.....The rain has stopped, the sun is shining, we don't need no steenking groceries. I'm off to the park. C-ya.

Photo Time

Someone once told me that to keep the interest of your readers you need to keep their eyes occupied with pictures, cartoons, or just be a good writer. Well........as you can see, I'm not much of a writer, and I stopped drawing cartoons back in grade school in Sr Mary Gertrude's 4th grade class. So, I guess you'll have to look at some photos. These are of several friends. They will be visiting Tampa in July in preparation for a ride from Anchorage, Alaska, to Bogota, Colombia.(their home) Wanna go with them?

Clockwise from left:

(above)

Angelica, Agustin and Claudio

In Order of Progression:
<---
Claudio, Boomer and Angelica

Taken in the Southern Andes during their ride around South America. Boomer, a Chocolate Lab, and a member of the family, accompanied them on 17,000 mile plus journey in 2004 & 2005. That is Boomer's trailer that Claudio is towing. You can read about their adventures and view their many photos in SA, where I met them in Peru, on their website at: http://bicinfronteras.skynetblogs.be/post/3802721/estados-unidos

Boomer retired after this trip. He said he was tired of riding behind Claudio and could make better time on his own. Actually, getting permission for Boomer to accompany them on the Alaska south trip would be a major problem with Homeland Security. Boomer does not have a passport. I offerd him mine but my eyes are a different color.