A Short Florida Report

I'm back from my Florida trip.  It was my first Spring in Florida in over ten years, and it was absolutely beautiful.  Here is a short list of the natural wonders I observed:  yellow jessamine, wild azalea (R. canescens, picture above, thanks Jack), nesting swallow-tailed kites, spring-green new leaves, gopher tortoise, bald eagle, soft-shelled turtle, kinglets, blue birds, and Northern parula (picture at bottom, thanks, David).  Again, this is just a short list.

The Tour de G'ville went just fine.  I ignored my back and hip pain and just rode hard all day.  I even managed to stay at the front ("It's not a race, dumbass!").  65 miles (I did skip the Root Loop and Raiders) in about six hours or so of riding.  I got in one good training ride with the TT men before the event, so I think that helped.  Decades of base fitness trumps aerobic fitness every time.  After four hours or so, everyone is getting tired.  Yes, endurance riding is my strength, but I'll never give up cyclocross.