I Don't Take Bike Rides; The Pugsley Takes Me For The Ride

The Surly Pugsley fattie bicycle is a beautiful pedaling machine because it's giant oversized tires can take me anywhere -- everywhere.

I bicycled on pavement from my house to the Atlantic Ocean, then hit the beach to pedal seven miles up the coast from Vero Beach to Wabasso. It was a great workout and I was able to maintain a speed of at least 10 mph in the morning sand the entire way.

Then it was back over the Intracoastal to a funky convenience store on US 1 that has everything from boots to highend craft beers to homemade Mexican food.

And then onto sandy Tropical Trail, a dirt and sand road that hugs the eastern edge of the Intracoastal on the barrier island side.

This tiny Mercedes caught my attention because of the Confederate souvenir plate on the front. There are pickup trucks and Confederate flag gear around here but I haven't seen one on a Mercedes before.

And when I got home check out who is snuggled and sleeping with her new toy.

It's Century Time In Florida

The bicycle reacclimation meant my first 100-miler back in Florida.

It was a ride south along the Indian River Drive to Jensen Beach, then an in-land jaunt to Stuart. And then I headed to Stuart Beach and headed north to Vero Beach, where I biked another 10 miles or so to pedal the century.

My High 5 about this ride.

1.. Indian River Drive from Port Pierce to Jensen Beach is amazingly beautiful and serene and even has a few slight ups and downs.

2. It was great to meet this guy -- former Palm Beach Post photographer Paul Milette who is now a state ranger at the sprawling Savannas park between Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach.

3. Paul and his wife Sue have done an amazing job sprucing up a double-wide into a very cool place to live at the park.

4. I have no data or scientific information to back this up but if I had to guess I would say most war re-enactment buffs probably like Donald Trump. Along Indian River Drive.

5. So, I found the best pizza along the 100 miles in Fort Pierce. It's this place on US 1 near the cross road that leads to the Fort Pierce North Causeway. A Taste of Brooklyn in the Publix shopping center on US 1.

Cycling The Indian River-Intracoastal

Group bicycle rides are nice for comradery to rally around issues such as bicycle safety.

But I like to devise my own bike routes and stop and go and meet people along the way based on my own idiosyncratic ways.

So, while I enjoy cycling with pals I also relish the chance to go with my own flow on rides to allow cycling autonomy to play out.

A good example is today's 87-mile ride from Vero Beach to Jensen Beach and back -- there was a pit stop at the Vero Beach arts show in Riverfront Park, a chat with a state worker at the Savannas state park and time for a Cuban sandwich at a small eatery in Jensen Beach.

A big chunk of the ride was Indian River Drive, one of the most underrated scenic roads in Florida. It hugs the Intracoastal on the mainland side of St,. Lucie and Martin counties between the Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach causeway bridges.

There were more than 200 talented artists at the Vero Beach art show. But this guy was the most friendly artist I spoke with. Mark Grosser is a talented jewelry artist from Carmel, Indiana in the Indianpolis area, and he showed me a $14,000 Indy car pendant with a ruby in the racer seat. He was also a former freelance photographer whose grandfather worked as a pressman for the Indy Star newspaper.

Down in Jensen Beach, one of the famed fish bait joints in the Snook Nook. And speaking of well-known bait shops, don't forget Lil Jim near the Fort Pierce Inlet off the North Causeway.

In Jensen Beach, I tried a funky little sandwich and soup shop owned by a gal named Debbie and I loved her sign.

And in Fort Pierce, if you need a chicken sandwich, eggs or a brownie, try the Portico on Indian River Drice on the downtown waterfront.

And as I got closer to home, there's someone who likes Donald Trump in a Viva way.

Biking The Pugsley On Vero Beach, Fla.

It took a few days.

But the Surly Pugsley has arrived on the beach of Vero Beach.

No snow, But now the Pugsley is eating sand.

I added a special Florida touch to the Pugsley.

And let's ride the Pugsley on the Atlantic Ocean.

It's Cycling At Sea Level Again -- And It Sure Is Pretty

The days of cycling at elevation are gone. I lived outside Las Vegas at 3,230 feet and used to ride a Red Rock Canyon scenic loop to 4,771 feet at its highest point.

Now it's back to Indian Ricer Drive -- and there's a beauty to this scenery as well.

Now that I live in Vero Beach, my bread-and-butter ride is cycling across the Intracoastal on the State Road 60 bridge to A1A, turning south and heading for the Fort Pierce Inlet.

It's a flat stretch of ocean road where it's easy to get into a zone of zen cycling.

And if you ever worked as a reporter for a newspaper on the Treasure Coast north of South Florida the odds are pretty good you made a pit stop at the ol' national SEAL museum.

I had to bike on US for a mile to reach the south side of the Fort Pierce Inlet where I was hoping to find former Palm Beach Post photographer Paul Milette at the St. Lucue County Savannas park, but he was nowhere to be found.

I got a kick out of a dog park next to the savannas, where gators are all around.

I think to an alligator that a dog park next to the savannas is a code word for McDonald's.

With strong winds out of the southeast, it was hammer time back up north from Fort Pierce to Vero Beach and across the Intracoastal.

Great To See Tampa-Clearwater Causeway Trail For the First Time

Just like old times.

Except bicycling across the Courtney Campbell (Clearwater) Causeway this morning was so much more pleasant than from what I recall when I was one of the crazy bicycle dudes who biked on SR 60 on the causeway along with the 65 mph car traffic.

Now, there's a continuous paved trail along the State Road 60 causeway, including a separate bridge for the trail users. That's not news for the locals because it was dedicated in 2013.

But it was new for me and it was a joy to see it and ride it for the first time.

It was five years ago when I was among many voices who advocated for a causeway trail to link Tampa and Clearwater.

The local DOT office built the causeway trail at the northern end of the bay, though the Friendship Trailbridge/old Gandy Bridge has since been closed.

And the I-275 Bridge is only for cars.

Tampa Bay is the geographic identity for the region, yet only one of the three bridges that span the bay has a trail for bicyclists and walkers. All three bridges should be multi-model.

I've moved back to Florida. But not to the Tampa Bay area.

I'm in in town for a pit stop staying with wonderful friends Malanda and Karl Schmitz in Safety Harbor for two nights before I head across the state to Vero Beach and my final destination in Vero Beach, where I close on a house on March 8 (Tuesday) and start a new writing/reporting job with Vero Beach 32963 newsweekly on March 21..

It was one of those fairy tale weather days today when the 80 degree temperature, low humidity and watery breezes in the Tampa Bay area made for a magical day of cycling. It was my first day pedaling in Florida since leaving in November 2012 and I welcomed the wonderful Clearwater causeway trail.

Malanda, a talented artist and former Tampa Tribune graphics/arts director, biked along on her Trek road bike and

There was also a continuous trail from Safety Harbor to the Clearwater causeway -- another new piece of bike infrastructure.

While Malanda pedaled home, I took a little detour off the Bayshore trail to check out the Phillies spring training stadium -- which is off another Clearwater trail.

Malanda and I used to bike back in the day when I worked at the Tampa Tribune, Now she is a talented artist working from a studio in St. Petersburg who did this beautiful work. Check out work here at www.malandas.com

Here is Malanda at work today.

My Travel Partner

We were 30 minutes from our day's destination -- Wichita Falls, Texas, -- and my front-seat travelling partner was launching her revolt.

On the second day of a near cross-continental car ride, the feebled-legged 17-year-old pug was rock-climbing her way out of her shotgun seat and in full hunt mode for an open can of Merrick's grammies chicken pot pie.

It was likely the longest car ride in this aged dog's life and she was not going to let her end-day hunger go unmet.

Pugsy is my Las Vegas-to-Veri Beach, Fla. travelling buddy and she's made the first 1,100 miles go as well as one could expect on I-40 and US 287.

She adores her canned food - a grain-free chicken pot pie. Her chewing nom-nom noises rival the cacophony heard at the Red Rock Resort Sunday buffet in Vegas. Here she is on Night One outside Gallop, New Mexico.

Pugsy is living on borrowed time. Her eyes and ears are shot, and so are her rear legs.

So, it was not with a little concern that I decided to have her travel with me for a 2,300-mile, multi-day journey in a car.

This little old dog might not get around so well. But she still has a hunger for life and she's been a terrific companion my first two days of a long highway trip.

She slept a little, too, despite the long days on the road. In late morning Tuesday, she slept, resting her head on my hand. She slept soundly by resting her throat area on the base of my thumb and the area below her jaw on my forefinger. It must have created the best angle for her breathing passage because there was hardly a snore or snort.

We finally reached our day's destination by around 6 p.m. Here she is in the Motel 6 room in Wichita Falls, Tex., about two hours northwest of Dallas.

I'm pragmatic to know that Pugsy is in the twilight years of her life and I'm savoring this time with my travelling partner.I realize there isn't a lot of time left with Pugsy.