Happy Feet

The new Sidis around my old dogs.  Genius 4.  Nice.  Just came back from the first ride with them.  25 miles through Palm Valley.  Luxurious.  Padding.  Lightweight.  Wiggle room for my toes.  Easy to adjust uppers while riding.  A real pleasure.  Had the cleats just a hair out of adjustment, so I moved them when I got back.  Will try again tomorrow.  These things are the bomb.  I recommend them to anyone wanting to attach themselves to a bicycle.

Rain Rain

Here it is Tuesday, and I haven't ridden since Saturday.  Tropical Storm Debbie is camped out in our backyard and won't go away.  And we're told that when she does go away, she's going to walk through the living room and exit through the front door.  All forecasts have her crawling ashore on the panhandle, crossing the state, and moving off into the Atlantic to our east and north.  Tons of rain.  Not that I'm complaining.  We REALLY need it!  Too dry these past few years.

Meanwhile, my first pair of Sidis showed up in this morning's mail.  Sidi Genius 4.  Complete with a ratcheting mechanism that allows for on-bike precision fitting.  Looking forward to it.  And the padding is...well...novel.  After years of nothing but leather and a wooden last on the old Duegis, I'm going to pamper my poor feet like they've never been pampered before.  I just hope I don't lose all those cool callouses that have taken me this long to cultivate.

Also meanwhile, the Tohoku Forward Facebook page is starting to blossom.  Close to 50 likes and counting.  People are really beginning to chime in.  If I can keep the momentum going, I should be in good shape by the time I launch the website.  Which reminds me...

Bought a domain yesterday.  Excellent.  This starting to come together.

Nice Ride With Seiki Hirota

Palm Valley without the bridge yesterday.  24 miles.  Seiki Hirota joined in.  A steady 20mph through the valley.  Nice weather.  Almost no wind.  The big Saturday morning ride passed us on the way home on PV Blvd.

It's now official: no mileage pledges.  Single, one-time pledges will do it.

Have invited Pancho Jimenez to join me.

A Fast One Today

Twenty-four miles in Palm Valley today without the bridge because...

When I was approaching the back gate of TPC, I saw another cyclist up ahead exiting it.  He came out and headed south.  My lucky day.  I got the green light and stepped up the pace to catch him, which happened around the big curve.  He realized I was on the train immediately.  I asked if he was headed all the way through to the bridge.  Yes.  Then he fell into a steady pace of 21 mph.  Not a problem.  I sat on his wheel and wondered if he was going to pull us all the way to the bridge.  Just when I was about to tell him that he could take a break anytime, he swung out to do just that.  It was then that I noticed he was riding a Cervelo.  I came through and pulled us up to a steady 22 mph.  I was feeling good, so I pulled a good long one.  I guess this was a cue to him that I could hang, so he then pulled us up to 23.  I started to feel it a bit.  I came through and held the pace for the most part with a couple of back-offs to 22.  By then we were deep into South Roscoe, approaching the big curve on that end.  He commented that I was pulling strongly on a fat-tired mountain bike.  His next pull took us up to 25.  I really started to feel it, but the end was near, so I hung in there.  I pulled the last couple of hundred meters at 23 to the bridge.  I was determined to hold the pace.  A bit spent, but I felt good.

All that speed got me home in an hour and twenty minutes.

Clean, Old Machine

25 miles yesterday (PV + the bridge) on the freshly cleaned Klein.  Clean drivetrain anyway.  And new rear shifter cable.  Great weather.

Now that the Klein is clean, the true age of the drivetrain is revealed.  My chain and gears are in real need of replacement.  Subtle clicking in the gears.  Ralph at Open Road is going to show me how to replace cogs on the cassette--a first for me.

Stretching Out the Mileage

Palm Valley + Nocatee = 40 miles this morning.  Good.  Legs feel great.  Waether was fine.   A bit windy out of the northeast, so got it in the face on the way home.  Got lost in Nocatee.  Found old Palm Valley Road on the way out, then lost it on the way back.

Met Greg Franks at Bagel World on the way back into JaxBeach.  He likes Tohoku Forward.

Must finish the presentation and prepare to give it on demand.

Great Ride

It was only Palm Valley (with bridge), but wonderful.  Still nice after all these years.  Twenty-five miles.  Good weather.  Low wind.  Legs feel great.

Met Basil on the way back.  Chased him down from Crossroads.  Made the catch at South PV beach condos (after the hill, before Corona Road).  He's actually been cycling longer than I have.  Racing in the early 70s.  He was wearing Shimano shoes.  Look compatible.  Said he likes them.

Checked GoogleMaps.  Palm Valley can possibly become a thirty-five loop with all the new Nocatee roads thrown in.  We'll see.  That would mean ten miles west of the bridge.

I'm also beginning to consider straight pledges, as opposed to mileage pledges.  If I can't find accommodating software, I'll have to go with straight pledges.

Back to Sunny

Twenty-four miles in Palm Valley (without bridge).  Feeling strong.

Rain is gone for now.  Lots of it lately.  Predicted to return soon.  No complaints.  We need it.

I need new shoes.  My old leather Duegis are beginning to break down a bit.  Also stay wet after getting that way.  Maybe some new Sidis?

Rainy and Bridge-less

Palm Valley without the bridge yesterday.  Twenty four miles.  Accompanied by Seiki Hirota.   Medium pace.  Lots of rain.  Wet the whole time.  Beautiful.  Tail wind all the way home.  Nice.

A Little of Everything

Roscoe Blvd today was a microcosm of Florida.  Raining, windy, and cool when I entered the north end of Palm Valley, sunny, windy, warm, and humid on the other end.  Nice ride.  Twenty-five miles.  Leg feel great.

Need to find some software that will collect pledges and record who made them.

Moving FORWARD

A beautiful ride through the valley.  Over the bridge.  A little over twenty-six miles.  Gorgeous weather.  Clicked 100 miles since I installed the Cateye on the Klein.  Just a beginning.

Now starting to hear from more JET alumni.  Bahia from Miami.  Jessyca from Denver.  Steve from JETwit is staying in close touch with lots of great info.  Will send him a short piece soon.

Website should be up soon.

Great News

Living Dreams, the Tokyo-based NPO, is now on board.  They will be the recipient and the processor of all funds raised by Tohoku Forward.  They will also help me publicize the project and, when the time comes, the ride.

This is getting interesting.

Nice Ride

Still lots of rain in the area, but I managed to slip between the drops and stay relatively dry.  Palm Valley again.  Added the PV Bridge to make it a nice round twenty-five miles.  Legs felt strong coming home.

Have also made contact with Steven Horowitz of JETwit.com.  A great resource.  Thanks, Steven!  He requested that I write a summary of the plan for posting on JETwit.  Will do this as soon as the website is up, which should be in the next couple of weeks or so.