A Cycling Weekend in Clermont, Florida

March 30 and 31

I wanted to prep for an upcoming trip with a few folks from the cycling club here.  The destination is Clermont, Florida which is known to be hilly.   I thought it best to ride the routes ahead of time to make sure I knew the roads.   Since it has been almost two years since I have been there I needed to familiarize myself again with the area as well.

Jim and I arrived in the Clermont area at 9:15 AM at the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook which was the ride start location for both of the rides.  There were many triathletes cycling on the nearby roads.   We passed many of them.  There is some serious training in this area since the  Great Floridian Full Ironman is held here each year.  Even the local hospital helps out.

The destination of this ride was to the Yalaha Bakery.  . Turning out of the park we encountered our first hill....the Wall.  It was within the first mile of the ride.  It was a tough climb since we really did not have a warmup but that was the direction we need to go.  We  continued on and were about 3 miles in to the ride when we were directed to turn right which ended up being a dirt road.  Not a great start but we able to figure out a go around and were quickly back on course.  

I have navigation help thru Ride with GPS which gives me turn by turn directions.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money on a Garmin that has route capabilities check out Ride with GPS. (it's an upgrade but worth it!)   It a great way to cycle in new areas and find routes that have turn by turn navigation help.  It even prints maps and cue sheets.

We arrived at Yalaha Bakery via very scenic route and even saw a seaplane land in the lake.  Awesome thing to see!

The first photo is the front of the building. The next two are some of the treats that you can buy there.  Check out the  names!

There are many cyclists as well as other visitors who frequent this bakery.  There are tables with umbrellas to sit and enjoy your treats.  There is even a deli where you can order sandwiches...German meats of course.

Next store is a distillery that sells blueberry moonshine if that's your fancy.  It's not a good choice is you are cycling, though.

We headed back towards Green Mountain Overlook and then came the surprise.  Hills, hills and more hills.  The first half of the ride was not that bad after we climbed the Wall.   Then we encountered South Buckhill which has four climbs.  I had some shifting issues and the last of the four climbs I had to do three times!  My legs were toast and then came Sugarloaf Mountain which a 14 % grade climb.   I think my speed was about 4.5 mph going up that hill.  I was just hoping to keep the bike upright!  It was a tough way to head back to the overlook.  Of course there was still  more climbing but these climbs were less severe and were necessary to get back to the Overlook and finishing the ride!  We ended up with 37 miles and lots of hill climbing.

We packed up the bikes and headed to the motel which turned out to be very close to the ride start.  We cleaned up and off we went to explore Waterfront Park in downtown Clermont.   The popular restaurant on the lake is Lily's on the Lake.  The menu included lots of fried food and beer.   On this day there was a reggae band playing. We were able to walk around, listen to music and even see a seaplane that you could hire for a ride.  Did I mention that the weather was perfect with low humidity and lots of sunshine?

 There is a also a special bike shop, Epic Cycle, across from Lily's that has a cafe named The Energy Cafe.   Here is one of the coffee machines used to make coffee.

This machine presses the coffee via computer.  The staff has formal training and certifications in roasting coffee beans and making coffee!  

The cost of each coffee machine is $10,000 and they have four machines.   It was really something to see.   Of course the price of a cup of coffee reflected having the pay for those machines!

 

 Here we are enjoying our coffee.  Jim's was served in a huge brandy, snifter type, glass.

 

Then there was the bike shop that has clothing for sale, a spa and massage area, a cycle spin room      ( your own bike on indoor trainers) and of course all types of bikes for sale including Pinarello's, Argon 18, and other high end bikes.   I was able to get some photos of some of the other unique bikes for sale in the shop.

We headed back to the motel and had dinner at the local pizza shop, Lil' Anthony's which was recommended by the hotel staff.  We were disappointed in the wait and the pizza and will look for another restaurant when we head back in May.

 

On Sunday we headed back to the Overlook at 8:30 AM and headed out in the opposite direction from the day before.  The ride profile was less hilly and our legs were glad for that.   

Our first stop was 10 miles into the ride in Monteverde and the Coffee Shop of Horrors.  I had been in this shop before but it was in a different location which was smaller and had more of a scary effect than this shop.  The coffee was ok and expensive so we will pass by this shop on our next visit.

We did get lost a bit ( something happened to the navigation....nothing is foolproof!) but we did manage to make it to Waterfront Park and  that our rest stop.  To our surprise the navigation said we finished the course but we didn't.   We ended up looking at Google maps and asking a few other cyclists for directions back to the Overlook. We ended up with 26 miles and were glad to be finished.

It turned out to be a nice ride even though a bit shorter since we cut off the last part of the ride due to time constraints.  We needed  to start heading back to the hotel to clean up and head home.

We had a great time, great cycling on less traffic country roads.  We are looking forward to going back in about four weeks with the group.

A Short Trip to Miami and Boca Raton

April 1, 2019

I was able to get away for an overnight to the east coast of Florida to ride with Al P and his riding group there.

I arrived at Al's house in Miami in the afternoon and was able to get a nice view from his winter home.

The view you are looking at is the inter-coastal waterway in Miami.  It's not to hard to get use to loving that view.   During my visit I saw skullers ( rowing boats ) in the waterway as there is a training center near Al's house.   

Al also had taken a photo earlier in the week showing a privately owned boat coming through the drawbridge.

Yes an individual owns this boat and not a corporation.  The boat was so big it almost didn't make it through the drawbridge!  ( Picture courtesy of Al )



The next morning we left at 6 AM to meet his riding buddies in Boca Raton which was a 45 minute drive on I 95.  I thought to myself that this group must be really special to drive that far each week to ride with them and deal with the crazy commuting traffic on I 95!  It was a white knuckle drive for me!  I can attest that the drive was well worth it.  The group was so friendly.  One of the members , Irwin, is 82 yrs old and can lead the pace line the whole ride at amazing speeds.  He took it easy on me being a guest, though.   He is an inspiration!

 Irwin is first person on the right.  The jersey say Old Spokes still riding.  Cute.

We ended up with 40 miles ( from Boca Raton to Lake Worth ) and some very scenic areas of expensive homes except for Briny Breezes. Briny Breezes is a small area of trailer homes on the Atlantic that Marriott wanted to buy for $1M per home but the residents turned it downed!

Most of the group went out for lunch after the ride.  It was a nice way to end the ride before heading back home..

Thank you Al ( and his wife Marion)  for being such great hosts and also the Boca Raton Cycling Club for providing friendship and a very spirited ride!

Trip to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands---Part 2

Tuesday October 23, 2018


As promised, this blog is about the rest of the trip to a very spectacular part of Utah!

However, I did forget to include some of the sites we saw from our bikes ( the blog Part 1)

 La Sal Mountains in the distance

On Saturday we decided to head to Dead Horse Point State Park.  It is known for being one of the most photographed scenic vistas in the world!

https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/

Here are some of the views we saw from the park.

 The Green River 

 

 The Green River from Dead Horse Point Overlook

The road below is used by cars and other vehicles to get through the park!

After hiking one of the trails we said goodbye to Dead Horse State Park and headed back to the hotel for a break.

In the afternoon we decided to do a scenic drive instead of hiking.  We chose the Potash-Lower Colorado River Scenic Byway   We saw some rock climbers during our drive and drove along the Colorado River.   Here are some of the interesting sites we saw.

Look closely for the Petroglyphs carved in the rock

Look on the top rock.  Those two imprints are dinosaur tracks!

We were so glad that we took that scenic drive.  We got back to the hotel and made dinner reservations at the Sunset Grill which was located behind the hotel on a mountaintop.  The drive was up a narrow windy road so we opted to take the shuttle to the restaurant.  Parking is also limited so if you visit the area it would be better to take the shuttle.

The mountains in the distance are the La Sal Mountains

The view from the dinner restaurant was spectacular but the food was not.   We were very disappointed. 

On Sunday we decided to take the day off from hiking and take another scenic drive on the La Sal Mountain Loop Road.  It was very scenic, as promised.  Below are some of the views we saw along the way.

At the end of this scenic byway we turned left and headed back towards Moab when we stumbled upon Castle Creek Winery.  We tasted a very nice Merlot made from local grapes and purchased a bottle for consumption.

Here is some information on Castle Creek Winery.

https://www.castlecreekwinery.com/

We were a little early for wine tasting so they directed us to Red Cliffs Lodge where there was a cowboy museum which actually turned out to show video clips of all the westerns filmed at this location.   Many of the films were made around 1955 and later.   This museum is a must see if you are in the area.....a diamond in the rough.  We were so glad we took the time to see it.

https://redcliffslodge.com/

We decided to do one more hike in Arches and took a short hike on the Park Avenue Trail.  It was  92 degrees when we finished this short hike and we were so glad we were done!   Here are some views from the trail.

Of course I had to take one more picture of the Three Gossips

It was a fabulous trip and I would recommend a visit to this part of the US as part of your future vacation plans!

 

Long Overdue Blog about A Trip to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands

Tuesday October 16, 2018

Al L and I went on a vacation in early September to Moab, Arches and Canyonlands.  We landed in Salt Lake City and the next morning headed to some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of the United States.  Here are some of the views we saw along the way.

 I didn't know that Utah had a coal industry

Al looking at the view of the mountains. 

The rental car got us from Salt Lake to Moab and back!

It took us a little over four hours to arrive in Moab.  We were excited to see the sites so we went to the closest park to Moab which is Arches National Park.   Here is a link with more information about the park.

https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm


What would a visit to a national park be without a photo at the entrance!

A view of the park from the visitor center

The first spectacular rock formation in the park

 The following photos are also of the park and our first drive through Arches

The first scenic overlook in the park

Looking from the road into the park.  The view is of the visitor's center

 Balanced Rock

Another scenic overlook.  It looks like a city in the distance but it is more rock formations!

A native plant in Arches

We had hoped to do a hike in the Fiery Furnace but it is a ranger led hike and it was full by the time we tried to sign up.  You can do it without the ranger but you must see a movie about the area and pay a fee to do so.  Al and I were concerned that we would get lost in the maze so we passed!

The second day of our visit we decided to visit Canyonlands.   We were going to cycle in that area and possibly attempt a ride from Moab to Canyonlands so going by car was a way to determine how far and if we could do it.  

Here is a link with more information about the park

https://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm

Of course the obligatory photo at the entrance to the park.

 Someone was nice enough to take a photo of both Al and I

Here are some views and native plants in Canyonlands

Rock cairins that help you stay on the hiking trail

Here are some awesome photos of the landscape of Canyonlands

We did the Upheaval Dome hike.  The second scenic overview was much harder than the first and included some rock scrambling.

On the third day we had rental road bikes reserved from a local bike, The Bike Fiend.  It was the only cycling shop in town that rented road bikes.  The owner built the titanium bikes that we rented for the day.

Here is information on the bike shop.

http://moabclassicbike.com/

Here is a photo of one of the custom titanium bikes we rented.

There was a paved path for cyclists at the north end of Moab that led you to the turnoff for Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park.  We followed that path through some of the most spectacular scenery.

We tried to make it to the entrance to Dead Horse Park but Al was having problems with his bike shifting when climbing so we made it half way and had to turn around.   If you do attempt this ride on your visit there is a water stop at the Dinosaur Museum Cafe.  There are other refreshments and food there as well.

There is much more to blog about but I will split the blog into two parts because of the amount of photos and narrative.  

Part 2 will be finished in the very near future.