It's on the List again. Ride around Lake Okeechobee. It was on the list to go to Maine in August too. Yet another oh-well.
Been saying oh-well to a lot of opportunities so far this month.
Haven't been out of town once. Didn't make it to the Jacksonville Xterra. Or Tsali. Haven't even been to Hogsmeade for a butterbeer.
Doesn't mean we've been totally idle. Just operating within smaller parameters, that's all.
While Popeye rides the Palm Bay group hammerfest a couple times a week, I am on my own. Nope. I won't go into how goofy it seems to me that no one wants to ride any where but out in the full sun, on the road, in Florida, in August. I'll just say that I don't get it. I don't get it at all.
But on road or off, there's no escaping the fact that it is August. Any other time of year, riding alone includes the luxury of going whenever I happen to be ready. August is a special case though, and the last couple Saturdays I have been determined to get out aeap (as early as possible).
Saturday. 7:30 AM. Every possible ounce of Gatorade squeezed into the camelbak, full suspension locked out, tires stans'd and pumped to a street-ready 30 pounds...
Wow, early is nice.
It's been a while since I have been on my own in the airport trails.
Whoops. Gotta take the road for a bit from here.
The Eau Gallie dam is still accessible, though. I love this spot. You'd never know you are right in the middle of a town.
No I didn't ride across. I've seen people try. Did you know that fat tires will pop a bike right back up to the surface after plunging off a dam into deep water? Kind of like the sub in The Hunt for Red October. Good to know, huh? Just the same, Keene spd bike sandals make perfect waders.
It is only after I'm across that I remember the second largest gator I ever saw. Melbourne Tillman Canal. Huge. He was stretched out under some falling water, very much like this spot, jaws wide open, waiting for something edible to wash over.
Oh well, the foot wash felt pretty good - once the heart rate went back down.
Even if you can't leave town, at least you can pretty much make any local ride about water.
A1A south toward the inlet has half a dozen beach parks. In August, any ride farther than the mailbox is going to be a soaker anyway. Might as well add a swim.
You just never know what you'll see along A1A... How about Cap'n Jack Sparrow holding a for sale sign? I was by there again yesterday. He's still there. Still for sale. Go figure.
Once every few weeks, there's more rolling around this town than just bikes.
How about those Molly Roger Roller Girls!
Saturday night. Roller derby at the Palm Bay Rec Center. A little bit Nascar (left turn, left turn, left turn), and a whole lotta bumper car. It's BYOB and BYOSC. Seat cushion, that is.
I did take one video that night just as the home team jammer went into the penalty box. 2 minutes of Dub City (West Palm) racking up points, the 109 to 40 scoreboard in the background. (I didn't spare you on purpose, it just didn't upload.) Then, the very next jam yielded a broken clavicle. Unphotographed, of course. At least by me.
Our seats, high in the bleachers, are good ones, but we've decided to get there earlier next time. The front row is where the action is.
Speaking of suicide seating...
Ever been hoisted up a mast in a bosun's chair?
Well, now Popeye has.
Pie Man and Scout are preparing Sunny Skies for departure. Popeye replaces a deck light, while Pie Man stands by near the winch.
Just a few more chores and ready to go.
Even catamarans only have so much room. You just can't take everything along - even if you do have brand new folding Dahon's. Once Popeye is back on deck, we are instructed on our next chore. Helping to clear Pie-Man's bar fridge of it's last few beers.
Somehow, this onerous task is only half completed, when Pie Man's new doo comes under discussion. It is a #1, in preparation for a month or two of cruising. Before you know it, the clippers are out. For Popeye, it's a whole new take on washing the gray away.
I put in the video. Then edited it back out. If anyone really wants to see, let me know. But seriously. Don't ask. Unless you have a weird sense of humor. (And a poor sense of fashion.) Some things just seem funnier in the moment, you know?
Yesterday's storms doused the temps and made a quick 25 miles out the front door feel refreshing, even in late afternoon. If I'd been on my road bike it might have been a little sketchy on Tropical Trail in the blustery west wind, but on Killer it was a breeze.
Yes, it stormed before I got back.
No problem. Killer traction.
Four or five miles north of Mathers Bridge, up toward the Pineda, I see Sunny Skies under full sail, way out in the channel, heading north, wearing a "for sale" sign on each rail. She is the only vessel out there.
Well done, Pie Man and Scout. An on-time departure. Finally underway for a late summer cruise of the Chesapeake, and eventually the boat show in Annapolis.
I'd say good luck in selling Sunny Skies at the boat show.
But they'd know I don't mean it.
Postscript: Here's the link to Scout's cruising blog. I haven't spent much time in the Chesapeake, so I'm really looking forward to hearing all about it. If you aren't a boat person, remember they've taken those brand new Dahon's, so I expect to see a few rides in the travel report as well.
http://www.sunnyskyadventures.com/sunnyskiesblog/
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