jonpaulbaker.com

Ride Time: 01:03
Ride Distance: 14 miles

Riding and kayaking on Saturday took a lot out of me. My knees bothered me all of Sunday and part of Monday, so I took a break. I’m curious if my knees will always hurt using a sit-in kayak or if my body will get used to the seating position. Only time will tell.

I finally dragged myself out of bed at a reasonable hour: 6am. As much as I hate to admit it, I am a morning person. All I have to do is learn to accept that and always get up at 6.

It was nice to get in a good hour of riding before getting ready for work. The ride out to the causeway was pleasant, though I hate taking it slow to warm up when I know I only have an hour. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze, even on the tree-protected roads.

Which meant there was a nasty headwind on the causeway itself. But headwinds mean more work and more work means stronger legs. I did the causeway twice, then came home. I’d rather have stayed out riding, but it’s better to have time to cool off before jumping in the shower.

I have lots to do at work today; hopefully having ridden this morning will keep me energized throughout the day!

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

Rental kayak ho! A Hurricane Kayaks Tampico 140 L.

The monthly kayak demo by Osprey Bay was a lot of fun. The demo area is a shallow area of water left behind by the tide, so no one can get into much trouble. I tried out four sit on top kayaks and two sit in kayaks. I liked the sit in ones best: I felt more connected to the kayaks and found them easier to paddle. However, the sit on top ones were a little easier on my knees.

I enjoyed the Tampico enough that I decided to rent one for the week. I picked it up after lunch and headed out to the Dunedin Causeway to get used to it. I paddled along the beach side for a while, then ducked under the bridge to the opposite side just to experience going under a bridge in a kayak.

After getting a feel for the kayak in a more realistic situation, I paddled across to Caladesi Island.

Caladesi Island, looking back towards the Dunedin Causeway.

It was nice to take a break and drink some water. Then I paddled through the no internal combustion engine zone for a while before heading back to the Jeep. I had a great time. It’s much more relaxing being on a kayak than being on a powerboat and the paddling didn’t take a ton of effort. The tide was going out, but the Tampico was easy to control and made short work of my trip back to the causeway.

It will be fun playing with it over the next week. My aunt gets here next Friday; perhaps we’ll rent a kayak for her to do an outing together. I think Diane will enjoy going through the shallow areas and looking at the wildlife. I got to see some seabirds up close, as well as some rays. The seagrass beds were very interesting as well.

It’s turned out to be quite a day! Cycling in the morning, kayaking before and after lunch! Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same.

Jon Paul Kayaking

Ride Time: 1:45
Ride Distance: 22

Went to bed early last night, which made getting up at 6am a lot easier. I need to make a habit of always getting up at 6 instead of varying my wake up time on the weekends. It felt pretty good, which was nice.

I rode the Roubaix out to Clearwater Beach, then through the neighborhoods. I debated heading down to Belleair, but decided to only do three bridge climbs instead of four. It was great being out so early; there was almost no traffic, so I could look at the water as I rode. The only funky part of riding the island in the morning is, well, the funk. A lot of the roads smelled like garbage; I suspect I was a few blocks behind or ahead of the garbage truck.

I’ve got breakfast going now. In a little while, I’ll head out to Honeymoon Island to try out kayaks. Osprey Bay has a monthly kayak demo at the park from 10a-12n. Hopefully it will be fun! If I like it, I may rent one for the rest of the weekend, though the heat warning may make me reconsider. I really want to like kayaking; hopefully having professionals there will help with fitting the kayak seat properly.

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

The northern terminus of the Pinellas County Trail

Ride Time: 3:15
Ride Distance: 28 miles

Diane’s bike fitting was Friday. It went well, though we ended up with a new seat and new handlebars to go with the Speedplay pedals and Specialized shoes. Charlie at Chainwheel is very thorough and had her clip in and out of the pedals many, many times to ensure she was used to doing it before our first ride.

We took off Saturday morning with the goal of hitting the north end of the trail and National Bakery in Tarpon Springs. The weather was wonderful and we had a great ride. I really enjoy riding with Diane and it’s great that she now has a comfortable road bike to ride. The only flaw in the trip was a rather moronic squirrel. But even that couldn’t ruin a great ride.

We stopped at National Bakery, where Diane had a morning snack and we picked up some cookies for later. Thankfully the squirrels weren’t as stupid on the way home. Diane finished the ride with no pain at all!

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

A gorgeous day out on Honeymoon Island

Ride Time: 2:22
Ride Distance: 22 miles

I wasn’t feeling up to riding yesterday, so I didn’t make my 100 miles for the week. I’ll have to make that up this week, which means riding tomorrow after work. Aw, darn! Diane gets here this week, so some of those miles will be with her. I’m very excited!

I rode the Haro today. It was nice to relax, sit upright, look around, and just enjoy being out on a gorgeous summer day in Florida. I saw two tortoises, one of which was fairly small. Not many people were out at the park, which surprised me a bit. But it made doing a few laps easier.

Now to watch today’s Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré coverage on Versus.

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

Ride Time: 02:12
Ride Distance: 31 miles

My current ride plan is Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, with Saturday being the long ride and a weekly goal of at least 100 miles. I got in 29 miles on Sunday. Today, I got in 31 by doing laps at the park again. It was a great evening to ride; partially overcast, which meant there were fewer people on the causeway and in the park. I would have enjoyed doing another lap to make it 35 miles, but it was getting dark. I had to turn on my lights on the way home as it was.

As I was riding through the park, I came across a snake crossing the road. I slowed down so I could determine if I was going to pass the biting end or the non-biting end. I was definitely going to pass the non-biting end. How did I know? Because it was an eastern diamondback rattlesnake! It was fairly large, at least to me: around 5′ from head to tail. I would have taken a photo, but I didn’t want to get close enough to use my iPhone’s camera.

I was worried someone would hit it, but it had safely crossed the road when I rode through again. The park warns that rattlesnakes are common on the island, but that was the first one I’ve seen. A ranger told me previously there were a lot of them around, but they kept to themselves.

Where to do my long ride on Saturday… Hmm. I’ll have to think about that one.

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

Ride Time: 02:20
Ride Distance: 29 miles

My current goal is to get in 30 miles twice a week and 50 miles on Saturdays. I’d like to get in 30 miles three times a week, but we’ll see how that works out with my other exercise goals.

It was a gorgeous day for riding. Enough of a headwind to make things interesting, but not so much as to make it a chore. I rode out to Honeymoon Island the long way, taking a tour through a neighborhood I’d not biked through before, and did laps. The park was very busy; I was surprised how many people were there.

The causeway was very busy as well, yet almost no one was using the trail. I guess Sunday felt like a driving day to most of them. Not that I’m complaining! I’m glad the trail was empty; traffic was backed up on the causeway both on my way out and on my way back. Biking on the road would have taken forever.

PS: My photos of Madeira Beach’s Mad Dog Triathlon are up on my gallery. I have more to post and need to crop the ones I do have up, but I thought people might want to see them.

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

Looking out from Ft DeSoto to the Sunshine Skyway.

Ride Time: 04:14
Ride Distance: 54 miles

I got out of bed bright and early Saturday morning with a plan: to take the Roubaix to Ft DeSoto Park and ride for four hours. I’m concentrating more on time spent riding than distance covered; supposedly this is a better way to train. I also set my maximum allowed heart rate to 150 bpm.

The drive down went without incident, other than taking the wrong road south. Google still can’t differentiate between US-19 and Alternate US-19. They’re not the same road and they do not go to the same place. I generally use words instead of the map, so I took US-19. I still got to the park; thankfully I know the area well enough to get around without a map.

Instead of leaping out of the Jeep and heading off on the Roubaix, I ended up driving around for 20 minutes trying to find water. The park does have water fountains, however they can’t fill a water bottle. Thankfully I found an outdoor faucet near the fort; it was painted blue, so I assumed the water was drinkable. I’m still here and feeling fine, so apparently it was. If you’re picky about water, I would bring your own to the park.

The park has a T-shaped, ~6.5 mile multi-purpose, paved trail that parallels the main road. The main road is rideable as well, though the park gets quite busy after around 11am. When I first arrived, there were a ton of cyclists on the road, including a guy making great time on a handbike. As it got closer to 11, there were fewer “roadies” and more families on the trail on comfort or mountain bikes. But everyone shared the trail and I think everyone had a good time.

I’ll definitely go ride there again. I may make it my normal, or at least once a fortnight, Saturday ride. The nice distance (around 13 miles a lap) and the scenery makes for a nice ride.

If you’re curious what the park looks like, my friend Monica and I went there in 2007.

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports

Run Time: 00:43
Run Distance: 2.2 miles

I’ve not gone for a run in 15 years. But I have the shoes and it’s more convenient to run before work than to ride. So off I went.

It wasn’t too bad. The weather was nice, the trail was nice, and I ran on the waterfront trail on my way home. My heart rate monitor/watch worked very well. I’d run for two minutes, then walk until my heart rate went below 130, then run for two minutes, etc.

Carrying a water bottle was a pain, though. I need to find a better way of keeping water with me. I’m starting running slowly to avoid injuring myself. I hope to run three days a week eventually. For now, I’ll run as my knees feel up to it.

Jon Paul Run Report, Running

Ride Time: 2:01
Ride Distance: 27 miles

I decided to ignore the threatening weather and ride after work. That is my new mantra: I don’t care if it rains. Not riding during the week last week and until Thursday this week stank. I am water resistant!

I rode up to Honeymoon Island and did laps, which was fun. I didn’t realize I was one lap short of going over 30 miles. Had I known it, I would have done the additional lap!

Jon Paul Cycling, Ride Reports