Spring Break 2008

I wasn't able to post from the villa we stayed in over Spring Break in Panama City. Just as well. Except for the beach itself, the roads were not cyclist- or even pedestrian-friendly. This place was built for the car. Great place, if you like tacky, though.

Interestingly enough, the Florida section of highway from Dothan, AL into Panama City, FL (US 231) had room for a bike lane. Although I saw no one using it -- and maybe 8-10 bikes total the entire 5 days we were there -- it does do a good job raising the awareness of cyclists. Each turn off the 4-lane onto a side road had signage and road markings to tell motorists to yield to cyclists when making the right turn. Perhaps some of the repetitive right-turn message will seep into the motorists subconscious thoroughly enough that it might pop back up to the level of awareness when a cyclist is on the road.

Fortunately, the health spa had good equipment and I was able to get in a few miles on the indoor cycles overlooking the tennis courts.

Unrelated to cycling, we played miniature golf at a couple of different places, but each of them had LOUD frogs, apparently drawn by the water hazards. Here's a picture. The frog is about 6-8cm.