Rides #14-20 127 miles

Biked 127 miles in 7 rides! Started just north of Miami and went along the eastern coast for a bit  ending near Vero beach. Enjoy the pictures. Sure wish I could see them in person. 

West Palm Beach

Fort Pierce, 2004 after Hurricane Frances, flooded grapefruit orchard. crop ruined.

Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, near Jupiter FL

Ride #9-13

Only rode about 45 miles this past week, but that puts me past Miami.

Coral Castle, Homestead

Coral Castle was made by an eccentric man who used only handmade tools and claimed he knew the secret of the pyramids. Interesting to read about.

University of Miami, Coral Gables

Of course, I had to post a pic of the football team that makes us Buckeye fans feel better about ourselves.

North Miami Beach

I love finding all of these pictures representing different parts of our country. Next post will be about the Everglades, provided I stay healthy this week.

Ride #7 and 8

August 13 & 14:  33 miles... on my stationary bike... in my living room.
Start: Treasure Harbor, Islamorada
End: eastern edge of the Southern Glades, 8-ish miles south of Homestead
The John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, on Key Largo, is approximately where I begin moving virtual North. This state park was the first underwater park in the U.S.

"Christ of the Abyss"

 The photo below is of a sunken ship converted into hotel rooms. The interiors, however, make me think of LOST meets the Poconos. (That's for you, Chris)

Jules Undersea Lodge

Ride #6

Went 25 miles on Aug 12th:

22 miles into the ride passed Whale Harbor Beach- Kiteboarding competition

Finished a mile past Treasure Harbor, on Plantation Key. Art McKee, in the early 1900s, made famous this area when he salvaged treasure from sunken Spanish ships dating back to the early 1700s.

this shows a coral encrusted pistol he found

Ride #4 and 5

little, tiny Conch Key

Went 10.5 miles on Aug 5th and made it through Marathon key  (middle picture). The map says I stopped right on the causeway. After a break with my son starting school, I resumed riding on Aug 11th for another 10 miles, landing on Conch Key.

officially, Marathon only became a city in 1999

ride #3

August 3rd: I end this 15 mile ride smack dab in the middle of the ocean. On the new "Seven Mile Bridge" to be exact. I'm pretty sure I'd hate driving on that bridge. Interesting fact about the bridge is that it's built to withstand 200 mph winds. As a reference, Katrina (considered the 3rd worst hurricane to hit the U.S.) made landfall at 140 mph. The worst in recorded history was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 that actually hit this bridge.

Ride #2

Continuing through the virtual Keys, I tacked on 12 more miles August 2nd, finishing on the tip of Middle Torch Key on Overseas Hwy, Rt 1 about where the 2 roads meet. Not much written about this key... poor, little, neglected piece of paradise. But, hey, if  you want to live here, I found this gem on 2 acres for a mere quarter million.

It All Begins Somewhere

Lucky for me, I started in Key West. After a 15-mile ride on August 1st, I stopped on Overseas Highway 1 between islands, close to Lower Sugarloaf Key, where there are several abandoned fishing shacks along the beach.

key west

Diane Robinson Photography

Ride Inside is...

Ride Inside is an experiment.

For a while, now, I've been bike riding... well, ahem, stationary and spin bike riding. Despite the obvious limits of being stuck inside, I'm not going to give it up. I've been racking up miles and began wondering how far I've rode since I started. That's when the Ride Inside experiment began...

Thanks to MapMyRide, I've plotted out a course that stretches across the United States. I will be hitting the VIRTUAL trail on my stationary bike and posting images of the different places I "stop" along the way.

I'm curious to find out what I'll see along the way and excited to have the extra incentive to exercise. Who knows, you may even recognize some of the places I travel through as well!

hilarious!