Tampa Cyclocross

Cyclocross events are normally held towards the end of the year and many racers embrace the ridiculousness of racing in the rain, mud and cold.

Portland, 2004

For some great NorthWest style cyclocross photos, check out  http://pdxcross.squarespace.com/, amazing talent, on both sides of the lens.

In Florida, some things are just easier.  Today, we had clear blue skies, no mud, and no rain; but still had a fun day of cyclocross racing.  The organizers did a surprising job of creating challenges from a race venue that at first look didn't seem to include anything more challenging than avoiding sunburn.  There was a fairly ridable sand pit, a few off camber corners that I really liked, and several high speed sweeper corners with trees on the outside edges to keep your attention.

I ended up in 2nd place out of about a dozen in my group.  Connie took a picture of the the awards, but she also took this photo of the women's awards.  I'm not sure, but this may be part of her plan to get some of our riding friends from Portland to come here for a bit of winter training. 

Sarasota Cycling

We've been getting out and exploring the local cycling scene.  Mostly it has been frustrating, with a few moments of "this is so great I can't believe I'm here", but we've found a few good places to ride.

Here is Connie on Casey Key.  This is a small island just south of Sarasota.  The island is about 5 miles long and maybe only 200 yards wide at the skinny parts.

We took a "rails to trails" to get from South Sarasota to Casey Key.  Ended up with about 25 miles, most of it without traffic and lots of great scenery.   An excellent ride.
More of Casey Key.

In Oregon, we were accustomed to group rides without much structure, and changing or adjusting the route as we went along.  The club rides in Sarasota are scheduled, with the routes and speeds completely pre-planned.  Here is a photo from the Tuesday morning Potter Park ride.

The signature hammer ride for Sarasota has got to be Longboat Key.  A lot of groups do this route.  Generally they leave from downtown, hammer over the hill (Ringling Bridge), ease up through the congestion around St. Armands, then it is open road for about 18 miles.  It's far from perfect, and can have a bit too much traffic, but it's never more than a few hundred yards from the water and out and back gives about 40 miles with only a few traffic lights.

The best part of riding in Florida?  Wearing shorts and short sleeves in mid-November.

Sailing Sarasota Bay

We're settled into the new condo and are starting to get out and about town.  One of our first stops was to check out the weekly racing at the local sailing club.

Hard to complain about sailing in shorts and T-shirt on November 2nd.  This is in the bay, directly in front of our condo.