Tour to Sarasota

I might officially be a Roadie now.  I completed my first "tour"!  Diggity and I talked earlier this week about trying to get in 50 miles but that felt a little too ambitious - we settled on 30 instead.  

After sleeping until 10am (AWESOME) and a fabulous breakfast of mini Mickey pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon we set out with full panniers and planned to ride form Coquina Beach in Bradenton to Ryder Bikes in Sarasota, then ride back home after a stop at Jimmy John's.  

We had a great time - here are the highlights:

1. Longboat Key just might have the best bike lanes in all of Florida!
2. It's scary when ultra serious riders whizz by you leaving only about an inch of clearance.
3. Hitting 27 mph riding down the Ringling Bridge was terrifying exhilarating!
4. Jimmy John's is not open at 3:00 p.m. on a Saturday - heartbreaking, I know.  
5. I need to keep my weight back in the saddle and loosen up my grip on the handlebars - my shoulders, arms and wrists got really tired around mile 20.  
6. Riding is a really great workout!  My legs are tired from the miles today but I can already tell they're getting stronger since I started riding again!  Yay!  
7. Me & Diggity had a really fun time together!  It's great to have a hobby that your spouse loves too!   (Ok - he LOVES riding - he even rides to & from work!)    

Sadly, my ankle is aching after today's ride - I hope this doesn't mean I'm in for a longer hiatus from running.  I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss it!  For now though I'll keep working at swimming and riding and heal-up in due time.

Tomorrow brings my longest swim yet - 30 min in the water!  I'm loving all of this "workout variety"!