A1A Cycle Works bicycle shop, St. Augustine

We went on a nice bike ride through St. Augustine Beach today.

We stopped at the Farmer’s Market which kicked ass. Lots of fresh produce there.  Then we wound up at A1A Cycle Works in the Anastasia Publix Shopping Plaza.

What a great little shop!

I’ve found that I frequently buy cycling gear when I’m on vacation. Things I don’t necessarily think about when I’m at home. Or maybe things I buy because, well, I’m on vacation.  You know how that goes, vacation mindset.

We bought some lights, a bike bell (for Amelia - I just like to yell at people), and some handlebar tape.

Frog lights rock.  They’re a great price at under $20.  This tiny led light packs a serious punch. It has two settings; a constant light and a blinking light. I prefer the constant light to the seizure-inducing blinking light.  This thing can mount to virtually anything; a seat post, handlebar, bag.  We even attach them to our kayaks when we’re night kayaking.  Handy dandy, I say.

This is one of those stores you feel right at home in.  It doesn’t matter who you are, or what your calves look like.  Although, my calves are huge.  Really, really huge.

-Leah

Your car is on fire

I like to ride my bike as much as possible when on vacation. I ride it to go to the restroom, to recycle, to the beach, to wifi spots, to Nalu’s Taco Truck. The bike is a fantastic mode of transportation. It’s even better when you’re somewhere that’s relatively flat and destinations are within a three mile radius.  It’s triple good when there are bike lanes, which there are plenty of here.

This past summer we bought a bike trailer. My thought was twofold: it’s great for hauling things, and gosh, won’t the dog love it? No, the dog doesn’t love it. He turns into a little freak show when I put him in it.  Just as well, because I don’t really want to be that person who puts Toto in a basket and cycles around. I am much more the utility type person, so utility trailer it is.

Today we made a pilgrimage via bicycle for the basics; firewood, ice, beer. It was quite warm out, probably about 75 sticky degrees.  Hills are pretty nonexistent here except for bridges and sand dunes.  We went over a bridge, therefore a hill. Yay!

All was well until a car pulled into a parking lot in front of us. It was on fire. Yes, the car was on fire. The guy turned off the engine, jumped out looking completely panicked, and started running away from the car.  Not good.

I guess the following story describes who I am in a nutshell.

I bicycled toward his car as another car pulled in.  The driver had seen what was happening and tossed him a water bottle. He frantically crawled under his car (brave man) and doused the fire. I tossed him my water bottle. He doused some more.  I ran and grabbed Amelia’s water bottle.  She cautiously stayed 100 feet away (smart woman).  He doused some more. Amelia called the Fire Department. The guy finally got the fire to go out.  Success!

Yes, I am that person who will run towards the fire. That is me.

After the excitement we filled up my bike trailer with 20 pounds of fire wood, 20 pounds of ice and a six pack of beer. The ride back to the site was a little bit harder.

Amelia says this was my punishment for my dangerous nature.  Hrmph!

-Leah

St. Augustine bicycle shop

When I'm camping, one of my best friends is a bicycle. I rode more on this trip than I did the last two years in T-burg. I rode to the bathroom, to the beach, to the Tiki bar, to get ice, to get firewood, to explore, on the beach. I just rode. Loved it!

Unfortunately, I had the most horrendous seat on my bike for the trip. I had so much tailbone pain and pressure that I actually needed a good minute hobbled over my bike after I dismounted before I could walk. When your tailbone feels likes it's going to explode, standing is not so much fun.

The bike is an early 90's Terry Classic, and the seat was an old, somewhat wide, gel seat with no relief cut outs for my precious little tailbone. Seats have changed a lot since the 90's.

After two and half weeks of utter pain, Amelia and I biked around St. Augustine to check out the handful of bike shops for a seat. I ended up getting a seat at Island Bicycle in St. Augustine that literally saved my ass. It's a Unity saddle from Giant, and it has three different widths - hooray! Because, guess what, our asses are not universally sized.

Thank you Island Bicycle! It was the friendliest shop we visited. We were ignored in all the other shops. I understand hating on tourists. I get it. I grew up in the Berkshires. But business is business. Suck it up, fake it if you have to, or do something else. Tourists will buy things elsewhere. We did.

About the bicycle:

The bike is an early 90's Terry Classic I bought 2 years ago from a great used bike store in Rochester, NY, R Community Bikes. If you are anywhere near Rochester, and you need a bike, a part, or just like bikes, go there (ask for Fred, he's awesome). Well worth the trip. It's much more than a used bike store.

Their website is http://rcommunitybikes.net/


-Leah