Day 1 January 22

An early rise this morning and I went for a 15 minute jog. Sure is humid down here. But Oh! is it nice. Beats the cold of Ohio. Most people were gathering around the bulletin board by 8:00 AM getting map details copied over to their cue sheets. The long route people left at 8:30. This was a 51 mile route. The short route left about 15 minutes later. This was the 32 mile route. First thing down the road was to go over a big draw bridge. We encountered two draw bridges today. Everyone was thrilled and commented on how great it was to get on their bikes with out having to take a jacket, arm warmers, long fingered gloves, or leggings. This is the life. God gave us plenty of sunshine this first day. Everyone was sure to slather on the sunscreen today too. The riders grouped together in small groups and went at their own comfortable paces, staying close to other riders. There were quite a few turns, so it was good to be with each other. The big sand crane birds were an attraction. I took picture of a couple on the highway boulevard. Could have called today's ride the "Million Dollar Miles Ride". The first few miles along the Gulf Coast was going by homes that were probably 5-7 million dollar places. Palaces every one of them. Coming back into Venice a few of us continued to ride around the historical area of the city of Venice. Many people were down at the beach too. The temp starting out was about 70 degrees and headed on up from there. A steady breeze that we rode into sometimes was about 15-20 mph, but it wasn't bad, in fact it cooled us off a little. I'm noticing the humidity -- so unlike Arizona. A meeting around pool at 5:00 this afternoon -- meeting around the pool then we'll go here and there for dinner places around town. Wish you were here! Lovely lovely day!

A few photos from my camera today:

8:30 AM start from the Veranda Inn