Biking Week of Feb. 26-March 3

Monday, Feb. 27:  We'll try this again guys, since the weather postponed it last time.  Meet at 11AM at the east end of the Market Shops parking lot (shops at the main entrance to Sandestin, along south side of #98.)  We'll ride Sandestin and back to Beef O'Brady's for lunch.
Update:  Ten mile ride through beachside and bayside Sandestin today...a little cooler than we all would've liked, but we did it.  Stopped to see the little island on Sandestin and then some of the spouses joined us for lunch.  Great company, thanks everyone!

Thursday, March 1:  Oh no, it's already March!  Not much time left for us and some will have already left by now.  Let's hope the predicted 30% chance of rain means we won't see any.  Let's meet again in Freeport at 11AM and have lunch at TJ's afterwards.  What's nice about this ride is no traffic or pedestrians or cracks in the sidewalk!  All smoothly paved bike path!  Directions:  East on 98 to 331, North on 331 to Hwy 20, West on 20 to Freeport City Hall/Library, where we'll meet and park.
Update:  Seventeen of us enjoyed lunch together after the ride in Freeport!



Annual End of Season Potluck

P.S.  End of season potluck doesn't mean end of season riding.  We'll still be riding in March, as many of us aren't leaving yet!

W H E N :        S u n d a y , F e b r u a r y   2 6

W H E R E :    G u l f P l a c e   P u b l i c   A c c e s s   #3 0 A

T I M E :          2PM

There is a pavilion with tables where we will eat after the ride.  However, we can't reserve it, so we'd appreciate any spouse(s) who don't plan to ride with the group, but would like to share the potluck with us, playing "sentry" and staking it out for us during our one-hour ride.  Bring a good book or an ipod and watch the water as you guard our territory!  :)  Please contact Newbys if you can volunteer for this duty!

Potluck:  If your last name starts with:

A - L   please bring an appetizer or salad

M - S  please bring a main dish

T - Z   please bring a dessert

(There are charcoal grills if anyone wants to bring charcoal and meat to grill.) 

If you have any questions, please call Stan or Diane Newby at:
6 2 2 - 1 2 2 6 ( l o c a l )   o r   5 1 7 - 6 7 7 - 1 5 0 5
or email at:  t w o n e w b e e s @ g m a i l . c o m

Please RSVP here so we know how many to expect!

Biking Week of Feb. 19-25

Monday, Feb. 20:  Meet at 2PM at the main doors of Majestic Sun (1200 Scenic Gulf Drive, Miramar Beach) and we'll ride along Scenic #98 to the very end and return by way of the beach neighborhoods.  After the ride, we'll go up to Cabana Cafe again for Banjo Rama and eats/drinks/merriment!
Update:  Fun ride today with the Olsons, Hendricks and me.  Just five so we decided to change our route and rode Sandestin.  Thanks for the company guys!

Tuesday, Feb. 21:  Meet at 11AM in Freeport (directions John provided below) to do the Freeport ride.  I emailed John to see if he was free to lead this, but as of now haven't heard back.  Since many people were interested in this ride last week, and it may rain the rest of the week, we'll put it on anyway for Tuesday.  If John responds he is free to lead, great!  If not, we will figure it out ourselves.
Directions are easy, East on 98 to 331, North on 331 to Hwy 20, West on 20 to Freeport City Hall/Library, where we'll meet and park. Lunch at PJ's Table across the street from where we park.
Update:  Great 15 mile ride with nary a car and no pedestrians to dodge!  Thanks for leading us on the new route, Allen!  That is going to be one of our favorite routes, for sure.  Ken, Terri and Anita, thanks too, for the fun company!


Thursday, Feb. 23:  Anybody want to do a Sandestin ride at 11AM, ending at Beef O'Brady's for lunch on this day?  Doesn't look like we'll have a chance to ride before Sunday's  #30A ride and potluck, so this could be our last chance before then.  Meet in the Market Shops parking lot near Beef O'Brady's entrance and we'll enter Sandestin from there.  Then we can just put the bikes back on the cars (or lock them up, if you've ridden there) and do lunch afterwards.
Update:  I'm cancelling this ride, because the latest from the weather channel has our winds at 20mph, gusting to 30mph.   Sure, we could manage and sure, it would be good exercise, but we are primarily about f-u-n in this group, and winds that high are not fun!  We'll have to get our exercise some other way today.  :)

Old Destin Ride

Some of the Walton County Snowbird cyclists on a bike break at a park on the bay during the Old Destin ride....and at the site of the original Kelly plantation and mausoleum wherein rest Mattie Kelly and her husband.

Choctawhatchee Bay break

Mattie Kelly plantation site, live oaks abounding

One of our photographers (gotcha Gerry!)......

...thanks to our other photographer, Lynn!

Biking Week of Feb. 12-18

There will only be two rides this week, unless someone else wants to step up and plan a ride in addition to the two listed here.  If so, contact me!  I'll be in Atlanta Tuesday till Friday night, house/dog/cat-sitting while my son's family is on a cruise.


Monday, Feb. 13:   Change:  My bike is in the shop (getting a tuneup, cleaning, new odometer and bell!) and won't be ready until 10AM tomorrow.  I'll test ride it in the shop parking lot and just in case it needs tweaking, I may not make a ride at 11AM.  It's also looking a bit chilly in the morning (more so if there is wind) so I think I'll postpone the Sandestin ride with lunch at Beef O'Brady's to a future time.  No RSVP's for this ride as of 9PM Sunday anyway, so I'm thinking it didn't disappoint anyone.  See you next week!


Thursday, Feb. 16:  Jon and Luan Beach will lead a ride in Freeport, with lunch at a great little restaurant there at the end of the ride.  Here are the directions and restaurant straight from Jon:  Directions are easy, East on 98 to 331, North on 331 to Hwy 20, West on 20 to Freeport City Hall/Library, where we'll meet and park. Lunch at PJ's Table across the street from where we park. My cell is 231-633-7059.  Enjoy your ride, everyone! 

Biking Week of Feb. 5-11

New cyclists:  We ride about 9-12mph, which is considered "beginner" by most cycling clubs. We emphasize safety by wearing helmets, checking your bike's condition before riding, and knowing the rules of biking.  Know, too, that you can ride as much or as little of the route as you like.  If you are riding for the first time in years or rehabbing a knee or other injury and need to stop and rest part way through and rejoin us to the end or only ride part of the route, it's up to you!  We just welcome any participation on your part!

Everyone:  Please RSVP using the comment link at the end of the post.  You may have to create a free Google account (if you've signed up for gmail, you have one) to be able to RSVP.  Call me at 815-592-5923 if you have any problems with it.

Monday, Feb. 6:  Let's go exploring!  Meet at 2PM by the front steps of Majestic Sun (1200 Scenic Gulf Drive, Miramar Beach) and we'll spend 60-90 minutes or so biking down Scenic Gulf Drive (Scenic #98) and going in and out of as many little neighborhoods and developments as we can!   A spontaneous follow-the-leader, see-if-we-can-ride-all-of-the-off-streets route!  We will aim to end up about 3:30PM at Majestic Sun so that we can put our bikes back on our cars and head up to the Cabana Cafe behind us in Ariel Dunes to have drinks/eats/and listen to Banjo Rama who play from 4-7PM.  This is a fun evening...join us!
(Note:  Big group tonight, guys!  Thanks for riding and for enjoying the food, comraderie and great music of Banjo Rama up at Cabana afterwards.)


Thursday, Feb. 9:  #30A Ride. Rosemary Beach.  Meet at Wild Olives on Barrett Square right off of #30A in Rosemary Beach at 11AM.  There is plenty of parking in the square and along the little park just west of the square.  We'll bike along #30A past Alys Beach, off #30A down a side road that leads to a golf club and back to #30A for another few miles before turning around and heading back the same way.  Total = approximately 10 miles or an hour's worth of riding.  Once back at Barrett Square, we'll lunch at Wild Onions (for those who did the Seaside to Rosemary Beach ride last year, this is the same place at which we ate then.)  It's 10PM now...sorry for the late posting, but I was out tonight.  Hope you all check in the morning and RSVP to join us!
(Note:  Fun ride today, gang, even it parts were a bit windy.  I don't know about you, but I'm getting more and more interested in road bike lane riding as my non-suspension bike doesn't take those sidewalk cracks very well!  Great company and food at Wild Orchids....uh, I mean Onions....wait, no, OLIVES today!  Thanks!)


Friday, Feb. 10:    Old Destin Ride with lunch or brunch (your choice --- both served until 2PM.)  Meet at 10AM at Clement Taylor Park (131 Calhoun Avenue, Destin) and we will ride old Destin neighborhoods along the bayside down to the location of Mattie Kelly's original plantation.  We will see the mausoleum she and her husband rest within and then ride back for a total of about 10-11 miles.  Afterwards, we'll eat at The Florida House next to AJ's, just a couple of blocks away.


Check our site often for updates. And remember to always check the site before rides, since weather, no RSVP's, or emergencies can cancel them!