Magnificent Day

Today was a magnificent day, sunny with a cool breeze. I rode a leisurely 10 miles along the beach. The wind picked up in the afternoon, but I was just killing time enjoying the day.

Discovery of Bike Touring

My brother and I are in our early 60’s and wanted to do something outstanding before the time to do so was gone. I had backpack in my earlier years and have always wanted to hike entire Appalachia Trail, but with arthritis and knee problems, hiking is difficult. I got a bicycle for exercise and found that it doesn’t hurt my knee, and I love riding.  So we decided to make an extended bike tour. We started ambitiously with plans to bike from Jacksonville to Key West, over 500 miles. I expected that it would be this great unique accomplishment of two older men. Then we started researching the route and what it would take to do it. In our research we found a whole new world on crazyguyonabike.com. Not only did I feel very naïve, but a little bit stupid when I realized that what we are planning is nothing to what many people are doing. I am still looking forward to our trip, and it will still be an accomplishment for us.

Journals on Crazyguyonabike.com

Yesterday I did a short ride of 6-7 miles up the coast on A-1-A. On the return trip I faced a strong head wind. I hope that we get cooperative weather and wind when we make our trip.

I love following the journals of people on crazyguyoabike.com. These stories are very inspirational, and convince me that I can do my trip. It also makes me realize that what we are attempting is just a speck in the universe of touring. Our trip compared to these trips around the world would be just a warm up trip. I also know that doesn’t make it any easier for us to do, but if they can do what they are doing, then we can do this.

Flat Tire

My front tire went flat for the second time. I have a place on the rim that is wearing a hole in the tire. I fixed the tube with a patch and added some tape to protect it from the rim. After putting the tire back on and inflating it, the tire tread split. The tires have plenty of tread, but they are old. I have taken both tires off and I headed to get new tires. I was hoping to wait till we were ready to make out trip to get new tires. I am going to replace the rim tape.

I replaced tires, rim tape, and tubes on both wheels. I took it for a short ride, but I will give it a better ride tomorrow.