And the Rains Came Tumbling Down

Day 35, May 6, 2011, And the Rains Came Tumbling Down

66.2 miles averaging 13.6 mph

Route from Crystal River to Sherwood Forest RV Park, Palm Harbor, FL

Best Moment – Actually riding in the rain was kind of a novelty.  The raincoat seemed to keep me fairly dry and it wasn’t very cold – I sort of felt that the adventure was made better for the adversity.

Worst Moment – Not all of the areas of Florida have storm drainage.  With the heavy rain that was falling for part of the day, there were some giant puddles that were sprayed all over me when the trucks went through them.

The rain started about two hours into the ride and kept on coming down – hard for about three hours.  Then it finally began to clear up and now it is a gorgeous with blue skies and a wonderful cool breeze.

The RV Park has a small lake in the center and our site is directly across the street from the lake which is home to a beautiful black swan.  Also around the lake are a couple of short-eared rabbits that are tormenting Duncan because he can’t go chase them.  So he has to bark and whine at them instead.

I actually beat Neita here today.  As I was arriving in Palm Harbor, she was leaving Crystal River.  This gave me some time to explore.  I found the best ice cream and cake shop, where I ordered and ate some of the delicious carrot cake ever.  The sign is telling the truth – it was awesome!

Even with all of the treats that I’ve been eating, including several snacks on the bike, a good lunch and huge meals at dinner, I’ve still lost over 15 pounds since starting the ride.

I was also able to check out some of the coastal area – hard to believe that we are this close to the Gulf.  

I had a chance to stop at a nearby bicycle shop and replace a couple of the tubes that have picked up wire.  While there I spoke with one of the guys working about cycling in this part of Florida.  He said that there is a plan to eventually have a bicycle path all of the way from Tallahassee to south of Tampa   Bay.  For tomorrow’s ride, in order to get south of Tampa Bay, I will have to ride pretty far to the east then west in order to go south sort of like a zigzag.  There is not a bicycle route that goes across the Bay. L

Most of the route today was through urban sprawl.  Not a great for cycling, and a little intimidating in places – like where there were 6 lanes of traffic and not much of a shoulder.  Makes me wonder if all of the folks who left all of the small towns I’ve ridden though have relocated to South Florida.