Biking - Hey, is your bike is sitting in the back of the garage or with a flat tire, get it out and get it fixed and go for a ride. I like riding my bike as much as I like drawing. I even rode a bike in NY which was kind of hard seeing as I lived in a 4th floor walkup and had to store my bike(s) in the basement and they kept getting stolen. My last bike was a throw-away someone gave me. I spent all of $40 getting the brakes fixed and new tires. It was still stolen. I always tried to think of the thief as someone who needed that bike more then I did - wishful thinking huh? But I digress.

Living in Florida is perfect for biking. There's a section of the Everglades called "Shark's Valley" which of course is not a valley. It's about a 1/2 hr outside of Miami and I'm about 1 hr from Miami so it takes awhile to get there. Shark's Valley is a strip of concrete that stretches straight into the Everglades 7 1/2 miles and loops back 7 1/2 miles. So, it's a good 15 mile ride which isn't much right? Try it in August, 92 degrees in Florida. You can loose a few pounds in sweat. If you park outside you don't have to pay the Park entrance fee, you just ride your bike in.

They have a 10am bike tour also. You ride along with a Park Ranger and stop along the way for little lessons. I asked the Ranger why she carried a gun. She said the alligators don't know you're just site seeing. You're breakfast to them and then gave us a little lesson on how to run away from an alligator - now that was fun. When you get to the 7 1/2 turn around there's a tower about 3 stories high. You climb the tower and look down and can see for miles across the Everglades. At least you can after you get over the shock of seeing about 40 or so alligators napping in the mud at the bottom of the tower.

I usually ride out to a small park about 10 miles from where I live. It's just the most lovely spot. And there's no one ever there. There's a few benches and a little playground and fishing dock on a large canal. There's lots of trees which camouflage the houses and not much traffic. There's a sign that says Beware of Alligators so I just sit far back from the water. I like to just sit there and close my eyes and listen to the silence. I would never have found that park if I wasn't riding my bike.

Wow, it's late, gotta go to work in the morning. I just wanted to tell you about my bike.