I have been researching bicycle carriers for my car. I don't want to get bored or uninspired about bike riding, so if I can take my bike on my car to other locations, I will have many, many different places to ride. I can drive close to Palm Beach and ride on Lake Trail, which is a bike/walk trail on the Intracoastal (west) side of the island of Palm Beach. It is beautiful and runs from the middle bridge (Okeechobee Blvd in West Palm Beach), north to the inlet. There are many side streets to ride and just because you are in Palm Beach, doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money to have a great time there. You can go to TooJay's restaurant and the prices are the same as at any other TooJay's, or I have gone to Publix in Palm Beach and purchased a sandwich, a drink and a piece of fruit for under $7-8... Then go out under a tree across the street and enjoy a rest. You can also use the bathrooms at either of those places. I am sure there are many more places, like Green's Pharmacy that has a lunch counter and probably bathrooms.
I also like to ride in the City of Lake Worth which is situated along the Intracoastal, and you can ride north and south, or pump up over the bridge and go over to the ocean, hang at the beach, maybe have lunch, then ride north or south along A1A. I happen to like riding on the walkways, rather than out in the road. The bike lanes are very narrow, as they were added after the roadway was built, as an afterthought. I just feel safer on the walkways and I usually travel at a slow pace, so I don't freak people out who are walking. Since, the Lantana bridge is closed you can't ride a big loop, south along the ocean, across Lantana bridge, north on Federal to Lakeside or Palmway... But you can ride to Lantana beach, or to John G's another great breakfast or lunch place, and double back.
I love to ride through John Prince Park, and I think that loop is about 7 miles. The park is 645 acres with bike paths from one end to the other and all over the place. There is even a campground in there! This park also has a big lake with water skiing, boating, rentals, lots of pavilions for shade and picnics. I think this park lacks a concession, so you have to bring everything you need, or go across the road to Publix to get drinks or snacks.
I have been riding to Okeeheelee Park but that is almost 4 miles from my place, so I would ride 8 miles just to get there and back, and there are about 4 miles of bike paths throughout the park. It is a beautiful relatively new(er) park with a lot of stuff to do. There are baseball diamonds, water skiing, bike/kayak/canoe rentals, big lakes, a golf course next to the park, a nature center with walk paths through the nature area. It is a county park, as is John Prince Park.
I want to explore Wellington, but not quite sure where to go. Thank God for Google maps, so I can check that out.
My friend has the right idea. She lives along the major north/south bus line, so she could put her bike on the front of the bus (only holds 2 bikes), travel south to Delray, have lunch, then ride her bike north to return home, about 9 miles. If you have a south wind behind you, you can make that trip without killing yourself.
Okay, back to the bike carriers. I bought a nice folding 1-bike rack today. After I got it all unpacked and checked out the information online, I discovered it has a weight limit of 35 lbs, and my bike is 42 lbs without the basket and back rack, so let's say it is 46-48 lbs. That makes me nervous, so the rack is going back tomorrow. I went to Walmart online and ordered another rack, not fold up, but a 2 bike rack with a 70 lb weight limit made by Allen, model 102DB, for $35!!! I have been watching videos and going to their website, www.allensportsusa.com. I also ordered the adaptor for a female bike to put a crossbar for it to rest on the carrier holders, and that was $12.87 at Amazon.com. Both will arrive next week.
I will have to be content with riding my bike locally for another week. I went to Okeeheelee again today and rode 10 miles, average speed 8.5mph, going into a 12mph wind on the way home, so it was a challenge. Plus, I did not feel well after eating a huge bowl of broccoli cheddar soup last night... Why did I do that? I eat the wrong thing and always suffer.
Before I retired, I thought of all the things I could do, lose weight, exercise, eat better, etc, etc, and here it is!! I am doing it!! It took a while for it to happen, almost 3 years (I retired in 2009), but here I am, enjoying entertainment, that has initial investments, but after that it is FREE...
Today I went to Whole Foods and had a beautiful salad and asian cole slaw, plus asian noodles with some veggie mixture on it. That was much better for me but I think it will take 3 days for me to feel better. I also had watermelon juice after the bike ride, then tonight had Mean Green juice, so I feel somewhat replenished. The ginger root helps my stomach settle down. Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better and ready for another bike ride.
That's all for now.. More later..
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