There isn’t a hill in the entire state, yet I manage to get my heart rate to stay in the 180’s for much of my rides because these people hammer so damn hard ALL THE TIME
Parking garage hill repeats aren’t exactly the same as real hills
Swimming outside is awesome
Holding Joe Bonness’ wheel on a group ride just about gives me a heart attack (see 1)
The sun down here is hot and burns the skin easily…
There are mansions? All I seem to see down here is the back of some guy’s tire. And then it’s usually some other guy’s tire. Then some other guy’s tire…
I just got back from a week there myself. My parents have a place in Dundee and we were staying there. Here are a few more observations.
If you have a car or massive SUV you must find the biggest rims possible with the lowest profile tires possible and install them no matter what
type of car it is.
Why do people need massive 4WD Suvs in a state that is flat as Florida where they don’t get snowstorms?
Running can be very very dangerous with all of the blue haris turning in and out of the 55+ parks
Swimming at the Rowdy Gaines pool in Winter Haven was awesome.
There are lakes everywhere but you can’t swim in them since they are all posted with signs that say “No Swimming” and “Don’t Feed the Alligators”
I loved that combination on the signs
Don’t ever go a Timeshare presentation … the fantastic deal where they finance everyone at 17.99% seems like the reason the economy and
banks are in the toilet
Florida is a great place to run in March to find some heat compared to the north so it was nice to be able to run in shorts and a t-shirt
God i hate it when people say that there are no hills,funny i have ridden on some in the middle of the state,North Florida is very hilly,i have to ride 10 miles south to be able to ride flats,anything North/East/West is all hilly.
Just got back from Clermont. Awesome rides, amazing hills. Hope you got a chance to climb Sugarloaf a few times.
The training center (NTC) is an amazing complex right in the middle of town near HWY 27 and HWY 50.
If you’re on the side of the road with a flat, it’s the guy with the landscaping company pick-up who is dentally-challenged who will offer to help you change the flat/give you a lift home.
If you want that wonderful ‘up hill-both ways’ feeling, there’s always the beach road through the national seashore when a 20mph+ crosswind kicks in.
You can easily spot the tourists by the sunburns, no matter how much they think they fully covered with sunscreen.
If you grew up in a Northern climate, outdoor pools in February will always be teh awesome.
I’m glad we’re past pine pollen season now because it’s no fun to sneeze and tear up all the way through a workout.
Jodi, please don’t answer Mikes question, because if you were able to hold on for all 4 laps (which i couldn’t do) then I might feel a little ,well, insufficient.
And, i’m having a bad enough day already so I just don’t think I can take it right now.
Lake Louisa State Park is a triathletes heaven! We put on seven triathlons at the park each year - perfect swim area, great roads with some hills and running trails. The cabins are very nice and you do not have to leave the park for training. Our Lake Louisa Sprint Triathlon Series offers SIX races for only $100.00. Check out www.usantc.com Z
I have never seen so many BIG SUV’s and trucks in my life yet, so few actual off-road place to drive!!
There seem to be large volumes of traffic on all roads at all times.
Florida is the only place I have seen double gated communities - you have to go through two sets of gates to get to some houses!! Is this to keep the multi-millionaires seperate from the mere millionaires??
I have only ever seen this in Florida - Massive motor homes, towing massive SUV’s. These people must have some type of record setting carbon foot-print. Do Floridains know that one of the early results of ongoing global warming will be that most of the state of Florida will be underwater!!
The riding in Clermont is not bad and the running in the Orange groves is very good. There really are hills in Florida.
Every house has a pool and every house has this crazy, huge screen structure covering the pool. Weird! I thought the point was to be outside and enjoy the outdoors.
The Waffle House has perhaps the highest fat and total calorie count breakfast offerings I have ever seen in my life!
The NTC has an amazing 50m pool - but I am told it is rarely set up for LC swimming.
There is an amazing 20 mile run you can do from downtown Miami out to the tip of Key Biscayne and back.
having just moved to jacksonville from Savannah, Georgia here are my observations:
1.the cycling is awesome (San jose BLVD), but when you come from a turd city…
there seems to be a race EVERY weekend in jacksonville (foot race mostly)
despite having an ocean about 20 minutes away, there aren’t many pools that I can find.
You gotta love the weather here
Having grown up swimming in Jacksonville, I can tell you there are plenty of pools. If you’re cycling on San Jose Blvd., then you’re not far from Bolles, well-known for its dominant swim program. I don’t know if they let anyone come in and swim, but they have a Masters team.
Jodi, please don’t answer Mikes question, because if you were able to hold on for all 4 laps (which i couldn’t do) then I might feel a little ,well, insufficient.
And, i’m having a bad enough day already so I just don’t think I can take it right now.
I only ride with the Bonness group on Friday when I’m down here. I can hang on that day since the max speed is 24 (theoretically). I would never be able to hold on to their tough days. No way…
