Cycling Wanderlust

wanderlust: n. "strong desire to travel"

Dr. Don Francis, one of the first scientists to suggest that AIDS was caused by an infectious agent, was once asked why he worked at the Center for Disease Control? His reply, "...that's where the bugs are."

So when you want to cycle, you go where the weather is...and what better place to start out the year than in Florida, specifically the St. Petersburg area.

The Bike
Not having my personal ride in tow, the next best thing is having a friend who is a friend of a bike shop owner. In this case, it was our dear old friend from the TDF, Sue, and the owner of ABC Bicycles, Rick Fidanzato. Rick, a self-proclaimed bike junkie; working in shops in his native Haverhill, MA at sixteen, revived and re-invented the oldest local shop some five years ago (who else but a hardened Red Sox fan could have done so). Currently, ABC Bicycles is the largest and only dealer of Trek Bicycles in the city of St. Petersburg.

Sue and Rick were gracious enough to set me up with a Trek 2100. All I had to do was bring down my pedals, and my saddle and seat post. It had been some time since I had helped a friend settle on a 2100 for his ride (circa pre-2004), so I was more than pleasantly surprised by the carbon seat stays and carbon fork on the current model. Before 2004, the Trek 2100 was an all aluminum frame. Now there's nothing remotely wrong with aluminum, but when you infuse some carbon into a frame it really makes a bike stand/leap out and forward.


The Ride
Sue took me on one of her regular training rides, which usually covers around 70 miles through Pinellas County, reaching its halfway point at Fort DeSoto Park. For the first quarter of the ride, we traversed most of the bike route for the St. Anthony's Triathlon (the other reason I was down in St. Pete; not as a participant but as a devoted spectator). According to Sue, and most of the locals, the wind will find you no matter which way you turn. True to form, if the ride wasn't into a headwind, it certainly came across our bow. The remaining meterologic conditions, however, were just perfect, sunny and in the low to mid 80's. Along the way, we saw more than a few fellow cyclists, and the cycling club with which Sue has regularly rode. Although we didn't manage to complete the entire distance (due to a lack of fitness on my part and an increased amount of traffic due to our late start), the wind provided an ample challenge.

The Fort

Fort DeSoto was built during the Spanish-American war to protect the coast line. However, like Fort Dade on the other side of Florida, DeSoto never fired a single shot nor was it a site of any battles. Although it was decommisioned in the 1920's, several of the large mortars remain.

Today, Fort DeSoto Park is the location for pure recreation. In 2005, the island boasted the #1 rated beaches in North America. It's wide open roads are ideal for cycling and are often filled with large training groups, a mini-peloton. It was a great halfway point, but could have been perfect as a stopping point because of the serenity of its beach fronts.

Many thanks to our friend in Florida, Sue, and her family, for accomodating me as well as Rick at ABC Bicycles for being gracious enough to help me out in the midst of the taking care of the multitude of triathletes in for the race.