Myakka State Park

Another day with miles of smiles down here in Florida!
Dave and I rode tandem again and we did the full route of 64 miles, with a few changes to avoid eleven miles of headwinds that were near 20 mph and gusting higher than that. Though it was in the mid 50's today, most everyone was in some long sleeves and a few put on tights too. Here is Dave C and I with his tandem at the start in Myakka State Park, about a 20 minute drive north of Venice. We loaded bikes, went to the park and did the ride loop. Flashing a big smile, I caught Larry J on camera as he came up along side us - and stayed with us on today's ride. I like riding tandem for taking photos! Easy to just keep pedaling and snap pictures too.














Half way through the ride there was a stop at a gas station convenience store. They have some tables/booths to sit and eat and a TV was on. It was about 15 minutes before the swearing in of Obama as the 44 president. All heads were on the TV. Then just before the swearing in, 3 minutes to go, and that TV lost it's signal! So we all got back on our bikes and continued on the ride, missing the historical moment on the tele.

Larry had a flat, and that took about 10 minutes to fix - by that time we were far behind the group that was doing the long route. Was quite chilly and windier by the time we finished around 3:30 PM. I thought maybe it would rain a little -- but it didn't! Look at all that Spanish moss hanging from the tree above us. It is a lovely sight riding through the groves of trees that are thick and line the roads throughout the park. I don't know if this stuff is good for the trees or not, but it sure makes a nice scene to ride under it.

We went to Olfelia's Italian Restaurant tonight. One of my very favorite eating spots down here. I especially savour the hot, crispy crust of boucle of bread they bring to the table and the EVO with whole roasted garlic cloves dropped into the oil. Um, um, good! Some ate a calamari dish, another had pasta, I had a delicious piece of roasted salmon with honey ginger sauce. Perfecto!