Sharks!

Sharks!  Ok, really just their teeth.

We went to Venice today for a day at the beach.  Venice is a small town about 20 miles south of Sarasota and its claim is that it is the "Shark Tooth Capital of the World".  For whatever reason, fossilized shark's teeth can be found on the beaches here.

As an added bonus, we took a ferry to the barrier island.  The civic association of South Venice has operated a small ferry here since the mid-1960s.  Although the trip is only a few minutes, it takes you to a secluded part of the beach that would be difficult to get to otherwise.  It is all very quaint and old Florida style, definitely a hidden gem.

Here are some photos of the teeth we found.

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.