Exploring my neighbourhood in Clearwater Florida - part 1

After cleaning and oiling my bicycle, I went out for a ride exploring my neighbourhood in Clearwater Florida. It was Sunday afternoon about 4:00 PM, November 20 2011. My first visit was Bayview Park, about 1 km South West of our condo. This park is small and very isolated. I had visited this park a couple times last winter and had never seen anybody using the two sheltered picnic areas that are available in this park.

This park extends to the Tampa bay on the South side. Perhaps a good quiet place for fishing. At the end near the shore I saw some signs of a homeless person spending the night here, a shopping cart filled with clothing and a mattress on the ground. Yeah a good place for stealth camping, very secluded -:)

I cycled around a little bit. I wanted to see if there was anything new or any changes made since my visit last winter; I saw an orange tree full with miniature oranges. It was a beautiful sight among those huge 'scary' trees with hanging Spanish moss; the fruits looked like flowers. I did not know what kind of orange it was. I picked one orange with a couple leaves attached. See if Theresia could tell me what type it is.

 Next door to Bayview park, on South Bayview Avenue is Our Lady of Divine Providence House of Prayer. It is a place for retreat and prayers, it has a chapel and a beautiful garden with stations of the cross statues along the garden path.

Theresia and I had visited this place and attended mass in the chapel several times. We loved to walk around the garden. It has a pond with water fountain and it is bordered on the south side by Tampa bay.  This place is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. I walked around, took some pictures and settled down on one of the benches facing the pond. The background noise, a combination of traffic noise coming from nearby Bayside bridge and the sound of the water fountain, gave me a weird 'urban tranquility' feeling. It was very peaceful, a good place to pray and meditate.

I wished I had a book with me. I could just sit here and read my book for an hour or so. Perhaps I should get that Nook e-reader I have been contemplating to buy and carry it with me on my bike all the time.

A young family with three small children came by. The kids chased each other along the garden path. I got up and head for my bike; it was time to move on. I rode East on Gulf to Bay Blvd, my destination was the local beach. I had to cross underneath McMullen Booth overpass. It was hard to believe that there was no crossing light on the South side of this busy intersection. This is the on and off ramp access to and from Bayside bridge. I had to make six crossings before I reached the other side.
Bayside bridge connects Clearwater with St. Petersburg, while the SR60 causeway connects Cleawater with Tampa, and it is at this intersection the two ends and intersect each other. This is certainly one of the busiest intersection in Clearwater, especially with Tampa international airport at the other end of SR60 causeway and St. Petersburg airport at the other end of Bayside bridge.

The beach is about 1 km East of the Bayside bridge on the South side of SR60 causeway. It is a small beach. It does not have an official name, I call it the local beach. Tourists do not visit this beach. Mostly local people visit this beach. It is the only beach in Pinellas county that I know of, where you can drive and park your car right on the beach, and for free.

On the weekends, this beach is a bit crowded, especially in the months of March and April. Many came with their trucks loaded with water ski-doos. Those ski-doos are very noisy and pollute the air, they disturb our enjoyment of nature. I very much dislike them. There were a few of them in the water, so I made a beehive and headed for the crossing light to cross SR60 causeway. Here I saw a memorial, this was the first time I noticed it. It looked fairly new. It had a pair of shoes on top; I did not know what they signified. The memorial is dedicated to Laura, apparently she was hit by a car at this crossing; may her soul rest in peace.

Occasionally, during the work days, I visited this beach on foot and jogged up and down its soft and clean sandy shore. During those days this beach is always deserted. The water is usually too cold to swim in during the winter.

When I arrived back at our condo my cyclometer told me that I had spend about one hour and travelled just over 5 km. Not far but time well spend. See you in part 2.

Living without a car

Since July 2008, whenever I come and stayed at our winter home in Clearwater by myself, only once did I rent a car. That was before I have a bicycle. I bought a $70 bicycle, made in China of course, from Walmart on December 9 2008. The seat that came with that bicycle was so uncomfortable that I replaced it that same day with a $40 gel seat with spring support. I bought this inexpensive bike, thinking that nobody would care to steal it, but now someone may just steal the seat -:).

The $40 seat is protected from rain and......theft? -:)

Is it easy to live without a car? In the beginning it was not, now I am comfortable without a car during my short stay, a few weeks at a time, in Clearwater Florida. I enjoyed the life style and benefits of living without a car. I saved money, always dear to my heart -:), by not renting or buying a car. No insurance and maintenance to worry about. Also an important benefit, I reduce my carbon foot print and it helps me stay fit and healthy.

The climate in Clearwater makes it possible to ride a bicycle, without much difficulties, year round. The terrain is relatively flat. Wind is more of a problem here. A good bicycle helps a lot. I do not use the $70 bike much anymore, I still use it to go to the beach nearby, about 1 mile from our condo. I have bought another bicycle, a used Giant Sedona DX for $150 from a neighbour; he said he bought it new and paid over $400 for it. This bike is classified as a comfort bike. I am happy with this bike. The frame is 17", just perfect for me. In my opinion it is the perfect bike to go around the city doing errands and exploring the neighbourhood. It has front suspension, gel seat and seat post with suspension, 26" wheels with 36 spokes, Kenda 26X1.95 tires. These make it very comfortable to ride and handles the side walk bumps smoothly. I installed fenders and a rear rack, and purchased a pair of panniers; with this setup I can do my grocery shopping with ease. The tires are a little bit too wide for the fenders, someday I will replace them with a 26X1.5 size.  The right front fork does not have a hole to attach the front fender; I used tie-wrap, it seemed to work fine. The previous owner had installed a rear view mirror and lights, I added a bell and a cyclometer.

My 'new' Giant Sedona DX

Our condo location is not too far from all the places I needed to visit. The grocery store Publix is 3 km away, Walmart is 6 km, my favorite store, Barnes and Noble is 7 km away. The church is about 9 km from our condo. Many restaurants and stores are nearby, under 10 km. This makes it easy to live without a car.

So, yeah, with a good bike and the right setup it is very enjoyable to go shopping, exploring the neighbourhood and visiting the local parks. Riding a bicycle is the best way to explore your neighbourhood. I can say that within a short time, perhaps 2 winter seasons, I knew more about the trails and parks in our neighbourhood compared to other snowbirds that have been coming here for more than 20 years, because I had to tell them and show them of the wonderful things that we have around the neighbourhood. I am looking forward to visit and explore our neighbouring cities like Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, St. Petersburg and Tampa with my bicycle.

See the tie-wrap?

I enjoy cycling. The more I do the more I enjoy. I encourage everybody to take on cycling and walking, to be more active and use less of your car. It is good for the environment, good for your pocket, good for your health...............adios.

How true it is!!!