Covidman Triathlon 2020

Today was the first and (hopefully last) Covidman triathlon at Ft. Desoto. The race consisted entirely of someone whose name rhymes with Clancy Fendrink.

There is a new policy of a locked gate at the park until 7 am so this o dark hundred early bird did a shuffle run on the causeway and in the camping area in front of the gate until it opened. It was a gorgeous morning with a stiff breeze.

The kite surfers loved the conditions provided excellent entertainment during the bike portion.

Part of the park is on Tampa Bay. Here is a freighter headed out to the Gulf. Please trust me when I tell you it was massive.

For the swimming portion the water looked lovely.

I was about to capture jumping in all hot and sweaty after a run and a bike. I guess this was a reverse order tri. Anything to not run in 90’.

But a little fin appeared right in front of my swim course.

The swim portion of the Covidman was moved to the shower near the parking lot.

The park is one of my favorite places to play. 10 miles of beach, road, paved trails, some sand trails and enough great views to keep you busy forever. I managed 3 hours or so of jolly time and then it was home to my girls.

Deb was doing zoom yoga in the living room and Sammie was looking for snacks.

There are rumors we may attempt to tent camp at the park so that will most certainly be blog worthy. If you are climbing the walls with boredom go find a park and poke around for the day. It is the 2020 version of a vacation getaway.

Stay well and enjoy your local delights.

Save The Orcas 13.1 Bradenton Beach/Cortez FL

13.1 because at the moment 26.2 is an alternative reality. This was a virtual event because of the C word. First and last place finisher’s name rhymes with fancy.

The skies were beautiful and the early morning peace was a treat. 13 miles was a challenge but in this neck of the woods the scenery never disappoints. The woke yard in Cortez village was thought provoking. My favorite was the don’t take me to your leader-I come in peace. Insert snarky comment regarding alternative reality here and please do find your best way to vote

This was a virtual event to save the orcas. There was a t shirt and a matching medal. Reality provided a toasty humid day but orcas deserve our best efforts.

When doing the Cortez loop from Coquina my guilty pleasure is doing the last bit on the sand and then jumping into the Gulf clothes and all. After 9 years living here this routine never gets old. Best of all it entices one to get back out there another day and do it again.

Last week paradise was invaded by big jellyfish. Today the coast was clear. One dolphin came very close to shore having brunch. Mission accomplished and breakfast picked up on the grub now app. Thank you essential workers.

Hope this gave you a little diversion and you are well and safe. Sending love to all especially the orcas.

Fourth of July 2020

We celebrated the 4th with a section of the Glacial River Trail. Loved the red white and blue barn. The Rock River and Little Crawfish River were looking good.

Indeed it is possible to get lost on a bike trail. We were very successful at that when the trail meandered thru Ft. Atkinson and again when the Glacial Drumlin Trail intersected.

We are both enjoying the virtual bike challenge for the summer. At home we have congestion in Sarasota to the south, Sunshine Bridge to the North and of course that little pond the Gulf of Mexico to the West. The ability for us in Wisconsin to go any direction with virtually no traffic is sublime.

Keep the rubber on the road,

Stay safe,

Filling the Void Virtually

The new normal. Long days waiting for deliveries of essentials and a way out of the pandemic.

We were extremely fortunate to escape to Walworth County in Wisconsin for a few months. The bike riding is fabulous and there are many interesting old barns. I adore old barns so every mile in rural Wisconsin is a delight. Debbie took on a virtual 300 mile walk/bike challenge and I did the virtual 2500 mile coast to coast along I 40. Our pal Trudy W suggested it to benefit a NC food pantry. There was even a t shirt and medal. Drowsy Sammie volunteered to model the swag.

The ride occupied Memorial Day to late August very nicely. The other summer highlight was visiting family in Pure Michigan.

We returned to Florida to cast our ballots and flee the f word. Furnace for forty degree temps.

Sincerely hope you are safe and finding your best self and best life during this extraordinary time.

Virtually yours,

Post C2C Reflections

Still shaking my head ! WHAT just happened ? This is what I remember from the last week.

We departed Rodeo NM with the sun on the mountains and coyotes howling. It was clear and chilly. There was another Continental Divide sign with rolling hills up and a headwind. I was doing my usual ride/photo/nature sprinkle break. Moving up and back through the party in the back of the ride.

We stopped in the middle of nowhere at a hardware/feed/convenience store. Someone said the store opened up just for us. There was not a great selection of drinks but I noticed another rider had chocolate milk so I snagged one. We then had 30 miles with no sag and it kept going up and there was a strong wind. The route was 89 miles. At the lunch sag in a ghost town I timed out and I was transported to Deming NM. When I pulled into the SAG I had a tantrum. I threw my bike down, tossed both bottles high in the air and gave a double bird to the wind. I believe the next statement was: If I never see another Continental Divide sign again IT WILL BE TOO SOON. There may have been some f bombs too. When I have been 30 miles with no snack this is the sad outcome. We had a hotel overnight and it was getting obvious the world was closing up. I overheard another rider discussing that the next day was no ride-beeline to El Paso and exit to home quickly.

The extra time off the bike was good to call home/rearrange travel from plane to rental car. Early the next morning the staff had riders, bikes, luggage packed up and rolling in 5 minutes. Bubba HOW do you do it ? What a team.

Within an hour of getting to El Paso I had rental car packed and fruit-snacks-gloves-wipes for the drive home. In 46 hours I was home with 2 quick sleeps at Hampton Inn occupancy 2 in Kerrville TX and 3 in Biloxi Mississippi. FYI if you are a lead foot and a virus is chasing you TX pretty much does not have a speed limit.

The beloved D met me at the Tampa airport in virus mode. Even though it is hotter than He$& here in Florida I so appreciate being in the same place for more than 24 hours and having 3 quick steps to the bathroom at 2am.

The food at home is not nearly as good as Bubba’s and obtaining limited choices takes days now. Since I have enough butt butter to last for awhile I will Forrest Gump and just keep riding around for awhile. Today I made my own Nan sandwich. The authentic Bubba version is on a tortilla FYI.

Due to social distances I still cannot determine the actual goings on in the grass hut at the end of the road at the Manatee River.

Thanks for following and please feel free to comment on how your situation is this week.

Sending peace, health and safety,

Love to all,

Nan

Post C2C Road Gold Report

C2C Road Gold recap.
This is 1/3 of the booty. Bypassed 2 pennies on car trip home from El Paso at gas stations due to virus issues so add those in virtually please.
One lady rider who was walking up a steep mountain feeling kind of down in the dumps saw a dime after I report 11 cents at the last intersection picked it up and it made her day. She rocketed down that mountain like a Tour rider. Then had lunch and said it was the best day of the trip.
The legend and the magic of Road Gold lives on !
Even with doing only 1/3, for sure we made a million memories.
Love to all,
Nan

Rodeo to Deming

We woke up to stars that would not quit and 34’. The sun was rising and popping off the mountains pink AND the coyotes were howling and yipping. There are no words.

Bubba HOW do you do it ?

We did -surprise – another uphill grind to a little store that sold farm feed hardware and snacks. They opened up just for us. It was truly in the middle of nowhere. We then had a solo 30 stretch to Hachita . The town was abandoned due to the RR stopping. The population was C2C riders and sag team.

The stretch had a beefy headwind and my least favorite concept Continental Divide. After a brief down that was impeded by big wind I did the swearing mph to the lunch.

I threw my bike bottles in the air and demonstrated z middle fingers to the wind and the C….. Divide word.

All riders in place at the time were put in cars to get to the Deming hotel.?Our scheduled overnight in Columbus would not allow us into the town.

There was simply not enough day left to finish and take the 40 mile car ride to Deming.

The decision was made to stop riding Saturday and high tail it to El Paso to end.

The staff have been incredibly helpful in dealing with the logistics of the interruption.

I am high tailing it home with Flo Rida in a rental car. Dinner on the road was gas station delights.

Love to all, Be safe.

Nan

Rodeo

Tortoise shell ankle rattlers for dancing

Douglas to Rodeo NM was a great day of riding. The road was deserted. Just us and the border patrol. The overnight was a resort for hang gliders owned by Macafee the COMPUTER one. It was a fabulous house with courtyard fireplace and dark sky stars that brought one to their knees. Wow wow just wow.

We had a late dinner and a very late rider meeting with. 95 mile day the next day. Overnight it dipped cinnamon the 30’s. The view of the mountains looking Est and west was ahhhhmazing.

Thanks for following. Just got a signal to post this.

Nan

C2C Day 10 Tucson

We are riding East, eating well and missing lots of turmoil related to THE Virus. We talk about it for 10 seconds share anecdotes from home and change the subject to Bubba and staff’s superlative support and the extraordinary scenery all around. The weather is perfect. Restaurants are closing down right behind us and we pedal on. Latest update tonight is we are all set until El Paso at least and the chef is using a restaurant supply company to get food. Brilliant thinking on Bubba’s part.

Tonight camping again. Just saw/heard a few Gambel’s quail right next to my chair. It is on the ground left of center. Pic #2 is mine, hard to see. Pic 1 is google.

Above is our campground for the night. Very nice showers and some shade to chill out in. Temps are good the sun is really strong. Coming from a SW FL girl !

Split lunch with Elizabeth B my hotel share. Chicken lettuce wraps and burger with hash browns, bacon, fried egg on top. Including a 2 beverages $22. I am serious this is heaven. Here she is enjoying the yellow magnificence.We both have neon green bikes. Others may be jealous, we match our required safety vests !!

Above is a date sampler shipped home to FL from Dateland AZ. That was the night we woke up to a lake in the camp. The nan cave is in red.

The good thing about that day was things had only one direction to go.

Today we rode by the mother ship. Ice cream people you are intimate with this product.

The route was almost all smooth bike trails. You can ride 100 miles in Tucson all on bike trail. Here are some delights. A long stretch of plantings with memorials and blooming desert.