Dolly's Bike Blog

Happy New Year!  I hadn’t been paying close attention to the calendar, and the number of days until the start of my adventure.  But now it is 2013, and the countdown really begins: 31 days in January, 28 days in February, then 7 days in March until I meet up with the other cycle adventurers!  That is 66 days to go from today.

To celebrate the new year, I decided to try two-a-day: we rode 31 miles on the tandem with the regular tandem group from The Villages (5 teams, plus 2 stray singles).
When we got home, Don went to play golf, and I climbed on my single for another 21 miles – 52 total for the day. We will see how my hip/buttocks feels later this evening (problems as a result of a rear end “collision” in the car in mid-December). I am determined that these pains will not deter my cycling.

It is so wonderful to have the sunshine, even the winds. I dread the 5 weeks back in Indianapolis between Florida and heading out west, especially when I read emails from tour-mates who are spinning 3 hours indoors. I will just have to imagine the sunshine.

There is a foot of snow in the Indianapolis area, but Don and I have escaped to The Villages, Florida, warmly welcomed by our tandem friends Ray and Linda Cannarella.

On December 26th, it snowed all day, dropping 8 inches.  We completed errands on Thursday, then headed out of town early Friday morning.  The dusting that was forecast for Friday afternoon in Indianapolis, turned into 4 more inches.  Those conditions are certainly not conducive to outdoor biking.

When we arrived on Saturday afternoon, I unpacked, then went out for a 14 mile spin.  The sun was glorious.  And the sun continued this afternoon (Sunday), though the thermometer didn’t get above 50 degrees.  I could have done with less wind, but it is a good training experience.

Don is fighting a cold, so we haven’t been on the tandem yet – planned for tomorrow.  I am hoping to bike every day we are here, maybe even two-a-days, on the tandem in the morning, the single after lunch.  No hill training, but good for legs and bottom.  Happy cyclist!

The sun was shining, though the thermometer read 35 degrees. On the main roads, the snow and ice from two days ago had melted, so I decided to head out for a ride. I definitely wanted to stay away from ice; no desire for injury as I prepare for my upcoming “adventure.” With the cold, it is always a challenge to figure out what to wear: enough to be warm in the early miles of the ride, but not too much to overheat in the middle of the ride. This “clothing dilemma” is a learning experience I need to master before my trip. Though I hope we won’t experience any freezing temperatures during the tour, I am sure there will be days that start cold, then warm up nicely. Or days that start out warm and we encounter a storm that lowers the thermometer quickly. As a good Girl Scout, I will try to “Be Prepared.”

Managed 25 miles on my excursion, which also included 2 stops for some late Christmas shopping. So much more fun and interesting than spinning in the basement in front of the TV.