Northwesterly Mayport Friday

25 miles Friday to the northwest.  Tailwind coming home.  Clear skies, chilly, windy.  Out along the river to Mayport.  Back over the Wonderwood Bridge and then Girvin Road.  Beautiful.

Back to Summer

Warm and overcast today.  PV loop.  Summer weight shorts and jersey.  Nice.  Hooked up with another rider coming home.  24mph pace through Ponte Vedra.  No probelmo.  New wheels are killer.

Finally Chilly

A cool ride a couple of days ago.  Got to wear some brand new leg warmers.  Excellent.  On top is the Showers Pass Touring Jacket.  Under that was the Smartwool base layer, an old wool sweater vest, and a regular summer short-sleeved jersey.  Planet Bike Borealis gloves kept the digits toasty.  And on tip top is the Showers Pass helmet cover.  The best for my lid.

Temps were in the low fifties, and it had been raining for days.  Not freezing, but cool and wet.  Warm and comfy on the inside.

Spring in December

26 miles in Palm Vally yesterday.  Sunny and warm.  Beautiful.  A bit of a southerly breeze.  Only two and a half months till March.  At this rate, winter will never actually arrive.

30 Foggy Miles

Ft. Caroline loop today for a change.  30 miles.  Cool and foggy.  So thick, you could...with...knife.  An old and tired cliche, but nonetheless true.

Piled on a new Smartwool base layer beneath the Showers Pass jacket.  Toasty.  Can't say enough good things about the Smartwool.  Beautiful stuff.  Hope I don't crash it.  Knock on wood.  I think I'm good to go for the rest of the winter, no matter how cold it gets.

Tohoku Forward Has a Seat

26 miles today on a new saddle.  First one I've had in ages.  This is the Specialized Phenom 130 with cromoly rails.  Seems good.  The cutout is supposed to be good for me, and I guess it is, as I'm not at the hospital having it removed.  Only the long haul will tell just how good it really is.

After several days of a head cold and its aftermath, I'm back on it.  26 miles felt good.

I've also obtained some more cold weather gear.  A pair of Craft Storm Tights, which should handle the extreme cold.  Also have two (2!) Smartwool baselayer shirts on the way.  I guess I'm about as prepared for January and February as I'm going to get.  Ask me again March.

18 Miles on the New Rear Wheel

Palm Valley short route today.  Hadn't ridden in a few days due to a head cold.  But I got to take out the new rear wheel.  Nice.  I just hope it lives up to its reputation over the long haul.  Only time will tell.

New Rear Wheel

Finally!  The mate to the front wheel from a few weeks ago.  This is another beast of the road (or elsewhere).  White Industries Mi6 hub, Salsa Gordo rim, Swiss DT spokes--48 of them!

A few more to go.

Grunt, grunt, sweat, sweat..

Almost there.

The fully laced wheel, ready to be brought up to tension.

 Round and round the Gordo we go.

 Up to tension.

The finished product.  A thing of beauty, strength, and integrity.

'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,'--that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.  -Keats

Only 5,000 miles to Kyoto.