Bike Ride to Wekiva

We've been talking about riding all the way to Wekiva Springs for awhile and finally decided on a date to do it. Tim, Kitzzy, and I left our place at about 7:15am, rode up the Cady Way and Cross Seminole Trail to meet Lisa, Joe, and James at the Townhouse Restaurant in Oviedo.

Our goal was to get to Wekiva by 11, but that was a bit optimistic. We got to the Townhouse at about 8:20, ran into Pete, and after a bit of a tire problem on Lisa's bike, got back on the trail by about 8:45. We took a break at Soldier's Creek Park and Tim, James, and I did a round on the trail.

From Soldier's Creek, the Cross Seminole Trail took us north where we crossed over I4 in Lake Mary, then got on the Seminole Wekiva Trail to head south to Wekiva Springs. I underestimated how far north it took us and it was about 12 miles from there to get to the springs.

Those springs were absolutely wonderful! Cold? Yes. Awesome? Yes. We barbecued some hot dogs and hamburgers and swam around. It was such a great reward after a long, hot ride! Overall we rode 46.47 miles and it took us 3 hours, 46 minutes to complete. (12:31 mph average)

We had an awesome SAG car (Chastity) who drove up and brought all our gear. I had considered riding back, but needed to get some work done so we all loaded up our bikes on the car for the ride back.

I had a great time and I'm really looking forward to doing this again. I think we need to give ourselves more time and overestimate our ETA next time, but overall this was a great trip!

Watermelon 5k

I volunteered to be a walking guide for the American Council of the Blind at the Watermelon 5k. This was an incredible experience! The ACB is having their national conference in Orlando and a bunch of the members wanted to run the race. We each got assigned a partner and led them through the race.

The course was very crowded, over 3300 people, which made running a bit of a luxury. It took us 6 minutes just to cross the starting line! I was expecting to be walking the whole time but Donna, my partner, wanted to run. It took us about a mile just to get a clear enough to get some run time in.

The first mile and a half was a little shaky, mostly because of the crowds and just us getting acquainted to each others' leading and following style. Fortunately for me, she was a very good follower and was able to react quickly to changes. It was a following style that made you be a good leader. It reminded me a lot of leading and following in swing dancing and I told her she must be a good dancer. :)

We were able to do a 9:30 pace at times! I can't imagine trying to run that pace with someone leading me.

This was an incredible learning experience! There were just so many things you had to be conscious of in order to lead another person, especially at such a fast pace. Things you normally take for granted like small dips in the road and bumps. She couldn't see those and relied a lot on my cues, but held her own very well.

I had a great time and will definitely be volunteering to do this again. I just hope the next time, the race is a bit less crowded. It would've made this much more enjoyable.