NC Here We Come

false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Our stay in FL for the winter is about to end. We spent last week in Lake Louisa State Park and are now back at TT Orlando. Our reservations here end on March 29, but it’s likely we’ll head back to Washington, NC before that date. Our week's stay in LL was a fun week. It's one of our favorite FL state parks.

On Monday we met Audrey’s brother and his wife (Carl & Irene) for lunch in Leesburg. This is our second visit with them this winter.

On Wednesday we rode our recumbent bikes on the West Orange Trail. Joining us and starting at the Killarney Station Trailhead were my sister-in-law, Ginny Watkins, and her friend, Forry Yeakel, from Coopersburg, PA (my hometown). Audrey and Ginny were classmates at Southern Lehigh High School in Centre Valley, PA (we won’t say what year). Ginny and Forry are renting a place in the Plantation near Leesburg for the winter. We all rode more than 25 miles at a leisurely pace with stops along the way at Chapin Station and the Ingram rest area. When we returned to Winter Garden we had lunch at the Winter Garden Pizza Shop before riding back to the autos at Killarney Station. While eating lunch, Audrey had her Black Cat tuned at the Winter Garden Wheel Works. She wanted to have this done before returning to NC by a mechanic familiar with the Catrike Speed.

Friday was another fun day. Audrey and I invited fellow recumbent riders to join us to ride the 12 miles of well-paved roads in Lake Louisa State Park. The terrain is hilly compared to most of the areas we ride in Central FL. In fact, the 12 mile course is one that the U.S. National Training Center uses as a training course for triathletes training for the Olympic team. FYI, the US National Training Center is located in Clermont, FL. -- http://www.usatc.com Prior to starting the ride, we provided the group with doughnuts and orange juice – energy food of course. After 2 hours of riding, most of the riders headed to lunch at a nearby Clermont restaurant for lunch. It was a fun day and gave us a chance to say thanks to our trike/bike friends before leaving for NC. Go here to watch a movie of the ride. http://www.vimeo.com/3714100

We moved back to TTO on Sunday, arriving early a.m., and found an open site near the clubhouse – the one we had back in February. Needless to say we took it.

On Monday after chatting with Ginny and Forry, we decided to ride the WOT again. The drill was about the same as days earlier except we rode more miles and I had a flat tire just as we entered Winter Garden. I had a new tube put in the tire at the bike shop in WinterGarden, and we continued our ride.

On Tuesday, we motored to near Tampa to visit the relocated Power On Cycling bike shop. This is the shop that was located near Plant City where we’ve purchased numerous

items during our stay this winter in FL. The new shop is much larger than the previous one. On the way back to the coach, we made our last stop at Lazydays for lunch (free). Our friends, Pat and John Lively, were having their coach serviced at Central FL Coach Works and met us for the free lunch at Lazydays.

At the start of this update, I noted that we were about ready to head back to Washington, NC. We've made the call on a departure date. We'll leave TTO early Saturday morning and will stop overnight at a campground in Walterboro, SC. One of our friends, Claire Weston, has recommended the campground. We hope to arrive home around noon on Sunday, unpack the coach, clean up the yard and get on the golf course. This will likely be our last posting until we make our journey to PA.

Thanks to all who made our winter stay so much fun.