A bike ride, Marathon and something sweet!

We had lots of things going on this past week. Monday our biker group headed to the West Orange Trail in Winter Garden. As you can see below, we've finally got the hang of getting off the trail when we "pit stop." The "serious" bike riders, (with their spandex) blister by us in a huff when we are not in single file or off the rail when stopped.
Jack led the way on this ride. Pete and Joan were attending their High School Reunion. I'm not going to tell you how many years they've been out of HS but we know its over 50! Pete and Joan attended a HS that is one of the largest in their state. The reunion is for any one who ever graduated their high school and are in FL for the winter. Congratulations Pete and Joan!

Jack did an admirable job taking the lead. Once he put the front wheel in the right direction, he was off. He never looked back. The speedsters made record time getting to our turn-around-point. Jack says he wanted to beat the rain.

 

But, Jack wasn't the real "task master."

Big Buz was!

Big Buz set the course and pointed the way!

While the speedsters headed out, us slow but steady "turtles" enjoyed the brief stop and "kicked back.:

 

 Some of us had a tuff time trying not to yawn and nap during our downtime.

 

 Below, Bob consoles Larry... Judy told Larry that he already has a bike and no he cannot buy the one on the floor!

 

 People up North always say, "you guys go to Florida to sit on the porch and rock your lives away!"

Below Judy shows Angela and Bill a boxing move.

They're building everywhere! This is along the West Orange Trail!

 

 One Osprey watches while....

 

...the other watches the kids!

 

Oh yeah, lunch at the Winter Garden Pizza Company was great as usual.

 

You may recall our very own Judy, the 68 year old grandmother who ran her first ever marathon last year. Well, her story continues.

Our Marathon family will have something to talk about for some time.

Three generations ran the 2014 Disney Princess 5K Marathon together!

The team consists of "Nana" Judy, her daughter Gretchen and Gretchen's daughters, Stacia and Hannah.

(Left to right; Stacia, Gretchen, Hannah and Judy.)

 

 And, just in case you didn't catch their names... they made sure fellow runners would learn quickly who passed them. 

 Below at the finish line, Dad Jim recorded their finish in style.

(They all look like they could have run the Half Marathon with Gretchen on Sunday!)

 "Nana" and proud of it!

 

I like the above photo. You get to see the man behind the team! Jim ran just as much to keep up with his team over the course.

 

But I really like the photo below because the team's "Mickey" looked none the worse for all the wear!

(The same can be said for all the participants!)

Jim  had to prop up "Mickey's" Ears!

Congratulations to Gretchen, Hannah, Judy and Stacia...and of course the teams biggest "cheerleader" and ultimate fan, Jim!

 

After nearly three years six of us got to sit next to the "Strawberry Throne" at Parksdale Farm in Plant City for some yummy strawberry shortcake!

Although, the cues were in four lines and the place was packed.

We got to watch a few workers wash and pack oranges while in line.

 

Sorry, I didn't take any photos of us with our shortcakes... we were too busy eating them!

You can get an idea of what you get for $3.29. Check out the guy with the tray.

 Their menu is simple....

 

Ah, it sure has been a busy week....

...we can all take a lesson from Lilly and learn to relax just a little bit more.

 

 

 

Back in the saddle, visitors

Ah, to be back among the active crowd! "The Palm Tree Bikes" headed to Celebration this week. As usual, this time of the year our group grows in numbers.
Below thirty members gather for muster at the club house prior to heading out.

 

 Given the size of our group, we split into two groups and would head out in opposite directions only to (hopefully) end up all together for lunch at the Celebration Town Tavern... thirty-four of us that is. We have to admit that our lunches tend to be better attended than our rides.

 

 Below, Bob takes care of an equipment issue.

Our group, the "fast" group led by "Fast" Larry made our first pit-stop at the Celebration Hospital.

Our other group, led by "Dapper Duane" crossed our path in transit.

We all made it to the safety of the Celebration Town Tavern in great shape. This time I didn't want to leave too many riders out of the photo so I decided to photograph each side of the tables separately.

I was concerned that I may have missed Kathy in the photo, so I thought it best to give her "top billing!"

 

 The below photo was a request of Kathy's table! They couldn't believe what Kathy ordered.

(In Kathy's defense, she took a "Doggy Bag" home..... for Duane!)

 

Everyone enjoyed a fine meal and Bob's expression says it all about the day.

 

Friends Lee and Pam visited for a couple of days. Lilly enjoyed meeting Shillelagh and Mindy.

We spent the day in DownTown Disney. We had lunch at Ragland Road and would highly recommend a lunch or dinner when you're in the area. Their fish and chips are excellent. We were quite surprised to see just how large the restaurant is. Sorry, no photos to show you.

 

The (stitched) photo below illustrates the water-walk being built in DownTown Disney. The water-walk will cross from T-Rex to the Rainforest Café.

 

My shoulder is almost back to normal and a visit to the doctor's office failed to identify what caused yours truly a great deal of discomfort. The best thing the doctor was able to do was eliminate any major issue..... so let's just say.... welcome to old age!

 

We haven't heard of more recent snow storms up north for a day or so, but I understand a die-hard bicyclist is determined snow will not hamper his riding.....

 

Homebody this week!

Toward the end of last week we were visited by our cousin, her husband and our Aunt. Thursday started out cold and yours truly learned all about bursitis. Each year we enjoy a few visits with our cousin Angela, her husband Bob and when she can make it down to FL our Aunt Ruthie. First of all, you may notice that I use the word "our" to describe our cousin and her mother, who is our Aunt Ruthie. Pat and I as well as Bill's wife Angela have a unique relationship with Angela and our Aunt Ruthie. You see, Angela and Ruthie are a cousin and an Aunt to Pat and me and Bill's wife Angela. Simply stated, my mother's sister (Ruthie) married Pat's mother's brother (Leo). Pat and I go way back and new each other all our lives. Until we were old enough to understand our unique relationship we actually did think we were cousins. It's always a fun story to explain to people we meet. Aunt Ruthie has been blessed with a rewarding life as a nurse and lots of travel. We enjoyed their company for three days. One day Bill and Angela dropped in and we enjoyed an evening to reminisce.
The visiting trio got to see La Nouba at DownTown Disney. But, by far we all think they had more fun with Lilly than anything else! Angela managed to beat me to Lilly's leash for her walks. Lilly sat on all of their laps more than Pat's or mine.

From L to R: Bob, Angela, Ruthie, Pat (Lilly), Dave, Angela and Bill.

Thursday will also be a day I'll remember for a while. While sitting at the Toyota Dealership for a service, my right shoulder became sore and uncomfortable to move. By that evening I was in full blown pain and lost nearly all movement. Over the next several days I had all I could do to dress, sleep or do much of anything but try not to move my arm. Fortunately, I'm a "leftie" which meant I was able to perform the most basic daily activities. On a good note, I planned a visit to the doctor recommended by Pete and Jack... but that wouldn't be for nearly a week. Thanks to OTC pain killers I was able to function somewhat better. Then, last night I decided to try sleeping back in our bed. Oddly, I managed to quickly get comfortable and sleep most of the night. Lilly woke me up as usual around three and upon getting up to return her to her bed, I didn't have to wince when slightly moving my right arm. The meds must be working! I greeted the morning feeling better rested and the stabbing pain that tore through my shoulder with even the slightest movement was not there. The stiffness is still there but nearly 95% of the pain is gone. Over the past several years I've learned from Bill and Pete a lot about their shoulder problems. Jack also dealt with sever bursitis in his shoulder. I had a pretty good idea of what lies ahead for me. Judging from what I've learned I most likely had a bursitis attack and will need physical therapy. I'll know what lies ahead for me when I finally see the doctor later this week. This experience has given me an entirely knew understanding of what Bill, Pete and Jack (along with so many other folks with shoulder/joint problems) dealt with for a much longer time than I.

I took a pass on our weekly bike ride.... but not lunch! I was going to enjoy my Reuben at "The Wave" come h _ __ or high water! ...And it was yummy! We also got to celebrate Bill's birthday!

 

Thanks to Judy, we can share with you some of the fun their group had at the Wilderness Lodge Whispering Canyon Restaurant.

 

(Notice how stoic they all appear? That's because when I take a picture, I usually trip or fall over something either before or after taking the picture. Judy doesn't do that!)

 

Our two groups enjoyed an outstanding day for a ride. Unfortunately, one of our riders had a bad fall due to an "equipment malfunction."

To prevent a worse accident, Dave rode off the edge of a sidewalk that could have left him face down on cement. He tried to ride onto the soft shoulder only to run into a tree that left him with a bad scrape. I found out that he made it to lunch so we're all glad his injuries were not more severe.

 

(Editor's note: I'd like to tell my version of this story.) Dave, knowing he was heading for a fall wanted to go out in style. He decided he was going "rough riding!" Fearing nothing Dave put the foot to the pedal. He ended up making more than a mere mark on a Fort Wilderness sapling.

I'm sure the Fort Wilderness Rangers will be questioning him about this.

Then, hearing that he may be required to pay restitution, the usually mild mannered Dave threw his bicycle in frustration...

 

Normally, I try not to embellish my stories, but I got to thinking about what others think of us as our (mostly in blue, riders) stream by them. Hmmmmmm I wonder......

 

Here's what we think of our selves as we ride....

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Here's what others think of us as we ride by....

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But, here's what others think we really look like....

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Bill's birthday gives knew meaning to the phrase, "let them eat cake!" And that we did!

Not bad for another "29th" year celebration! 

 

While being stuck to the house (thanks to my shoulder), Lilly and I enjoyed frequent and longer walks around our neighborhood. Out "resident" gator was a "must see" each time we went out. The cooler weather of last week with little sunshine kept him from sitting at the pond's edge. However, once the weather warmed up and the sun came out we were treated to a few walks up-close to this critter.

In spite of several uncomfortable days I'd say we still had lots of terrific things going:
we enjoyed an awesome visit with Angela, Bob and Aunt Ruthie,
thanks to Bill we got to eat lots of cake,
and I gave Pat a few heart palpitations showing her the above picture,
and thankfully, my shoulder is on the mend!

A Quiet couple of weeks at work

Just like they said, things quieted down after the holidays. I'm finally enjoying some down time from work. I'll work just a couple of days over three weeks. Actually, the time off feels really good. I've been able to take Lilly for lots of walks, put in some serious woodcarving time and enjoy some time with Pat and friends.
"Tweety Bird" was a "spur of the moment" woodcarving that was lots of fun to carve and having the unexpected time off, was completed over a two week period.

"Tweety Bird" is my 38th caricature carving since 2009. Currently, I'm working on "Abby & Zoey." They are two Schnauzer's owned by a co-worker. More on them later.

 

Lilly is back to her old (young) self again. She's pawing to tell you everything so I'll leave the computer on for her to tell you her "tails" of woe.

 

The Palm Tree Bikers enjoyed a rather different type of bike ride yesterday. The morning started out just terrific, but by the time our unusually large group headed out from Encore Lake Magic, ominous rain clouds followed our group north. Yours truly headed for Winter Garden from home driving just ahead of the cloud band. Pete called to tell me we will be seating forty-two riders and friends for lunch! And, that they are bringing rain clouds north with them.

 

We circled the wagons at the Winter Garden pavilion as we usually do before we hit the West Orange Trail.

 

Everyone with a smart phone watched the cloud cell make its way directly over us.

Above, Larry had to check out his "severe weather" horn in case he had to warn everyone to clear the trail!

We sat idle while deciding how to manage our thirty-three riders. 

 

 We decided to split the group into two groups. One group headed west to the Killarny Station and Jim offered to head east into hills and "no man's land!"

 

 At least one of our riders came prepared for a wet ride!

 

Pete headed west and with a hint of mist hitting our faces our riders followed.... and followed. Those following Jim remained. Sure! The entire group, one by one left Jim's small (but tough) group to head east!

What the...... we looked at each other....... and headed west with everyone else!

We didn't get very far, to the edge of the trail in fact. It began to rain a little heavier. We hovered under a tree, checked our smart phones and watched as the cloud cell was moving over the entire path of our trail.

We decided to retreat to stay dry or check out some of the downtown stores.

We learned later that our riders faired rather well in spite of the rain. Some huddled under a trail shelter for the heavier rain spell while many trucked on and completed the ride.

Everyone seemed proud of their determination and much drier than anticipated.

Although, Larry was proud to show us his "badge of courage"......

Larry's wet backside!

Bill, suggested it was Larry's "best side!"

 

While waiting for our riders to be seated for lunch one is well to look around for Florida wildlife. You never know what you might be able to see.

I happened to look up at the antenna tower and something caught my eye.

Two rather stately looking birds were sitting side by side. Even from this distance you can make out the striking white heads of the American Bald Eagle.

Here's a better look.......

 

With lots of bragging from our "braveheart" riders and tall tales of how they beat all odds against Mother Nature, we gathered at the table(s). 

 

Here, Judy is telling her heroic adventure to the Mall....... instead of braving the elements!

 

Below, Rose is demonstrating how she had to "shake" Ray to his senses and tell him that he was NOT going to ride today!



 

You've got to love it! When we get into the Winter Garden Pizza Company "Back Room" I don't even have to tell anyone to turn to the camera anymore! Now, all I do is stand up and voila... people turn and smile. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I had to go to the rest room... so I took a picture!

It seemed we took longer than normal to enjoy our meals. Perhaps the good conversations or just that we had to wait longer than we thought for our meals... or perhaps Pete just wanted to be the last one eating!

 

...and that's how our day went!

 

Lilly's barking and scratching my leg. She wants the computer!