A needle in a hay stack

a beauty in the city! I found a nice little patch of woods in pinellas county where i can set up camp. Its in the middle of "suburban" pinellas county and close enough to home and school that i could camp there on a week night. And its far enough out of view of prying eyes that I should have no real fear of getting caught, and no apparent trace of bums that I can tell. A beautiful patch of Floridian woods right here in town. Hopefully I can get far enough in that I can get away from the sound of cars.. just gotta watch out for coyotes. but they probobly wont bother me. Fun!

Trucker gets new bags

Ok so it had to happen.. i spent months mourning the loss of my arkel bags to someone who felt it was neccessary to smash out the window and take them out of my car. I had to get new bags.. and here they are. I purchased Axiom's Journey Series Panniers. They are nice bags.. i decided on these based on the knowledge I took from the old arkels.. I didnt like that the Arkels opened from the side, these open from the top. These also have a drawstring top with compression straps to control the movement of the load while on the bike. Another thing I really like about these is that every bag has bungee nets on top.. this is nice for drying wet clothes while riding.. this is a good feature for riding in Florida.. as it rains a lot, and its gross to pack sweaty clothes. oh and the map case on the bar bag is MASSIVE.

HA HA!

ha ha! great!

Tour of Central Florida Rail-Trails!

Ok so I didnt want to post this untill I was absolutely sure it was a go. November 7th through the 9th I will be leading a self supported, shop sponsored, bicycle trip through the rail-trails of central Florida. Bicycle Outfitters has graciously donated the time and means for me to spend 3 days and 2 nights on the bicycle leading a group of about 6 people. We will be camping primitively at JB Starkey Park and somewhere in the Withlacoochee State Forest. We will travel by route of the Pinellas Trail, the Suncoast Trail, and the Withlacoochee State Trail, as well as many other back roads and scenic highways. The trip will total over 220 miles with a guaranteed century on the first whole day of travel. If you are interested in going with us then I need to know as soon as possible because this trip will fill up quickly with only a few slots available. The trip will be $25, but that is only to cover some of the food we bring and some of the other provisions we will need to bring.
To go you will need either a road bike or touring bike, with a minimum of a rear rack and pannier bags. We will be hosting a bicycle camping 101 class at Bicycle Outfitters in the weeks leading up to the trip and those who are going on the trip should attend. If you have any questions email me at advocateforliving@yahoo.com, come visit us at the shop, or I will be at the Bicycle Bash on Oct 19th at Vinoy Park, St pete with more info.

Not that kind of hoe, not that kind of weed, but yes that kind of poop

The peppers are blossoming, the spinich is looking healthy, the corn is growing like wild, the watermellon sprouts are growing well, the brocolli looks good, the egg plant and tomatoes look weak but are doing well nonetheless.. I cant wait for veges.. mmmm.

The Bar Bike

And no not because its made with them.. because it will be seen parked in front of them.. or inside of them as St. Pete has become very bike friendly lately. My cousin Ash poses with her refurbished schwinn shortly before heading down to Steve's Tavern, and then Durty Nelly's, and The Emerald, and then Cider House, etc.. etc..

Updates.. note to readers

New things for me.. I start school in three weeks and I am attempting to make this my final run. I am finishing my AA at SPC and will be enrolling at USF in the College of Education by the end of the year. I am majoring in Social Science Education. I have many reasons for wanting to be a teacher but one of the most important ones to me is being able to take the summers off to ride with my son around the country and eventually around the world.
On another note I have finally lessened my radius around town, short enough in fact that I can get to everywhere I need to be in less than an hour by bike. I took a new part time Job with Bicycle Outfitters in Seminole. It is a touring friendly shop and it is right on the Pinellas Trail. I have been shopping with these guys since I started riding 6 years ago when Caleb was born. My commute to work is 7.5 miles, and only 2 miles from the Seminole Campus of St. Pete College where I am taking all of my classes this semester.
As far as riding goes I have made a commitment to ride to work everyday. I rode three days this week so far and the the Mighty Max has been parked firmly in the drive way. My ride to work in Seminole is shorter by bike than my drive to Tampa was by car, I really feel like im finally doing my part. The amount of money I am saving and the amount of pollution I am saving by not driving the truck is amazing. The one thing I still have a problem with is driving Caleb to his Mother's. We rode there the other day to drop him off but it is a bit dangerous to let him ride on some of the streets we have to take along our route. Im looking for a used trail-a-bike to solve this problem.
To the readers of my blog.. I am meeting more and more people through my blog and I am developing a network of friend from all over the state and even out side of the state. If you read my Blog regularly and dont know me personally please send me a message and introduce yourself. I would like to know who you are! Thanks.. this was me.