Beach Ride, Tune-up and Stung By a Bee

On Thursday I took a "Beach" ride of about 42 miles across the bridges and down to Walsingham and back. On the return I chased after a cyclist about 1/2 mile ahead and finally caught and went ahead of him just before the Sand Key bridge. Of course by then my legs were spent and I'm not that fast up the bridges either, so he went by me as we went up the bridge. Unfortunately for him he caught the light as we descended into Clearwater Beach. At the light I asked him where he was headed and he said he was on the way home to Island Estates not too far down the road. He said he rides regularly South to Treasure Island and back about 40 miles. As we headed toward the Clearwater Pass bridge he took a left into Island Estates and I continued the regular route home. Friday turned into a "rain day". I had the day off and took my bike in to get it tuned up and cleaned. They do a real nice job at Chainwheel Drive in Palm Harbor. Cost for a tune-up and new chain was $107. 63. I try to take it in at least every 1500 to 2000 miles. They lube everything that needs it, check and replace cables and brakes if needed, adjust the derallieur for shifting and dip the bike in a solvent that takes all the grim and grease off. The bike looks like new when you pick it up. It's important to replace the chain at least every 2000 miles to prevent it from wearing down your front chainring or rear cassette. The cost of a new chain is $15 for me but can be up to $40 for some chains. It's still less expensive than a new chainring or cassette which run about $50 each. On Saturday, my daughter Michelle and I got up and out of the house at 7:30 a.m. and headed for the Suncoast Saturday ride. Michelle rented a bike from Chainwheel for a few days. We made it to the Chainwheel parking lot where the ride begins before a downpour hit. Due to the rain, they cancelled the Suncoast ride, but Michelle and I waited a bit (about 30 minutes) and the rain subsided. We did the Belleair Beach ride (about 42 miles) out through downtown Clearwater and over the two bridges to the Belleair Causeway where we turned around and headed home. As we started back, a very angry bee hit my right shin and planted his stinger about an inch into my leg. Ouch! When we got back the shin was still sore and swollen. I'm going to try the Australian Bum cream on it and report back on the results.