TTO and Catrike Rally

Our stay in TTO for this 2 week period is coming to an end. On Sunday we leave for Lake Louisa State Park for a week before returning here on Sunday, March 15.

Since the last post we've done some fun things centering on our recumbents. On Friday, February 27, a group of "bent" riders gathered at the Green Pond Trailhead on the General Van Fleet Trail to ride to Polk City and back. There were 51 recumbents rolling down the trail. This event was the Catrike Pre-rally - the Catrike Rally was the next day. Use this link to view the photos taken at the Catrike Pre-rally.

http://tinyurl.com/baaynb

Saturday was the big day. Catrike sponsored the Catrike Rally and Factory Tour in Winter Garden. The ride began at 9:30 in Winter Garden with riders pedaling varying distances on the West Orange Trail. It was an awesome site to see between 150/200 recumbents riding the trail. Most ended their ride by noon and had lunch in Winter Garden before heading to the factory tour. The factory is about a mile from downtown Winter Garden in a small industrial park. The tour was very interesting as the owners and associates gave a demo of building a Catrike from start to finish.

The below link will show photos taken of the Catrike Rally.

http://tinyurl.com/cd3c5l

While at the Catrike Rally, Audrey found a new flag for her Catrike Speed (aka Black Cat). Speaking of Catrikes. I demoed a number of models at the rally - the Catrike 700 and the Catrike Expedition. One of these days, there will be another trike in our stable of bikes. It most likely will be the Expedition since the rear wheel on my Corsa can be moved to the Expedition making for a faster ride. Speaking of interests in trikes, our friends Myron and Dorcas Whitley came to the Catrike factory tour where Dorcas demoed a number of Catrike models. Could there be a trike in her future?

Today, Wednesday, Myron Whitley will be taking on the task of replacing the cooling unit in their refrigerator that died a few days ago. I volunteered to help Myron -- ha, ha. Minimally I hope I can help him move the refrigerator so he can replace the cooling unit. Beyond that there is not much I can do. Myron knows what he is doing.

Tomorrow (Thursday) we're off to Plant City and Power on Cycling where I will have the seat replaced on my Bacchetta Corsa. The seat structure has shifted and needs to be replaced (under warranty). While there I'll have the Corsa serviced.

While participating in the Catrike Pre-rally, numerous videos were taken as you would expect. View the movie below.

Stay tuned for the next post.

Lake Louisa State Park & TT Orlando

Much has gone on since our last post. We spent a week at Lake Louisa State Park, near Clermont, FL. It’s a relatively new state park with very nice sites and facilities. The neat thing about the park are the roads into and around the park. They are well paved and lightly traveled. Perfect for bike riding and running. There are some hills to test your fitness too. When we arrived at the park on Sunday, February 15, there was a triathlon in progress. The biking portion was taking place so I jumped on my recumbent and rode in the race for a short while. Wanted to see how hard and fast they were riding.

The early part of the week was spent chilling out. One day we headed to the West Orange Trail where we rode the bikes into Winter Garden for lunch. I rode from the Panera Bread in Clermont while Audrey rode from the Killarney Station.

On Thursday, Denise (daughter) and Samantha (granddaughter) flew from Harrisburg, PA to Orlando to spend 4 days at Disney World. We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday with them. Friday was the big day as we headed off to Epcot for the day. Later we had dinner at the new restaurant - T-Rex. Saturday and Sunday we hung out at the pool at Saratoga Springs. The kids left for the cold temperatures of PA on Monday, and we left Lake Louisa State Park for another 2 week stay in TT Orlando. We sure had a good time with the Denise and Sam. We were sorry to see them leave.

Sunday we had a phone call from our daughter (Cindy) in AZ letting us know that she had qualified for the Duathalon World Championships. A duathlon is a running - biking event. Use this link to learn more about the event. http://www.desertclassicduathlon.com/

Needless-to-say we are excited for Cindy. And here is additional good news. Two years ago the championships were held in Hungry. This year they will be held in North Carolina. Go here to view a few pictures of Cindy competing in the qualifying event.

http://tinyurl.com/akw97e

Here in TTO things are going well. Yesterday we rode the West Orange Trail with friends of ours, Myron and Dorcas Whitley. The highlight of the day was Myron & Dorcas demoing a trike in Winter Garden. See the picture of Dorcas.

Over the next few days we'll be putting the bikes to good use. There is a ride scheduled for Friday and Saturday with other recumbent riders. The Friday ride is on the Van Fleet Trail sponsored by a local group of recumbent enthusiasts. The Saturday ride in sponsored by Catrike - the company is located in Winter Garden and will host more than 200 recumbent riders. There will be a morning ride, lunch and a tour of the Catrike factory in the afternoon. We will post updates on these events. Stay tuned.

Riding the Withlacoochee Trail & More

Early Friday morning, February 13, 2009, off we went to ride the recumbents (bents) on the Withlacoochee Trail near Brooksville. The trail runs 46 miles with numerous trailheads making for easy access. Go here to learn more about the trail. http://tinyurl.com/2wgw9 We joined more than 25 other bent riders starting the ride at the Ridge Manor Trailhead. The ride intinerary called for the riders to head to Floral City with a visit to Hampton's Edge Bike Shop (a recumbent shop) before heading back to Ridge Manor. A lunch stop was planned for along the way. In the end, only a few riders rode to Floral City (20+ miles). Most rode to the 10 mile mark and turned back to Ridge Manor. By far there were more trikes being ridden than 2 wheeled recumbents. Audrey rode more than 20 miles while the Corsa logged more than 40. After the ride we headed back to Clermont with a stop at Wendy's for a snack.

Additional pictures of the ride can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/crw4yw

Today, Sunday, is moving day. We leave TTO and move to Lake Louisa State Park for a week. Our friends, John & Pat Lively, leave today too. Myron & Dorcas Whitley left on Friday and Rob & Bonnie Wall leave mid-week. Most of these folks will be back in TTO in a week or two so we'll catch up with them again.

Check out the short Withlacoochee Trail ride video below. Stay tuned for the next update. It will include a visit to Disney with our daughter, Denise, and her daughter Samantha. We are looking forward to the visit.

Here is a note we received yesterday from our daughter Cindy who resides in AZ. She is working hard to qualify for the Ironman in Hawaii - her second appearance.

"Just got back from long run with my friend Carolyn.  I've been helping  
her train for a marathon and I think I created a MONSTER.  She  
recently qualified for Boston and is training so hard that I can  
hardly keep up with her now.  Actually, it's good for both of us.

Doing a long ride tomorrow (3 hours, including some intervals).   
There's not too much time left before my 1/2 Ironman in California."