It took us four days to travel to Atlanta in our RV.  We spent 2 nights in Cracker Barrel lots and one in a Walmart.  Planet fitness also came through big time for us allowing us not only to work out, but also get a hot shower.  One major perk of Planet Fitness is the ability to get a massage.  Driving so many hours every day makes the daily chair or water bed message that much more.

I was going to ride my bike to do some errands yesterday but it were problems.  I tried to jury rig the thing but only made it worse.  Luckily I found Atlanta Pro Bikes who made everything better in a day.  I called another bike shop first and there was a two week wait.  When I told Atlanta Pro Bike that I was only in town for a couple more days, they took care of me right away.  I used to tour a lot and know that local bike shops often do this for transients, and it’s very much appreciated.

We haven’t done a lot yet and don’t have many interesting photos.  We will be in Florida in a few days and will spend a lot more time sightseeing and riding places on our bike. For now, here is a taste of our trip.

I will be leading a ride on Thursday, March 23, leaving Staples in Fairhaven at 4:30, to the Summit at Fort Rodman in New Bedford.
It’s a 14.5 mile round trip route traversing both elevated Harbor Walks.  We will ride through the city of New Bedford to Cove road and bike the West Beach Harbor Walk then follow the bike route to Fort Rodman to attend the summit.

After the meeting we will ride the East Beach bike trail to the Harbor Walk on that side before returning to Staples.

***NOTE*** We will be riding after darkness sets in for the return trip.  All the roads are very well lit but bring your lights anyhow.

CLICK HERE for the Garmin route.

Once on the web page, if you have a Garmin device  plug your device into your PC and you can load the route directly.  I think you need to have a Connect.Garmin account. It’s easy and free. Once you have an account you can click the “Sent to Device” icon at the upper right of the web page and Wah Lah.  It’s downloaded to your device.  If you don’t want to do that, just follow me on the day of the ride.
All the info is HERE

The best way to get a good start time is to belong to a team.  Join amidnightrider.com for a guaranteed early start.  This is our 9th year and we are always in the second group, 7:45 AM.  You don’t even have to ride with the team.
The five boroughs ride will without a doubt be the best bike ride you have ever done.

I decided to ride to the gym this morning taking my chances that I could beat the storm.  I did manage to outrun the snow but the rain got me.  It was around 40F when I left the house and close to freezing when I returned.  When the storm hit, it hit with a fury.  I took the dogs for a walk on their usual route but things were so bad, I had to turn back.
You man hear in my voice near then end of the video the struggle it was to walk.  The wind was as we say around here, “wicked pissa”.

2017 Feb 9th Blizzard from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Tomorrow’s forecast is 8-14″ of fluffy snow. It was 50 degrees at noon today, the sun was shining and the wind was offshore. I called Larry, a new and very novice bike rider to invite him to accompany me.  He declined, so I set out for a solo ride with no destination. I rode just about a mile when my phone rang and it was Larry.  “John, he said, it’s too nice not to ride. How about we go to West Island.

Larry is going to take care of our cat for a month when wifey and I holiday.  He used to have cats and built quite a playground that is protected from predators like coyote and fox, with chicken wire. The cat can also go to the roof of the shed and watch the birds enjoy themselves eating themselves fat on Larry’s back yard bird feeding station.  My cat, Midnight has no interest in chasing birds as you will see when you scroll down to his photo.

Our little guy Midnight is going to love it.

We rode a few miles to the causeway and crossed over to West Island wearing only light jackets with really no need for gloves.  An 18 mile spin hit the spot and now we are ready for the blizzard.