29r in the House!

Bike, eat...

and sleep deeper than a 17 year old cat. 

That's my goal every weekend, and this one exceeded expectations.

With the new bikes just begging to be ridden, we made it to the Econ twice, Sugarmill once, and worked in two runs.  (Popeye  did the Saturday morning road ride as well, so he gets the gold star!)

But even so, I wasn't really tired until I cleaned house this morning!  

(Big Brother and his Betty arrive tomorrow. That means the Guinness Apple Bread can come out of the freezer, mmmm.) 

The new bike was a dream.  Not sure if it's because of the 29 inch wheels or just because it's new, but it floated down the trail with very little effort from me!

Opposite this particular bank, Northstar spotted a fairly large gator.  Much more thoughtful than me, she shouted to warn a kayaker coming around the bend, just so he wouldn't have a heart attack when he saw it. 

His response was, "Want me to wrestle him for you?" 

I don't know, 30 years in Florida and I still haven't acquired quite enough complacency to laugh off a flesh eating reptile the size of my boat.

OK, not too impressive from this distance (no telephoto on the phone camera), but he was a moderately big one.  Not exactly Jabba the Hutt, but a respectable 10-12 feet. 

It's not so much the length they get to be in this river that scares the pudding out of me, but more the width.  Econ gators always look really well fed, wide in the belly, like they just ate a deer.  Or at least a St. Bernard.  

A few bends further on, TomCat did a spectacular endo (which I missed seeing - darn!)  The guys up ahead didn't notice and kept going.  In the distance as they rode off, I heard a huge cheer go up.  Hoo boy, drunken campers ahead. 

It is the weekend. 

When we finally got to the spot ourselves, we could see the party going strong on the opposite bank: 15 or 20 kids, kayaks, campfire, coolers.  As we rode by, another cheer went up with lots of yelling and waving.  I spared a hand to wave back, amazed at the friendliness.  (Definite improvement over banjo music.)  Northstar caught up and asked "Did you hear what they were yelling?"

"29r in the house!"

Wow, unanticipated attention for the bike with the big wheels.  Who knew? 

Later, we learned the first cheer was for one of Inspector Gadget's friends who had yelled across to the partiers, "Throw me a beer!"  Which they did.  He caught it one handed and chugged it on the spot.  Now a cheer for chug ability, I understand!

Two days, two rides at the Econ, then Sunday on to Sugarmill, and Killer just continues to float! 

Popeye on left, and Krafty leaning on his Fuel EX 8.

Spruce Creek Overlook

Riding Sugarmill was way too much fun and I did NOT want to get off the bike and run!  Popeye took off on foot for the 6.7 mile loop, while I procrastinated with a third bike loop, but fear of finishing last at the Caloosahatchie XTerra next weekend finally drove me to don the Nikes and get to it.  

Just a quick transition run.

Hey, that wasn't so bad. 

Not good.  But not so bad.

Watch out, TriLady! 

(As if.)