A Ride In Tallahassee

Yesterday morning I brewed up some coffee, made some tea for Andrea, tickled the baby, and left early for a ride in Tallahassee. I seem to have fallen into this pattern... it goes something like this.

I head off the island for Tallahassee at about 6 am listening to Bob and Tom in the morning, and sipping coffee. I pass through Eastpoint, Carrabelle, Sopchoppy, and Crawfordville before arriving on the outskirts of Tallahassee at about 7:30am.

Then I hit the Capital Circle Waffle House for some breakfast. I noticed on the back of my bill this time that the busiest day for the restaraunt is Christmas Day. This is a tradition for a lot or southern families, and I think I'd like to make it mine next year!

Then it is off to Starbucks to pick up a coffee. I don't drink this coffee, I save it for after the ride.

I park at Higher Ground Bicycle Co and get myself organized for some riding. These rides are typically 2 or 3 hours (depending on the route), so I don't load myself down. An extra tube, minipump, water, and cell phone are typically it. And then I'm off.

The rides begin with a short trip through a 1960's subdivision to the Fern trail; a connector trail that takes you from the city centre to Tom Brown Park. In Tom Brown I hop on the Magnolia Trail ( the locol race loop), which spits me out after a couple of miles on the best part of the system....The Cadillac Trail. This section is a nice mix of pure speed and technical, with some ups and downs thrown in for good measure. When I've gone as far "out" as the Cadillac will take me, I rip down the "hill of death",and head across the levee to the old horse farm on the other side of the tracks. Here I do a couple of laps of the farm. It must be at least 150 acres, and was donated to the city as parkland a few years back. It is a nice mix of rolling fields and open forest paths; not technical, but scenic. Then it is back across the levee, up the hill of death, and then everything in reverse until I'm back at Higher Ground.

I then cool down, change, and head into the bikeshop to heat up my coffee and chat with the boys about everything bikes. All in all, not a bad way to spend a morning!