Three Rides

A week's worth of rides to log.  As usual, Palm Valley.  Hot, hot, HOT this week.  Summer is on.

Brought home the Klein yesterday from Open Road with a brand new cassette.  A nine-speed, like the old one, but a slightly higher ratio this time around.  11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32.  Feels good.  I think I'm going to try a ten-speed on the Troll.

This morning's ride was with Jennifer Schiazza, from the CSI team.  Beautiful weather.  Out early, back early.  It's the only way this time of the year.

The Mity 8 now has more miles on it than are between here and Coeburn.

Website Launched!

www.tohokuforward.org is now live.  Well, it should be in the next twenty four hours.  Have just finished the launch process.  Am now waiting on an email from the host.

Four Rides

120 miles since the last posting.  Three rides through Palm Valley, and one forty-five-miler to St. Augustine and back on A1A, which was with Seiki Hirota (and a couple of hundred more peopleas part of our CSI training for the upcoming MS150 in late September.  Got pounded by a rain-and-wind storm that swept in off the Atlantic on south A1A.  Tailwind coming home.

I've now clicked over 600 miles on the Cateye Mity 8.  Over 600 miles would get me to Coeburn, Virginia, my first check point on the long ride in 2014.

Hello, 500

Two rides in since the last post.  Both in Palm Valley, of course.  That loop has been very, very good to me for years.  It's the best local loop I've got.  Peaceful.  Beautiful.  Minimal traffic.  Minimal stops.  Shady early and late, sunny at midday.  A hill at halfway.  Easily expandable.  Other riders.  It's got it all (almost).

Have now clicked 500 miles since installing the Cateye Mity 8.  Legs are feeling good.  The Sidis are excellent.  If these wear out before the big ride, I'll buy some more.

Website is now ready for launch.  A couple of more minor adjustments and off it goes into cyberspace.

Facebook contacts continue to grow.

Riichi Hashimoto has helping me from Mie-ken.  He's got a group of riders who want to join me for that leg in late of summer 2014.

The next twelve months are foundation-laying time.  Then the big push to May 1, 2014, which will be time to hit the road.

2 Days

First, yesterday.  Up at 6:30AM.  Rode down to meet the CSI team at the Ritz at 7:30, but nobody showed.  I thought I had the day or the time or the place wrong.  Came home, checked the email.  I had it all right.  Was to find out later that there was a change to not meet, but no matter.  I hit Palm Valley alone.  Rode medium hard through to the bridge.  As I was coming around the bend by the bridge, I saw a rider coming over the top.  Determined to not let him catch me, I hammered it to the coast and kept him off.  There, I decided to wait and have companion for the ride back into JaxBch.  Turned out the he was a she, and that she was high end racing bike and that she was hammering out a healthy 23-24mph pace.  I jumped on and held on.  No easy task on a mountain bike, but I hung in there.  Even took two good strong pulls.

Today, did Palm Valley again with Seiki-san.  Hot and humid, but felt great.  Legs are coming around.