11-13-2010
As boring as this sounds, I shopped the West Palm area bike shops that I haven't visited recently. I went to Wheels of Wellington first and found they still had the Exiwolfs and they were still $26 each. They didn't look nearly as beefy as the Nevegals did, but I was just looking at this point.
Next, I headed to Bike America in Boynton. This store has a lot of room. It's nice, clean and neat. At the time I went in it had one customer other than myself and 2 people working. I found a set of Specialized Captain 2.0s in 29", but nothing else. I kind of expected a shop like this to have more of a selection. I also expect at least a hi, hello, or something when you're walking around a store for 10 minutes. After not seeing anything that I wanted/needed, I left and probably won't come back.
Next store up was Boynton Bicycle Rider. I had been here a few years ago and they were nice, but it was a really small store. The employees were nice and helpful, but they didn't have any 29" tires for me. I did get to overhear a...well, he sounded like a douchebag customer going on and on. Seriously, he's the kind of asshole that sounds like he never left the Jersey shore and at 45 still tries to be a badass. You see, he was there to buy a bike, not because he wanted to enjoy riding or exercise. No, it's because he got a DUI and wanted everyone in the store know how awesome he was. Except he wasn't.
Next store I was going to try was called Boynton Bicycle Shop. It was supposedly at 312 E Boynton. I looked all over and couldn't find it. I got hungry, so I went to grab some food and talked with Jamie to see if I could grab the tires from Wheels of Wellington. She ok'd it and I grabbed them late in the afternoon and put them on Saturday night.
11-14-2010
Amelia Earhart park in Hialeah, FL. Fun trail. This is not a technical trail like oleta or Markham. The trail has enough for everyone though. I rode the trail twice back to back. It was 7 miles to the car and back. Actual trail length is probably 6.75 miles or so. On the first lap, I went pretty leisurely through the trail and it was a bit boring until I started on the hills at about the end of the first mile of trail.
The hills here are bigger than most places I've ridden here in South Florida and overall the trail seems to be more fun than Markham or Oleta. I say more fun because the trail is really laid out well and keeps riders on the same trail throughout. There are plenty of bypasses for novice riders, but they all reconnect to the main trail.
The flow is what is so great here. There are plenty of fast and flat portions that weave in and out of the trees. The ground in many places is actual hard packed dirt, not the sandy dirt or limestone trail I've seen other places. I finished the first lap in about 45 min. Second lap was almost the same time.
I began right behind a group that was taking a leisurely ride through and I was able to pass after the first mile. I also ran into a family that was hiking backwards through the trail and I think I spooked them all a little. I don't know if it's a multi use trail or only for bikes. I would definitely keep your eyes open because the park was extremely busy when I got there at about 2 pm.
I also ran into a couple of kids who werent wearing helmets and were probably 7-11 years old. I never wore a helmet as a kid, but that's because my parents didn't like me. Just kidding Mom. Parents should care enough about their kids enough to make sure they at least strap something to their heads to keep from getting seriously hurt. If they don't care, they should put a helmet on them because going to the hospital is expensive. There are signs all over saying helmets are required. Ok, rant over.
The hills should be approached with some caution, especially in the razorback section because of their height above ground level and the angles of the hills. On one hill I made it to the top with some effort and was able to put a foot down only to almost fall backwards down the hill. Many of the hills are covered with carpet that makes the ascents much easier than if they were simply the limestone thats underneath.
This is a really fun trail. I will definitely go back with Jordan and Jimmy to ride this trail again. This trail has the best flow of any trail in South Florida and was a joy to ride. Like I said before, it's not technical, but it's a satisfying ride and definitely fun. Here's a map of today's ride:
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