drove down to cocoa today, had an awesome time, got a bit sunburned and covered in sand
stopped at whole foods on the way back, grabbed some steaks and asparagus for dinner
didnt drink last night. this was the second time this week i did not drink. taking two nights off (or even one) is a record for me on my annual vacations. slept great. going to have a few tonight
desperately trying to hit 1600 miles by the end of the week, it isnt going to be easy but i might be able to pull it off
tomorrow going to fat one's again
we are all lining up to use the massive shower to get sand off of us, i am last
the ocean really wore me out today, along with the long drive. i do love that drive so much, going down 528 and driving through cocoa. in my dreams i live there.
thats all for now. got to fire those steaks shortly. getting hungry.
yesterday drove from tampa back to orlando. returned rental car #1 and waited about 45 minutes to finally get rental car #2. now I know why I paid so much less! They wanted $10/day WHETHER I USED IT OR NOT to get the toll pass activated. and you had to buy the whole week. so if i went through one toll, I'd pay $70 plus the amount of the toll. makes perfect sense! I'll have to investigate if the pay tollo app still works in florida (edit: it does).
went to tu casa for lunch then grabbed a bike share. rode 5 miles, went back and checked in, unpacked and hung out a while. went to the store and dropped $50 then picked up the girls at about 930. was super tired but got a second wind and went for a bike ride around 11pm - felt great! slept 10 hours and just got a coffee and took a dip in the pool and whirlpool. feeling great!
did another 9 mile ride and i feel quite spoiled that i can take up such frivolous activities on a daily basis
did my 4 mile loop again last night which is terryfing on dark roads that are 50 mph, need to try and knock that out a little earlier, id rather ride in traffic than in that kind of darkness
Took a laundry basket downstairs to smooth out the sand in the volleyball court then wrote our message in the dark with the corner of a cardboard box. Was difficult to take a photo from 5 floors up through a screen with little light but it's intelligible. How I wish, how I wish you......
now having survived 5 trips back and forth! got the bike assembled but still need to test ride, im sure it will need a ton of tightens/loosens to be comfortable and 'right'. still, everything is intact.
feeling some deep phisolophical feelings upon my arrival today. thinking of some really weird and lonely years in here and also thinking of the good times with others, and now this year totally different. typically exhasting travel day today with numerous flight delays eventually ending in about 90 min behind schedule. got a great price on a rental car and the car itself is very comfortable. took a wild backroad route from the airport that avoided all highways AND tollways. hit the pool and dropped a regretful $90 at the bar on drinks and kind of half assed foods but it had to be done in light of all the madness of getting 3 people from chicago to orlando with their belongings. so on all fronts it was a success. time is limited before i keel over from exhaustion. tomorrow start fresh and really start to lay it down properly.
One of my more impressive bar bills for the week..........
Had a very long day, checking out at 10am for a 5pm flight, you do the math.
Finally got home about 8pm, drank 2 beers and hit the hay.
There is an announcement on the shuttle at MCO that hasn't changed in years. It says 'Whether you call central florida home or your favorite travel destination......'. I am somewhere between the two I reckon. See ya in 358.
$18 sunglasses from CVS lasted 4 days. Nice. Real nice.
My ongoing struggle to finish a bottle of hot sauce in a week, still unfufilled. But close.
Last day waking up with one of my best bed heads ever, and Jen wearing my extremely ill fitting sunglasses to go get coffee. Aren't we a couple lookers.
Went to bed pretty late last night, took hours to recover from just a couple drinks in the late afternoon. A crappy nap followed, and after that more hours of feeling low. Finally got it together and took a ride to Publix on Vineland in the dark to get some brew. I think I was in the store for about 5 minutes total and grabbed two 6 packs of CCB. The ride was a bit treacherous but I made it back intact. Had a really fun night and got giddy drunk and went to bed about 1:30am I think.
I had a 9:30 'wake up call' (I don't need such things but they insisted) to remind me of my sales presentation at 10:30. It was really irritating but I dealt with it. Not interested in spending $13,000 but I am interested in the $125 they gave me to attend.
Got back to the condo and had some cheese, salami and crackers. Then I had 3 beers and took a Norco and got really lifted. Ended up taking a weird nap (as can be expected given the cirumstances). Woke up and did a 12 miler to the third Publix of the week to get some more cheese (swiss, for patty melts, on deck tonight), a bottle of champagne for my lover and also a piece of lemon pie. Took a wrong turn and ended up turning an 8 miler into a 12 miler. The extra mileage is welcome but my seat post anchor and also my handlebar stem tilt got loose. Not loose enough to stop the bike (I did have my tools on me) but enough to annoy. All tightened up now.
Got back and had a few beers, sat in the whilrpool for a while, now back up here to have some more drinks and watch the Cubs. Again patty melts on deck and I'm starved.
Tomorrow going to play music trivia by the pool and also mess around in the arcade. Thursday Rusty Spoon is a definite priority, maybe for dinner.
Drank 8 beers last night, slept like the dead until about 9. Walked out into the sun to get coffee and was so groggy it felt like I was coming off a massive drug trip but it was also somehow pleasant to be that brain dead. Guzzled coffee, got super wired. Did 9 mile ride to Whole Foods and blew $72 on one of many gift cards I've been holding onto for this trip.
Going to make patty melts, going to make biscuits with pork sausage and eggs for breakfast. The ride was tough but pleasant, felt good to push myself so hard. About to go hit up happy hour. Just picked up another $125 in gift cards for my sales presentation tomorrow, can't beat that.
She wasn't posing, just turned around and trying to see me and I got this snap at a weird angle
Going to Rusty Spoon tomorrow after the sales presentation. Will take the bus (two I believe) out there and an uber back, Jen has some 1/2 off coupons. They will come in handy because I think its a pretty long ride.
Went in the whirlpool last night, got groggy as hell, felt awesome. Never did jump in the pool though I knew it would wake me up. Posted an edited version of this manic video on instagram:
Is this year #13? or #14? I don't know. It has been quite a few!
Wildness at MCO, waiting for the shuttle away from the terminal there was a monster mass of people like I've never seen in over 20 flights. Then I quickly saw why.
One of the two was working and about 200 people were fighting for it. I hope they get that fixed soon. The flyer kind of makes it look like they are actually upgrading perhaps to a newer, better train. Though like most things, it seemed like the old one was good enough for me.
I was trying to demonstrate that the luggage tag was really strong and would not rip. I tried to show this by seeing if I could lift the luggage by the tag. But doing it with my left hand while sitting is not very easy. Maybe my sleeping Brazillian friend could have done it?
Arrived late, but it was worth it, tickets were cheap. Got in about 815pm and immediately had some IPAs and grub down at the bar and blew nearly $90 in about 30 min. Ouch.
Today went down to Publix and bought a shit ton of groceries. Made an awesome sandwich with chicken breast I smashed with a sauce pan, kale, cheese, tomato, bacon. All on toast, then cooked in the pan, patty melt style (which reminds me, definately need to make patty melts this week).
Went for a beer run as the bar is so damn expensive. Went to CVS first to try and snag a 12 pack of Stella. Knew it would be expensive, grabbed Jen's CVS card thinking that would help. But no sale and the wildest price I've ever seen!
Figured there was no way that it would be that expensive everywhere, so I went another two miles down to I-Drive Liquors which I have seen from the bus so many times but never went in. Things were not much better down there.
So I scooped that plus a 6 pack of a new CCB brew for a total of about $40 (for 18 beers). Ouch yet again.
So already done about 8 miles between those two runs today. No problems with the bike, installed my new 2-piece stem that I've been holding for months, just got done retaping the handlebars. I have some spare brake pads I'd like to put on but I assumed they used a hex key and they have a nut so I need an adjustable wrench which I do not have. The old pads aren't that beat, I don't NEED to change them but I'd sure like to. Going to see if I can get maintenance to borrow me a wrench for 5 minutes - the new pads do use a hex key.
I got up at about seven and took a shower and slowly took my time packing up, drinking coffee and relaxing. I finished packing up my bike box and I went online to schedule a UPS pick up for Monday morning. I guess I should've looked into this earlier but UPS said they would not pick up in the ZIP Code. My mind raced as I check the clock. I saw that I had enough time to hop on a bus and drag the thing to the closest UPS store. However, this would mean taking "the walk "while dragging a 62 pound box behind me. Again my mind raced is I'll try to figure out a schedule, I considered getting and Uber XL instead and try to figure out if I can still pick up bus 111 somewhere further down the route.
I figured I had to at least check out first and then drag the thing out to Westwood Boulevard. On a whim, I asked the girl at the front desk if UPS came and any kind of a regular basis to make pick ups and she said yes, basically every day. I explained my situation and with a giant sigh of relief I dragged the behemoth inside and they allowed me to put it behind the front desk.
So I guess all is well and it will be back in route home sometime on Monday. So now I sit once again at Westwood and Central Florida Parkway, an hour ahead of schedule, reflecting and thinking about the pieces of pizza I packed in my bag to munch on before I head into the terminal.
I went into crisis mode when I thought that having my bike picked up would be an issue and it messed up my philosophical morning thinking about the week that just went by and the weeks and months ahead until I return. It's overcast today, cool with the slightest breeze. So now with 12 or 13 minutes until my bus comes, I attempt to resume my moment to ponder here on a park bench, as I leave Orlando.
So my comrades from ProCycle never showed up....I have evidence that despite what Raphael told me and what time it looks like previous Saturday morning rides took place, that they actually left the shop at 7am and not 730, so by the time I got there at 740 they were already way ahead. So I stood there trying to figure out what to do and I decided to do the ride anyways.
The first 10 miles were pretty hectic, definately not great roads for cyclists. Disney property was full of busses and one pretty much ran me off the road but luckily there was no curb and I was able to go into some grass. I am certain he did it on purpose. But it was a varied route and once I got to Windemere it was a lot of fun.
Since then I haven't done much. I laid around and ate and ate and ate. I ate a big breakfast before I left and I ate two Clif bars throughout the 35 miles. Once I got back I've been laying around and eating and I took a nap. Just ran to the store to get a pizza and some brew and I am about to take my bike apart and put it away and start to get things somewhat in order.
Lots of reflecting. I have plenty of stories from this week and I am sad to go because the world back home seems harsh and grinding. Just coming down from the high. I got to live a week where my only priority was riding my bike and eating and drinking - my god it was awesome.
Got to the Amtrak without incident but my train was delayed. Never had that happen before.
It ended up getting delayed a second time as well and finally we left at about 11am. The ride was pleasant and my seat mate did not infringe on personal space. I read my Kindle and looked out the window. Very nice ride.
When I got to Tampa I pretty easily was able to walk downtown and to my hotel without even looking at a map. Kind of proud of that. I checked in and ran upstairs to dump my bag and take a leak then instantly headed out again. I hit up a thrift store about a mile north which had records but all junk. But there were a few homeless shelters and tons of homeless everywhere, sleeping in the streets etc. Never saw so many homeless in one place anywhere.
I got back and stopped at a pizza place next to Pita Pit and got two slices (pepperoni/mushroom and eggplant parm). Really good. Went back to my room and took a nap. Got up at 6:30 and took the hotel shuttle to the arena, tipped the driver a fin.
'Thunder Alley' pregame was awesome, there was a really cool band playing punk ska and the singer was playing an electric 4-string ukelele. They were playing 'Santeria' when I walked up and I thought it was a CD playing. He even transposed the whole guitar solo onto the tiny next and it sounded great. Two saxaphones, a trumpet and a trombone. (I did not take this video - I just searched for 10 minutes to figure out who they were, this is another performance)
It seems like you can just sit out in 'Thunder Alley'all night long....they have a bar out there and the biggest jumbotron I've ever seen. It wasn't even very crowded...I'm half tempted to just do that next year! They lost and my seats were so far in the nosebleeds I knew it would take forever to get out of there once the game ended. Plus I wanted to get to The Hub really bad so I left during the second intermission.
Every year I worry this place will become a shithole or get closed down or something...I love it so much and I just can't accept that it is there waiting for me every year. I had such a good time. Of course had to start with a monsterous glass of bourbon then moved onto Jai Alai cans. I started chatting with a guy named Rich who works for an insurance company. He sold a policy to some kind of investment banking firm who missappropriated funds and got sued by their investors. So he is suing the insurance company because the policy of course doesn't cover criminal acts. So he was in town to testify along with two of his lawyers. We were all chatting about beer and everything under the sun. Such a nice group. However the smoking which has been outlawed in bars for I don't even know how long (5-6 years at least) is so offensive to me now because I am never around it.
There was a couple on the other side of me and they were pretty smashed and kind of doing horseplay in the bar and at one point knocked over a stool. The bartender Jamie told them to bring it down a notch and they did. The guy was pretty obnoxious and wandered off and I had a quick chat with (who I thought was) his girl. She told me that they went and saw a weird foreign horror flick. (just had to research that to figure out what it was as well) and it sounded very distrubing. Just watched this trailer and yeah, it is disturbing alright.
She told me the spoiler which I wont reveal here but I'd still watch it anyway. So anyway her drunken louse 'boyfriend' (so I thought) comes up and grabs her book like an idiot and says 'are you ready to go'. She just laughed and said 'hes my best friend' and she slapped him across the face a few times. Now I am recognizing that they are pretty weird and not understanding what the hell is going on.
They were both wasted (I wasn't far behind) and I watched them split up. The guy was somewhat terrorizing (which is drunkenness) two other girls on the other side of the bar that didn't seem terribly entertainined with him. The girl on the other hand was talking to a thin white guy with a HUGE afro! A real, curly, massive afro! And she was loving it...running her hands through it and the guy seemed either shy or otherwise disinterested. She was all over him and he was kind of keeping to himself. Then I looked away and they were gone.
I think I had 4 Jai Alais plus the bourbon and I was feeling pretty good and knew any more drinks would make me feel like shit so I took off. So this is the third year I took a day trip to Tampa. Year #1 must have been a Friday and Taco Bus is open until 3am or something so I went there. Last year I know I was here on a Wednesday. I got a Pita Pit sandwich and stashed it in my room because like Taco Bus, they close at 10pm on a Wednesday which sucks. Well Pita Pit is open until 4am on Thurs-Sat! So I walked the 1/2 block over there and who do I see but my two odd friends from the bar! Neither paid me any mind. They were with a third person, an older black female. And the girl and the black female were just standing there holding hands. Very odd. The drunken guy was saying to the girl "I think I ripped your pants when I gave you that wedgie". So my guess is that this guy is legitimately gay or just is pulling some 3rd grade antics because he likes his friend but is afraid to breech the subject with her. What a dork!
So they left and the black female was still waiting for her food as they made my falafel. The cook and I started joking that the guy must be gay to be pulling stupid stunts like that. He told me that the girl told her 'friend' "you should sleep over tonight" and he was like "ok...I guess". We just laughed and shook our heads.
So I get my falafel and I walk out and its about a block or two to my hotel. And who approaches me now but the mysterious black female! She kind of snuck up on me and I think I even jumped. She told me how 'those nice people' paid for her food and that now she was trying to get a 'room'. I immediately laughed and said you aren't going to get a room for less than $100 in downtown Tampa and it was about 1am! I must have raised my voice (which I do sober, and surely more when I am drunk) and she literally took a step back like I had lunged at her. She said that she had that worked out and had a place. As a rule of habit I never give anyone money, to borrow or to keep, homeless or not. I don't give a crap. But I was hammered so I gave her all the change I had which was less than $1. Of course she was bummed out at that and gave me a little look. I told her you asked for money and I gave you some. What else do you want now? She said nothing and walked away.
I got back to the hotel and promptly realized I had left my room keys in the room. And the front door was locked because it was late. So I had to ring the bell and the clerk came, I explained my situation like a drunken loser and she gave me a new key. I got upstairs and the falafel sandwich was HUGE and AWESOME, unlike they inferior junk they gave me the other day on I-Drive.
I fell asleep easily and had a decent hangover in the AM. I finally got it together and rather than spend way too much getting breakfast at the hotel, I went back to Pita Pit and was the first customer of the day. What did I get? Another falafel of course!I carried it back to the Amtrak station and ate it outside and relaxed. I drank a big iced tea and brought an apple juice for the bus ride.
The bus ride was very pleasant and quiet and the WiFi worked pretty well. I read my book and looked out the window. It was really nice. I got back to Orlando and it was going to be a while until a SunRail came back to take me to Sand Lake Rd. so I considered my options. I ended up walking to Orange Ave. then waiting for bus 18 to take me to Lynx Central. Bus 11 inexplicably came first so I took that instead. I only had to wait about 15 minutes before I got on 50 which hauled me back home. I was feeling really tired and hungry now so I went into 7-11 on Sea Harbor and waited in a long line to get a Chicken Ceasar wrap which I ate as I walked. I got home and ate some rice and sweet potatoes then finished my 400 page book and took a nap.
I got up a while ago and took a shower and did all my laundry. I am going to run off to the store now and get some more foods for the rest of my trip. I have one more meal of chicken/rice/sweet potatoes/kale/brocolli/asparagus (sounds like a lot) and 2 more hardboiled eggs and I am going to eat all of that before I go on my long ride tomorrow morning. I had a hunch and it paid off. I found ProCycle's facebook page and then found a map for the route of the 35 miler:
I don't totally want to do the whole loop....that's alot of riding. I've been analyzing the map trying to figure out a good place to get off and head back and I can't find one I am happy with, they all end up making the ride too short. So I'll see how I feel as I go and take it from there. One bad part is that when I get back there is nowhere really good to eat at when I recover. So I guess that is more reason to go shop and cook tonight.
No way I want to drink tonight. It would be bad preperation for the ride (though I drank a bunch of beers before I did the metric half century a few months ago and I tore through that ride. However with that ride I was on my own, now I will be riding with a bunch of guys maybe in spandex and riding $2000 bikes. I would like to stop for 5 minutes now and again and I wonder if they are hardcore and want to do 19mph averages or something. I guess they wouldn't advertise it publicly on their facebook if that was the case as not that many people would be interested in such a thing. I guess I am overthinking the whole thing. I also should have brought a wedge to hold my tire levers, spare tube, etc. So I'll have to ride with my messenger bag so I can have all that stuff which kind of pisses me off. But how could I have known?
Either way tomorrow when I am done I have to really soak up the whole experience and enjoy my final day. No reason to hold back tomorrow night, I need to eat and drink like a king as I don't have to leave for the airport until probably 11am. I do regret a bit that I am not drinking as karaoke is going on downstairs and I'd love to get hammered and take part. Tempting to abondon the whole bike ride tomorrow in lieu of beers...usually I check out on Saturday so Friday night karaoke is brutal the next morning. But now that I can enjoy it, I have other plans. Then again I do have my mileage goals (which now I will easily exceed, even if I don't do the whole loop tomorrow).
But I have tomorrow night to have a nice quiet build up of drunkeness and big eats and don't have to worry about getting up at the crack of dawn or any of that. I can pack up my bike at 10pm tomorrow night if I feel like it.
I just heard someone do 'Mack the Knife' and now I think I hear Dean Martin. That's OK - I've sang a million times before. I'm glad I didn't deposit $100 into Marriots cash register at the bar this year or down a big 1/5th of whiskey over the course of the week. Cycling is more important than drinking. And sober karaoke doesn't sound like any fun at all.
I have made this walk so many times...haven't had to deal with it this year and I'm glad of that. 1.24 miles of irritation. 9 minutes until my transit officially begins across the state. Can't wait till I get to the Sunrail so I can get some coffee across the street.
Yet another building going up next to CVS. It will be interesting to do a side-by-side next year.
Just as I was about to head out this morning for my jaunt to the flea market, the phone rang. It has been a couple years since Marriott has invited me on a sales presentation. Apparently they decided I was a dead fish and no good for another sale (they were right) and got tired of throwing money at me. Well they called me last minute and I had 2 hours notice but they offered me $100. As I had nothing concrete to do and I'd be back out on the streets by 3pm, I graciously accepted.
When I got back I did as intended and headed out. Hot today...got to the mid 80s and beyond and I was sweating hard. After going in circles and constantly checking the map, I found that the reason I had so much trouble finding the flea market was that it was no longer there. That in itself does not shock me - Google maps is often in need of an update (I have since contributed that they are permenantly closed) but the web site for the flea market is very much up and running and looks great. From the looks of the property, they did not close recently but I just don't know.
So with no plan B to go to, I decided to head back. Instead of checking out Paramount's falafel (which I may still do), I checked out another place I had seen a couple times who's sign only says 'Halal Pizza'. Good to see that pizza was slaughtered in accordance with the Koran. I got a falafel- it was overpriced and undersized but tasted good. The heat really started to get to me, I made it back and was soaked and exhausted.
Last night I had an interesting cooking situation unfold. This year they installed two nice gas grills outside building 14 where I always stay. So I ran to Publix and got some bone in chicken thighs and asparagus and sweet potatoes. I got the spuds in the oven and went to grab the $2 jar of McCormick's BBQ seasoning I just bought and I realized I must have forgotten to throw it in my bag, leaving it at the register. Such is a problem when you bag your own stuff. So I went down to the bar and told them to give me as much salt and pepper as they dared. They just gave me a whole salt and pepper shaker which I promised to return.
So I headed back up and seasoned liberally still mad I did not have my BBQ rub. I headed downstairs to fire things up and it seems they kill the gas line after hours. I suspected that might happen. So I went back up and threw it all in the oven.
So after my seasoning and method of cooking was high jacked, I did not have high hopes. But I learned an important lesson: those chicken thighs tasted so good I was shocked. Perhaps it is an instance of set/setting and positive reinforcement. Or perhaps I have gotten too far away from that kind of thing to remember how good it could be. The black pepper actually tasted like black pepper....I did not have high hopes for preground resturant pepper that sat in a shaker for who knows how long, when I have a fancy grinder and expensive Indian peppercorns. But my god was it good! I did not get to bed until about 1am and slept until about 8am.
I had to write some long emails and I am so glad that we have webmail now and I have my laptop so I can handle attachements correctly and write a long and well worded email.
Since I got back from my ride I laid around a while then took a shower and of course had to head back out again. I only have 2 beers and I have been eating so responsibily that I was craving a frozen pizza or something terrible. So I went down to my old standby CVS one mile away. I made that walk so many times over the years and wished I had a bike. Less than 5 minutes on the bike and pleasant ride at that. 20 minutes at least via foot.
I got in there and the prices are just so bad and the beer selection stinks. I already drank 9 of the 10 Stellas in the fridge pack I bought on day #1 and I am sick of them: I need beer with flavor badly right now for some reason. I drank some Terrapin IPAs and now I am drinking some Goose Island IPAs (more on that below). I also have an old Visa gift card with $7.93 on it and I've been dying to use it up somehow. So I decided to hell with CVS and headed out, even though the last thing I wanted to do was ride all the way to Publix.
So instead I went down to Wawa. Wawa is an example of how much construction I've seen around here in the 15 years or so I've been coming down. Well they had a walk in cooler with tons of brews and did have GI IPAs as mentioned above. So I have only bought canned beer all week. It packs so much better in the bag. They did not have any pizzas so instead I had them make me a club sandwich at their cool touch screen deli. Both people in front of me paid in tons of change, lots of pennies. First up was a lady who bought just one chocolate donut and paid in seemingly hundreds of pennies. When I left she was sitting outside nibbling on it so slowly like it was the last donut in the world. Then was an old man who looked like the Iron Sheik or Bald Bull from Mike Tyson's Punch Out. He got a soup from the deli and paid in a combination of cash and lots of change. He just dumped a big pile of change on the counter and told the cashier his 'pockets were heavy' or something and made her figure it out. I guess I wasn't much better because I made her ring up the beer seperately, I think I got within $1.00 of my limit on the gift card with my sandwich and a bag of chips.
I got back and am about to crack beer #3. I only needed to bike 10 miles today to maintain my pace but I ended up at 15. So I am even further into the surplus, I am at 78.6 miles right now with 1 1/2 days left. So if I can cram in 10 miles on Friday night when I get back from Tampa I only need 12 miles Saturday. And I already have my ride planned with Raphael from ProCycle. So its nice to be ahead. It is also nice to have tomorrow off because for the first time in I don't know how long I just have the tiniest bit of soreness in my thighs from all the cycling. Nothing major and I know it will go away fast but I am a tiny bit mentally burned out too. Nice to take a day off.
Tomorrow is my trip to Tampa and kind of the beginning of the end. The rest of the week will go by fast now. Tomorrow will be a hectic bunch of traveling but I remember when the Sunrail did not exist. I would take link 50 all the way downtown then have to take another bus (link 40?) south to the Amtrak station. Now I can take 111 to the Sunrail on Sand Lake Rd and that is less than a mile from the station. I was reviewing transit times and found this pic from a post last year.
I need to confirm but it looks like this works out perfectly.
I have things laid out for tomorrow and I'll probably have to get up at about 6:30. Need to run down to get that coffee as soon as the bar opens. 7am? This year Amtrak didn't give me one of those weird scan tickets where it prints at the station - now I printed my own tickets in advance. Just was able to print my Bolts tickets yesterday - never cut it so close before.
Right now I am drinking my last Stell and eating a bag of Zapp's 'Hotter 'N Hot Jalepeno' chips and I must attest they are hot, and also have good pepper flavor. Very nice. I am wearing the last of my clean clothes minus one t-shirt I have left. My dirty clothes are rotting in a corner - will clean them Saturday.
I wanted to get some cold pack cheese and I got some pimento cheese. What is the deal with this stuff? It was like shredded cheddar cheese mixed with mayo and some pieces of red...something. Don't get me wrong, I ate it all. Speaking of which, Map My Tracks estimates I burned 5000 calories already Mon-Wed in just under 5 hours I sat on that bike and rode and rode and rode. I am like a furnace. Monday night I ate I don't know how much pasta with kale and sausage. A couple pounds I think.
Super excited to catch the Hawks vs. Flyers right now on NBCSN. I am still getting into 'hockey season' mode. It takes me a minute to get into gear and get excited and start checking the scores every morning and keeping up with everything.
Should have posted this on day#1. I am going to enjoy the game and make sure I am squared away for tomorrow morning.
The total above is already up closer to 25 after I took an additional ride (a little longer than necessary, by choice) getting back from the link 50 stop. On top of that, I am about to go out yet again to get more foodstuffs and also beer.
My route went well - hit up everywhere except Retro Records as I decided it was a waste of time. I hit everywhere else and came out with a total of two records which I am happy with. At the end of the day I knew I needed to eat soon after 20 miles but still wasn't that hungry. The link 50 bus leaves the station every half hour so I was speeding back and going back and forth in my mind whether I wanted to stop for lunch first or just get back. Then I remembered I was on vacation and why not just stop and have a leisurely lunch.
So I did stop at Rusty Spoon, the same bartender was there from two years ago. His east coast accent is quite memorable. I got an order of deviled eggs and took down three beers in the course of devouring the sandwich of the day: sloppy joe with house made cole slaw and pickles. And they used the same awesome square toast they used years ago,they call it 'butter bread' and it is indeed amazing. I chose the soup du jour as my side which they called 'kitchen sink' and while it had beans, rapini (I have eaten so many dark greens this week I think my blood can cure cancer), barley and a mess of other stuff, the flavors were clean and not muddled. I had a $50 visa gift card I had been sitting on, my total was $38 and I just let him keep the change. I may stop by after I get back from Tampa Friday afternoon.
Three beers at midday are more than enough for me...I was feeling pretty buzzed when I got back so I threw on my trunks and dove into the pool followed by a stretch in the hot tub. That in turn was followed by a turn in my bed and an hour nap. Since then I've been working on my book and writing blogs and slowly getting my act together. I want to go to the front desk and print out my Lightning tickets as well as my Amtrak tickets.
Tomorrow I am looking forward to not rushing out the door early in the AM. I don't have much of an itinerary besides logging more miles. I am about 10 miles ahead of schedule so I can actually do less than 20 tomorrow. There is a flea market north on I-Drive near the bike shop I was at yesterday. I didn't notice it then but it looks like a good time waster. Should be at least 12 miles to get there and back which should be perfect.
Last year they actually had a teflon pan to go with the steel pots/pans that have always been in the units. Well I don't have one this year as it was for the previous decade and I just cannot fry and egg like this. So after two days and four tore up eggs, I just hardboiled the rest. Considering I only intend to eat them with my rice/chicken/kale its just for fuel and I don't really care how they are cooked. Glad that is done and I think I'll return the styrofoam container at the box outside Publix. They sure don't do that back home.
I instantly got lost trying to comprehend where I-Drive and Westwood connect and went the wrong way. Then I got on track and headed north (the right way) on I-Drive. I got to Sand Lake Road and realized how terrible that intersection is, even beyond my predictions. Trying to turn left and then cross under I-4, only to make yet another left turn onto Turkey Lake seemed stupid, especially since my two reasons for stopping there were largely useless. For one, I was only a couple more miles up to the bike shop to get my tube, and I can probably get a bathing suit at 250 stores in the area. And Wal mart doesnt need any more business anyway.
So I kept on going up I-Drive until I got to ProCycle. The clerk Raphael was really nice, I got my tube and after we chatted for a minute he invited me to ride with a small group (8-10 people) Saturday morning at 7:30AM. Turns out they do a 35 mile loop...normally I'd be nervous about this since his shop is another 5-6 miles and then I'd be doing damn near 50 miles! But I asked if they headed south and indeed they do, he drew me this map:
So I'll head out of here at about 7:30 to meet them at the 'dot' which is Central Florida Pkwy and Westwood. I'll have to make a judgement call on when to leave the route and head back, without knowing the whole route (or the streets quite well enough) I don't want to get myself into a marathon ride, even longer than these guys are going to do.
I had it happen once before, same bike, earlier this summer. My rear brake pad was making a horrible scraping sound. I knew something was lodged in it. I took the wheel off when I got back and used a steak knife to pull this mess out of the pad. Yikes.
So I hit all my spots today except East West CDs...which I'm glad I pulled the plug, 25 miles was far enough. Barely started to hit the wall towards the end but it wasn't too hot, probably never got above 80. Very nice. Got back and ate, took a shower and a nap. Hopefully tomorrow I can do the same. After the bike shop I hit up the mall where I stopped at the record store as planned, plus Ron Jon next door to get a bathing suit. Had a hell of a time finding anything bigger than a 38, I got a 42 and probably should have gotten a 40. Still not bad and only paid $20 on clearance (they had tons of trunks for $40-60). After that I considered turning around as I knew I'd be close to 20 at that point but I decided to truck on over straight west to Goodwill which was a bust. Still glad I did it. I look forward to trying to maintain this pace as the week goes on.
Tomorrow I am going to take bus 50 at 9:23am to the Lynx station (with my bike on the front, of course) then I have a bunch of stops lined up. Again, this Goodwill (different one) is way out of the way and I'm tempted not to even bother but....well I don't know what 'but', I am just going to do it. I will probably have to hit Retro Records last as they don't open until 11. I went there last year and they are the only one of the three record stores I visited that I care about and luckily it's nearby. Village Thrift I did call, they do have vinyl but 'only one box'. I've heard (and seen) that before. The Rusty Spoon I stopped at two years ago...probably will be in need of foods after that ride and very well may have time to kill waiting for a bus back (and its only about a mile from the bus station).
As for now having a couple beers then hit the rack early so I can be out the door around 9am.
I am going for 100 miles this week. Not that great a goal for 7 days but it is not quite that much time available to fulfill my goal.
I really only have 4 full days. Sunday (yesterday) I did not have the bike ready until 7pm (though I still logged 10 miles). Thursday I will be in Tampa and Friday I won't be back until probably late afternoon. If I can crank out another 10 on Friday, and 20 each of the other four full days, that will be a century.
So for today's 20, I have a growing list of stops:
First up will be Wal Mart on Turkey Lake road. I may take I-Drive instead of Turkey Lake which should add a couple miles and be safer. I need a bathing suit: I cheaped out on the Patagonia suit I have because I did not want to pay $50 for a nice one. So I got a crappy one which is kind of short, has no liner and is also too big in the waist. I actually sewed a seam into it to make it smaller but it fell apart. Time for a cheap one - that fits.
I doubt they will have a 700x23 tube there - so I will then head north on I-drive to ProCycle bike shop, I'm sure they will have what I need.
After that I will follow I-Drive east over to the the Artegon Marketplace strip mall. R N' R Record shop has no phone number I can find online and zero google reviews. It has one Yelp review from this year and the pics look legit. This place is flying way under the radar.
After that, east on Sand Lake to Goodwill at OBT.
After that, it is quite a bit north to East-West CDs which also seems to sell records. At this point I am looking at 25 miles minimum round trip.
Woke up at 745am and took a giant bowel movement because I ate a ton of cheese dip and 6 cold hefe weizens the night before.
iI drank some coffee and had some pineapple and cottage cheese. Then i had some apple crisp. I was trying to load up with foods because i knew my eating schedule would be screwed up. My flight left at noon and arrived at 4pm, then I had an hour bus ride (30 min waiting for bus) then another 15-20 min walking, then putting my bike together. All told, I left the house at 10am and was on my bike going to get foods far away in Florida at close to 7pm.
I checked in and grabbed my bike and assembly was swift. It looks like it did sustain a tiny amount of damage, largely no big deal:
-the headlight lens got cracked and dislodged. I cleaned up the broken bits and got some super glue and its as good as new. Shouldn't have left that in the box. It's a cheap headlight and I do have a spare at home.
-When I was reinflating the tires, I cracked the valve stem for the rear wheel directly in half! Never seen anything like that. don't know if that is from shipping or what.
-The weld on the front wheel is just barely seperated. I noticed because when I would brake, I could hear the pad 'jumping' across the weld. I theorized immediately that this is what it was, and I was correct. Solution? I flipped the wheel over so the weld goes in the other direction.
So today I have to go to Walmart (hopefully they have a 700x23 or a close width) to get another tube or I will have to hit up a bike shop and it doesn't look like the closest one is that close. That being said, the roads around here are so damn smooth I don't see how I'd ever get a flat. 2015 has been a year for very few flats anyway.
So in a totally weakened state, I did the 5 mile loop to Publix. I grabbed plenty of energy good predicting lots of biking - I am shooting for 100 miles this week. I got 3 lbs of rice, a pack of chicken thighs and some brocolli and kale. I also grabbed a sandwich from the deli which I ate as I cooked. When all that was done and put away, I headed back out again this time to the other Publix, though that was not really my final destination. I knew I could stop at the 7-11/gas station at the corner of Westwood/I-Drive to fill up my tires the rest of the way (my hand pump can only get them up to about 40psi, which is rideable for short distances). There was a lady parked next to the pump and she was using a small DC powered pump to fill her own tires. I went out on a limb and asked if I could use it and she was so nice. I put them both 85psi and thanked her. I had meant to put some quarters in my bag but alas I forgot. The 7-11 compressor was $1.25 anyway. Ridiculous.
I needed beer and figured I'd go to Knightly Spirits on Central Florida Pkwy. Again, Central Florida was just as smooth as Westwood/I-Drive. But I wanted to investigate a bar I'd been looking at for years. Jack's is in the same strip as Publix and Knightly. As soon as I sat down, the bartender asked 'whats your problem'. Apparently I had a mean mug but all I said was 'Makers, rocks' so I don't know if he needed a hug or a pen pal or what. I had my drink (really shitty pour too) for $7, left no tip and rolled out. I'm sure they will do fine without me considering there were a total of 3 other customers.
My impulse was frozen pizza but instead I got some pasta and sauce, some 'local' (I've bought their ham hocks before too) smoked sausage and a bag of kale. Then I got a fridge pack of Stella (easier to pack) and headed back. So that is 10 miles today in just a couple hours and I couldn't get started until about 7pm. Not bad. The ride back was a bit scary around Seaworld - there are so street lights and the foliage blocks the moonlight. Really dark. I'm not scared of the dark - I'm scared of cars that don't see my taillight! I didn't think to cut down Seaharbor Dr on the way out, I definately hit it on the way back just to get off that dangerous main strip.
The Wawa is finally built on Central Florida also - I will have to hit them up for a late night monstrosity this week. That makes me think about the Taco Bus in downtown Tampa - just had to check but Thursday isn't any better hours then the rest of the non-weekend week. They close at 10....there is another 3.5 miles away, not that that helps me. Then again there is Uber down there - I may need to rock a 7 mile loop cab for tacos. Or maybe I'll be faded fast in The Hub and be ready for bed by 10. Or I can tote a stinking bag of cold tacos at the bar. Biggest problem there isn't the stench or the coldness - its that I will know the tacos are there and I won't want to drink after long because I'll need those damned tacos!
The Stella was pretty warm so I threw some in the freezer and cooked my food. I was feeling so tired at this point that I kept forgetting I only had one drink at the bar, I had 3 Stellas and ate some pasta and hit the rack about 11pm while watching a documentary about OJ Simpson.
