| | Things we've been up to: | By | Date |
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Wow, can't believe that in 7 days we will be on the downside of our ride! Can't thank Sonny's BBQ enough for hosting a benefit for me in The Villages! What a great group of people and generous Villagers too! Getting close to my fundraising commitment! My bike is well on it's way to LaCrosse-should be there Monday. I'm taking the weekend off (well almost!) to relax. Going to eat well and stay hydrated-hard to do when our heat index here is 102-110! Yikes-Well at least it is cooler in Wisconsin. Getting excited about spending time with my sisters!
| Diane | 8/6/2011 |
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The time has absolutely flown! In January when Diane, Lynn and I registered for this ride, it seemed like we had all the time in the world to train - and train we did. In just over a week we will begin the ride of our lives. It will be the ride of our lives because so many great people will be there pedaling with us, and so many others showed their love and support by donating. It will also be a great ride as I will be riding with two of my sisters who want this disease cured as badly as I do. The time will be priceless and the day will be great!
As Diane said earlier - Watch out Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa (and lets not forget that big river) - here we come!
| A.J. | 8/4/2011 |
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Well, It's been a long time training, but the final training ride is done! A nice 30 mile ride around The Villages on Sunday completed many months of conditioning! Today the bike goes to the shop for a major tune up and then she will be packed and shipped to Wisconsin on Wednesday. I did some fundraising at The Fresh Market on Sunday and they made a very generous donation of $300 to my ride! Love that store! Managers Brian and Rob were fabulous! Hard to believe that a week from Saturday we will be riding for JDRF!! Watch out Wisconsin (Minnesota and Iowa too!) Here come the Sisters On Bikes!
| Diane | 8/1/2011 |
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It was a hot one, Mr. Grinch! We started our 80 mile training ride at 9:00 am Saturday, after a short delay when Diane locked her keys in her car. The first 40 miles were pretty easy. After we made the turn at the northern trailhead, we thought it would be prudent to stop at a local convenience store to refill our water bottles with ice and drinks. The convenience store didn’t have fountain drinks so we ended up buying a bag of ice, filling all of our bottles, and then giving the rest of the bag to the next person who entered. We also enjoyed a nice break in the store’s air conditioning. Soon enough, we were back on the trail. Along the way, we saw several gopher tortoises and a red-headed woodpecker flew right past us. The last 20 miles were extremely hot with the temperature hiting 97 degrees with a 104 degree heat index. By taking it slow and making a few additional stops, we made it back to the starting point. Watch out La Crosse - here we come!
| A.J. | 7/27/2011 |
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What can you say about July 23rd? Other than I survived?? The day started out great-until I locked my keys in the car before I could even start our ride!! Then AJ had the great surprise that we were riding not 70 miles but 80! Always up for a challenge I said-OK! Who knew it would be 97 degrees with a heat index of 104! Lets just say that 50 miles into the trip we stopped at a convenience store for drinks and a bag of ice, yes a bag!, they almost had to pull me out of their cooler-I did not want to leave! It did take me 2 extra stops on the way back home to bring my body temp down-but we finished the 80 miles!! LaCrosse, here we come!!
| Diane | 7/25/2011 |
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July 19th was a good day for another practice ride around The Villages! Did another 21 mile loop with an average speed of 16mph! Wow, I must be doing something right! I love when I can have a full day at work and still get in a good ride, Especially after having taken the weekend off for a trip to Savannah for my anniversary!
| Diane | 7/25/2011 |
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We are all set for our fundraiser on Aug 2nd at Sonny's in The Villages. The tab at the top of this page marked "JDRF and Sonny's Fundraiser" is the flyer you will need for them to donate back 15% of the proceeds to JDRF. There is also a Buy 1 get 1 1/2 off coupon you can use the same night!! What great people they are!
| Diane | 7/25/2011 |
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Today, Tal and I met with Kathy Cordrey from Sonny's BBQ Management. She is going to help me with a fundraiser sponsored by The Villages Sonny's!! What an awesome group of employees they have in The Villages. We love to eat there and hope everyone will join us on Tuesday August 2nd!! Great food for a great cause!! What else can you ask for?
| Diane | 7/13/2011 |
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The weekend of July 9th and 10th was a riding washout due to the rain, so Monday the 11th was a ride day. The rain came down in buckets all morning, but by mid afternoon the sky cleared! I left work and headed to The Villages. It was a slightly breezy evening and a great time to ride. I made my usual 21 mile loop around Buena Vista and Morris Blvd. Luckily the wind was at my back a good amount of the time. I finished with an average speed of 15.5mph.
| Diane | 7/13/2011 |
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July 4th was a great day for a quick 36 mile ride on CR 349 in Dixie County. I left from our home is Suwannee and rode the fairly flat road up to the town of Old Town. After a brief break, it was an easy ride back. Lots of cars on the road headed home from a long holiday weekend! For me, it was time to go fishing after the ride!
| Diane | 7/13/2011 |
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On June 25th, at 7:45am, AJ and I took off from the south end of the Withlacoochee trail in hopes of making at least 65 miles and beating the threat of rain. It had rained earlier, so the trail was fairly empty. We enjoyed a ride up to the Citrus Springs trail head with the weather going our way. We turned around at the 35 1/2 mile mark and headed back south. After a quick stop at a convenience store to replenish our gatorade, we started seeing the rain clouds. We were not going to make it back without rain! We took a short stop at the Floral City gazebo to wait out a shower then started pedaling again! We were blessed with a short period of dry weather, but wet trail, before it started heavy rain and lightening! We took cover under the overpass of I75 and waited out the storm. We finally finished with 71 miles on the computers. Off to Cracker Barrel for a welcome meal.
| Diane | 7/13/2011 |
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Took off with a dozen other riders for a ride yesterday morning. It was a beautiful morning without a breeze or much humidity, but I knew that would not be true for long. Road out to Webber University, which included some hills. Finished the 35.1 mile ride in just under 2 hours, with an average speed of 17.8 mph. Had a little bit of wind from the west which made the trip back more fun!
| A.J. | 6/19/2011 |
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The week of June 8 was a productive one for training! On Thursday June 8th, I was able to get in 20 miles riding after work. I took off from one of the rec centers in The Villages, planning on making a 20 mile loop. After checking the wind direction (always helpful when you know you have hills to climb!) I took off to the north and promptly threw a chain-was this a hint that I should just go on home and sit on the porch and relax after a brutal day at work?? Yes, it probably was, but after replacing the chain and wiping off what grease I could remove from my hands-I took off and had a great 20 mile ride!
Sunday the 12th, I set the alarm for a 7 am wake up call and commenced on a ride thru The Villages from home. I hoped to make at least 30 miles but knew I needed more! It was a very hot morning with nary a breeze stirring-won't have to worry about the wind direction this morning! I enjoyed a 38 mile ride but decided that I need a camel back if riding this distance again! I finished both my water (gatorade) bottles but still arrived home 2 1/2 lb lighter. I payed for it later that day with a dehydration headache! Lesson learned!
| Diane | 6/13/2011 |
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Saturday March 14th started early-3:45am! Time to head to Lake Wales for our 2 day, 100 mile MS ride. I met my sister AJ and John, along with the rest of the team at Bok Tower for a 7am start. Day one was beautiful-We started with lots of hills and finished the 51 miles on the main highways of Orlando-with lots of law enforcement assistance! The rest of the day was ours to enjoy! The following morning broke with thunder, lightning and lots of rain-not to mention WIND! Our start was delayed for 1 hour but then we were off! The sky was bright blue and the wind was coming from the SW at 20-25 MPH! Guess which way we were headed-Yup-SW! It was going to be a long day! The first 20-25 miles went fairly well-a few extra stops for blood sugar checks for AJ were welcome stops! But when we hit those hills the going got tough-at times it seemed that you were going backwards! We took several extra stops to catch our breath and mentally regroup-and then rode on! Then, the final hill, the largest of the day, the one we all fear, came into sight! We all dug deep, wished each other well and called out-See you at the top!! And off we went!! What a great feeling to finish and know YOU CAN DO IT!! Then off to a well deserved hamburger!!
| Diane | 6/3/2011 |
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Went on an awesome ride last night after work. Rode 25.25 miles in just under an hour and a half (1:27) with an average speed of 17.2 mph. All of that with pretty good easterly wind! I finished the ride feeling great that I could keep up with the guys!
| A.J. | 6/3/2011 |
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OK my sisters in the heat of Florida ... the wind finally died down today and my friends from SE WI's team came into town and guilted me back on my bike ... alright ... I have wanted to be on it for a while but like everything, no time. So we did a little 14 miler during rush hour but have plans for two big rides this weekend ... keep your fingers crossed nothing interferes and I promise, I'll get up to "speed" in no time ... and now for the fundraising ... PLEASE ... PLEASE ... so that didn't work ... guess I better write some letters ... more later and thanks for all the support from everyone!
| Lynn | 6/1/2011 |
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Saturday morning, we parked at Killarney Station on the West Orange Trail and headed west to Clermont. The West Orange Trail connects to the South Lake (county) Trail where you have a choice of going left or right. We turned left and followed the trail to the public beach parking lot at the southern end of Lake Minneola. The park has a very nice lake beach and several facilities including a clean restrooms and a pavilion with picnic benches. We took a short break there before making the return trip to Killarney Station. That 16 mile route included plenty of the famous Clermont hills and provided an excellent opportunity to work on gear selection as well as cardio.
Having wisely packed coolers with additional ice, sports drinks, and snacks, supplies were replenished during a short break at Killarney Station.
The second half of the ride would take us to the northeast end of the West Orange Trail, a mere 20.8 miles away. Along the way, we passed through Winter Garden, and several other full service and well-landscaped stations, and ended up north of Apopka, FL. The end of the trail was kind of anti-climactic. After a minute of a breather, we rode two miles back into Apopka and stopped at McDonalds to refill our water bottles and cool off. Soon, we were back on the trail.
Temperatures crept into the low 90s, but humidity was low and there was practically no breeze. On the return trip, we stopped at Harry and Larry's BBQ in Winter Garden for lunch. It's a small restaurant that is easy to miss as you pass through town. After having a great lunch, we finished the last five miles, returning to Killarney Station, having completed 56 miles through beautiful Central Florida.
| A.J. | 5/31/2011 |
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On Saturday, April 23rd, I completed a 32.5 mile ride from SR50 in Clermont over to Groveland and back with my sister Diane. Traveled on some high traffic roads which had good bike lanes to back roads without much traffic, but all of it had wonderful scenery. Many hills, some steep and some which seemed to never end so by the end of the ride, it was quite a work out.
| A.J. | 4/26/2011 |
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On Friday, April 22nd I joined a friend and rode from Killarney Station (on the West Orange Trail) through Clermont and all her rolling hills to US 27 South. After a few miles on US 27, we headed west on CR 474 over to SR 33 where we turned south towards Polk City. At Polk City we stopped for a bite to eat and then finished the ride into Auburndale. The ride was 53.5 miles long and we completed it in 3 hours, 42 minutes of saddle time. It was a glorious trip that ranged from major highways to back roads and through some remote areas of the green swamp.
| A.J. | 4/26/2011 |
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Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day to do some hill riding in Clermont. Since I began cycling in 2008, all I ever heard was Sugarloaf Mountain is awesome or Sugarloaf is a beast. Let me tell you, Sugarloaf was pretty bad, but Buckhill, which is actually three pretty sizeable hills, seemed to be worse than Sugarloaf.
Set out on a 32.3 mile ride in the beautiful hills of Clermont from the Killarney Station on the West Orange Trail. Took Old CR 50 through Montverde and picked up CR455 which took me through Ferndale making a left on 5 Buckhill Road. Had I known there was actually a 5 in the front of Buckhill Road, I might have been more prepared for this part of the ride. Compared to the rest of the hills, two of them must have been pretty small, as the other three were quite strenuous. I took a short break at the top of Buckhill Road, to give my heart a chance to survive, before making a left on Turnpike Road and CR561. Sugarloaf Mountain Road was just a few miles from Buckhill Road and my body was wishing for just a little more flat riding time; however, once you make the right on Sugarloaf Mountain Road you have to be ready to climb (approximately 310 feet in .62 miles).
What a rush when you hit the top! There is a panoramic view of Lake Apopka and a few other smaller lakes and groves of citrus. The trip down the back side is a blast, with speeds easily in the upper 30’s without pedaling. Sugarloaf Mountain Road connects to CR561 and then picked up CR455 to Old CR50 back to Killarney Station to finish out the ride.
To sum up the whole thing: I came, I saw and I conquered! Wahoo!
| A.J. | 4/11/2011 |
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I rode in the Tour de Parks metric century on April 3, 2011 which began on the Legacy Trail in Nokomis. The day was beautiful without a cloud in the sky, but it was a little warm and humid - which is expected in FL. Something else to expect in FL is a breeze. The ride started out quite calm but the winds kicked up to a steady 12-17 mph with a few gusts reported to be in the 24 mph range. One section of the ride was straight into this wind for about 13 miles and it really made pedaling a chore!
The ride was well supported with breakfast, sag stops and lunch. There were a lot of volunteers who all seemed happy to be of assistance. The course was well marked with both signage and painted arrows on the pavement. The route took us on the trail for about 10 miles but mostly was on the roadways sending riders over trestle bridges, past a couple of bays, along the Gulf coast by mansions and adorable bungalows as well as through state parks. The majority of the roadways were smooth with clearly marked bike lanes.
| A.J. | 4/8/2011 |