New Sights

We've had several days of gorgeous weather here in  the Florida Panhandle, cool mornings moderate afternoons, brilliant sunshine and generally light breezes. I retraced my usual routes around the Conservation Park, up and down Gail's Trails and over the West Bay Bridge. I keep wondering when I'll get tired of this same old circuit, but it's as much fun as it was the first day I tried it a couple months back. I've come to know many of the regulars cycling and walking the paths and the greetings are always cordial. Still a lot of folks wanting to stop and inspect this contraption... a few doubters but most are impressed. Weather has been so nice I have not bothered blogging just kept taking shots and rolling down the trails.

Spent a good half hour teasing a randy cardinal. He whistled fluttered and squawked at me but would not come down out of the top of the pines. The other trail users gave me strange looks... maybe I am a little strange.

Haven't done much adjusting beyond tightening up the seat straps... seems this one stretches more than the last one. Also released the set down pressure on the kingpins a tad to free up the steering and am now expert at wheeling the unit onto the elevator and through the condo door. I have a 'borrowed' plastic milk crate zip tied to my carry rack and the rear facing handle works great for grabbing it from the rear and either towing, pushing or turning it around at the bike stand.

Made the decision to replace my stolen MTB  carrier with a Sunlite Recumbent Hitch Rack, 2" Receiver carrier that will handle a two wheeler plus a trike. It was more than I wanted to spend but looked better than putting Rover II on top of the Ford Flex. Even with my height, 6'4", that would have been a bit of a struggle and too much luggage to put it inside.

The carrier is well designed and surprisingly went together quite easily. The rear part that carries most of the Rover II detaches my pulling one pin to shorten the frame sticking out the back when not required. Put some added reflectors on for extra visibility particularly in the parking lot. The only fault I saw was the pin for the extension was not a locking pin whereas the one at the hitch was. One pull and it could be gone. Fixed that with a $20 locking pin from Walmart. So now I have four more keys. One for the main hitch pin, one for the extension hitch pin, one for the cable lock on the MTB, and one for the chain lock on Rover II. That should keep the honest folks at bay. The thieves.... well, maybe 5 or 10 minutes. How long until I lose both sets of keys?

The cycles both fit easily and very well on this carrier and seem very secure. All wheels sit in their holder, held down by good velcro straps, plus the up right post has a hold down arm for the MTB crossbar and another one for Rover II that holds down in the seat area. I'll post some photos in a later edit.

Been checking out some new snacking spots. Can't always eat at McDs even if it is close and handy to my route. On SR 79 on the south side of the West Bay Bridge (actually under it) is a little diner called the BFE which stands for Best Food Ever. It was warm, I needed a bathroom break, and something to boost my strength and courage for a climb up over the bridge (twice)and two zooms down. There were a bunch of construction pickups parked there a good sign of good food so I stopped and asked. The smoked brisket was the best claimed the customers, but they were fresh out. Second was the fall-off-the-bone ribs, but the portions just looked too big. So I settled for pulled pork on a bun, smothered with BBQ sauce and a cold beer. Yum Yum.

Suitably refreshed, de-watered and encouraged. I tackled the West Bay Bridge both directions. It was worth it. Another day well wasted!

A view of the West Bay Bridge SR #79 PCB, FL from BFE Restaurant

BFE - Best Food Ever under the West Bay Bridger SR 79 PCB, Fl