2/27/2011: Prequel - A Warm Up Ride to St. Augustine

As a warm-up to the Great Bike Trip of 2011 (details to follow), Lani and I planned a Gainesville-to-St. Augustine ride.  It shouldn't have been a big deal, about 80 miles on bike-friendly roadway.  Actually, this was going to be a big deal; the most I've biked in one segment is about 20 miles and this was a real test: to see how I would handle a serious day of biking on my new bike (details to follow.)  Would I like my bike?  Would I appreciate my newly acquired padded bike pants?  Would anyone who saw me in my bike shorts know that you weren't supposed to wear underwear under those things? 

Lani had a reservation for us to stay a room at a St. Augustine hostel, The Pirate Haus Inn.  Hostels are not my usual my go-to when I'm looking for a place to stay, but Lani, having stayed there before, assured me I'd like it.

On the other hand, I identified where we would have dinner after expending some 3000 calories, the restaurant Cellar 6 which was a short walk from the hostel. A good meal and a great glass of wine - maybe even 2 - is my preferred way of ending a day, so I was pre-motivated.

Lani's apartment was 10 miles closer to St. Augustine than our house, so I was to rendezvous with her en route.  Panniers packed with gear, clean clothes and 8 PB&J sandwiches, I was up at 4:30 and on the road by 6am.  We hooked up and cruised along another 13 miles, mostly on the highway, a bit on the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail.  Her cruising speed was a bit lower than mine, but that was okay.  I let her take the lead and all was good until...

Lani veered right a few inches, falling off the generous 2' shoulder and onto the grass...no harm done.  But, she then tacked sharpy left and lost control coming back from the grass onto the road.  Suddenly, she was perpendicular to me.  We collided, though not hard.  I ended up on the grass, Lani on the shoulder, but straddling the traffic lane.  We scooped ourselves up and assessed the damage.  Lani blessed her helmet but, physically, we were fine, as was my bike.  Unfortunately, Lani quickly saw that her bike was not rolling...the problem became clear: the rear wheel rim had been warped.

And, like that, trip ended.  Fortunately, we were "only" 23 miles from home.  I called my wife and she retrieved us.  Let's hope that his was a random and singular event.

The RunKeeper app for the iPhone provides a handy way to track virtually any outdoor activity, from running to cycling to snowboarding.  Here is my route for the day with all sorts of fascinating statistical details.