Wednesday, June 04, 2014

The Mountains are Calling, and I Must Go.

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida (high 89, low 69)

It’s rainy season, it’s hurricane season, it’s hot, it’s humid and Florida is not where we want to be right now.  At least not this part of Florida, but we wouldn’t mind being in the Keys right now.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, so we have 6 months of that and a good 4 months of rainy season.  

Yep, we’re dreaming of heading back to the mountains. We aren’t sure exactly when we will be leaving.  We still have plenty we need to do around here, including visiting with my Mom and going with her to some doctors appointments.  Our plans are in jello.

We’ve taken Mom to doctors appointments the past two days and the latest doctor has an idea of what is causing the “spells” she complains of.  She can’t articulate exactly what the spells feel like, so it makes it difficult for the doctors to help her.  The pulmonary doctor yesterday thinks it could be an esophageal spasm.  It sounds like a good possibility, so we have an appointment with a gastroenterologist in a few weeks.

In the meantime, we’re making the best out of being in the Tampa area, and enjoying riding our new bikes.  Once we get up to Georgia, we won’t have all the nice flat paved trails like we do here.  The Tampa Bay area has miles and miles of trails all over the three counties, so their are no shortage of trails to ride for any kind of riding you want to do.

We have been out to nearby Flatwoods Park a few times.  They have over 11 miles of paved trail, with several  water stations along the trail. It’s paved, smooth, and wide.  There are also multiple off road trails right off the main trail.

I’ve been having problems getting comfortable on my bike seat.  It seemed fine when I tested it  but not so fine after a few miles. I don’t understand why someone with plenty of her own padding, has so much trouble finding a bicycle seat that doesn’t feel like I’m sitting on a rock!  Al, who has very little padding, has no problem with any bike seat he sits on.    It’s not fair!  

We’ve made two 8.4 mile rides at Flatwoods, but I suffered most of the ride and was very glad when we got back to the car!  It’s a one way trail, so once you start, you are pretty much committed.

The trail was really nice on Friday with very few people.  We saw quite a few turkey, some bluebirds, a hawk and a rabbit.

On Saturday, there were a lot more people, so the we didn’t see any wildlife. 

We haven’t been back to Flatwoods, but we’ve been riding around the park, trying to get used to the seat.  Some people say I will just have to get used to the seat, but others say I might need a more padded seat.  Right now, I have a new seat and we’re heading out this morning to give it a try.

 

Pat and Ron, our friends and neighbors here at Quail Run,    made a deal at Camping World to trade in their beautiful 40 foot Phaeton for a beautiful 40 foot Landmark 5th wheel.  They are planning on staying here permanently so they didn’t see much sense in maintaining that big diesel engine.  They intend to buy a small rv for travels.

Yesterday, Camping World picked up the coach and brought the 5th wheel back to their site.

Of course, I had to document the move!

IMG_5920

It was interesting to see how a 5th wheel is set up.

IMG_5921

 

Murphy the dog had fun tearing up his new toy when no one was watching.  I’m not sure if this look was the look of a guilty or a proud dog!

IMG_5925

the end

IMG_5903

16 comments:

  1. Give our congratulations to Pat and Ron on their new home.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope your Mom's issue is resolved before you leave for Georgia.
    You and Kathy have the same problem with bicycle seats. We finally found a Gel type Saddle seat for her. The only thing is they can't get wet because they hold the water so we always carry a plastic bag in case it rains.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have been suprised at how many people have a big fiver on a permanent place and a smaller RV for roaming. Seems like a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a nice big gel seat too, but after awhile it still hurts my behind! They should make bicycle seats like benches :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think they should offer tractor type seats on bikes, with a gel pad, of course! Who ever thought those skinny, hard seats were a good idea in the first place? ;c)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have the same saddle sore problem too. Hope you can escape to the mountains soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We took a ride to Crystal River to pick up our "traveling" 5th wheel. Only could stand staying 4 days in the heat, humidity and storms. Working our way back to Dillard. We've been here at Lake Harmony, a little south of Savannah, for 2 days. Leave tomorrow for Tugaloo State Park on the GA side of Lake Hartwell for 2 nights, then back to Dillard. Hope you get the "business" taken care of soon so you can head for Blairsville and enjoy the mountains.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I used to suffer with my bike seat until I bought a good pair of bike shorts that I wear under my baggier shorts. It makes a big difference.

    Hope you can get back to the Georgia mountains soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. When we bought the house, we knew we would be staying here at least 5 months each year. Paul made the same decision your friends did. He said he couldn't see a motor just sitting idle for all that time. We loved our Phaeton but have no regrets with our Cameo 5th wheel.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Look at realseat.com. I have one and love it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have the same problem with bike seats. I tried 3 different expensive ones before going back to the basic one that came with the bike and just adding a gel seat cover. For now that is working better than anything else but I still have difficulty on longer rides. Wayne has no trouble at all. Something to do with female anatomy perhaps? I have coccyx problems and the doc said that isn't uncommon in women who've had children.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good luck with breaking in your padding on the bike seat. Eventually it will feel fine, as long as you keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We are definitely NOT in the mountains but it has been hot and humid in our section of Georgia. I do believe the mountains are calling !!!!

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave comments. We love to read them! To contact me directly you can send e-mail to rvtravels2@yahoo.com