Feb 23, 2023
My annual winter ride in Florida is in the books, and I have a lot of thoughts... ten, in fact! But the last one is by far my biggest takeaway from a tour in a long time, so stick around for that one!
Florida 2023 - Takeaways
1 - I really
love this ride, but I want to ride the Cross Florida Trail next
year
2 - I also really like integrating cycling with my Disney
World visits, so I hope to do that in addition to that ride.
3 - Touring on Brompton means you have to clean parts
regularly and avoid touching some parts altogether.
4 - I'm still not fully satisfied with my Brompton touring
setup, but I'm also finding it's pretty good as is.
5 - Florida is not a terrible bicycling state, except where it
is.
6 - When faced with headwinds, lower your expectations and go
with (well, against) the flow.
7 - Bring all the tools you need, yes even that $1 crescent
wrench.
8 - I prefer clothing coverage over sunscreen when I
can.
9 - You don't need to carry thousands of calories of food with
you when you're within a few miles of civilization.
10 - I finally have a name for what happens to me during bike
tours... it's called edema and it's the body holding onto water for
days because of the stress the body undergoes during rides. Turns
out, I'm probably not getting enough electrolytes, especially
sodium.