speedvegan

Jose and i went to Mount Dora in the central part of Florida for Labor Day weekend. those of you familiar with the area know there isn’t much of anything around there. so why would i, the city girl who can’t live more than 2 miles from the ocean, decide to go there for a long weekend ?? hills ! yes, my friends. there are hills in Florida.

i first heard of Mount Dora from some cycling friends at my bike shop. they had been there for Bikefest, a bike festival Mount Dora hosts every Fall. as soon as i heard about it, i decided i wanted to try it but somehow i never got around to it.

after my accident, i seriously started considering moving somewhere i could ride my bike without constant fear. i have friends that do group rides on my bike course every Tuesday and Thursday of the week. every week, there is some type of wreck, someone goes down, or someone gets injured. it’s scary. as i kept reading about Mount Dora, i learned that it was a bike friendly community all year round !

so off to Mount Dora we went with my new tri bike, which i hate, but that is a topic for a different post. we stayed at the Adora Inn and had the most wonderful experience. they made delicious vegan oatmeal with fruit for me every morning and were very considerate of my food choices. i definitely recommend this B&B if you’re ever in the area.

we were fortunate to find a, not only veggie, but vegan-freindly restaurant nearby. it wasn’t a hole in the wall either. it was literally one of the nicest restaurants in town. when we thanked the owner for having vegan options on the menu, she replied that we shouldn’t be limited to salads and pastas just because we’re vegetarian. i was very impressed.

on Sunday, Jose and i drove around some of the bike routes i had read about as well as some others our hosts at the B&B had recommended. i fell in love with the town. unfortunately, my first ride was cut short by a bad rain storm. i was only able to do about 5 miles. determined to ride some of the hills, i got up early on Monday, got on my bike and took off again.

about five minutes into my ride, i met a cyclist. we started talking and it turned out we were planning to ride the same route. he used to race in the late 80′s when he was a junior and actually raced against George Hincappie one year. unfortunately, he never made it pro and gave up cycling completely once in his 20′s. in fact, he just picked up cycling again a few weeks ago. we rode for about 20 miles. he was very nice and told me about many other roads and hills to train on. he even rode back to the B&B with me to make sure i didn’t get lost.

i thought that was very nice of him. i wrote to thank him and received this reply:

“Thank YOU for slowing down enough for me to keep up, yet still challenge me. It was a great ride for me! I would surely advance as a rider much more quickly if I had a riding partner around here like you.”

i can’t even tell you how great i felt after reading that. i felt challenged by him as well. it’s funny how people motivate each other sometimes without noticing it.

unfortunately, i was too busy enjoying my trip to properly “memorex” Mount Dora. however, i am going back for Bikefest in October and will definitely take photos then.