The BBC Ride to Ave Maria

Wednesday April 27th, 2016

It was a beautiful morning for a ride to Ave Maria with the winds light and in the right direction so that we would have a tailwind on the way home.

What is the BBC ride??  It's the Bob S, Bob W and the Cheryl ride.  It's just that simple!  Where and what is Ave Maria?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ave_Maria,_Florida

We talked about going to Ave Maria....or at least Bob W....for some time now....but for some reason we were not able to actually do the ride until today.  It's in the middle of nowhere but there are enough conveniences...aka....a coffee shop with a public bathroom..... to make the trip worthwhile. We ended up with a 41 mile ride and we were back to the ride start by 11:15 AM.  In Florida that's important as the season gets closer to the summer.  Days have been getting hotter earlier which causes the rides to start and finish earlier.

Bob S on the right and Bob W on the left

 The coffee shop in Ave Maria.  Every town I have ever cycled to has a coffee shop!

Perpetual Headwinds would have like this bakery case.  Why??  There are muffins in it!!

Every college town has a pub

and of course....the church. With a name like Ave Maria one has to expect to see a church within it's borders.  Bob S and I agree it is the ugliest church we have seen in our travels. 

Across the street from the church is Ave Maria University.  I learned today from Bob W that the law school is not located in town but closer to Naples on Immokalee Road. 

Bob W is getting ready to do his birthday ride later this summer and I will accompany him in his endeavor so he and I need to get some longer saddle time in before the ride.   Look for longer rides blog posts as the summer progresses.

My Second Visit to Clermont, FL

Saturday, April 2nd

Nevada and I have been talking about another visit to Clermont, FL where she is staying for the winter and to once again to ride the hills.   The last time I did hills was with Nevada in Clermont in November 2015 at the Horrible Hundred  sponsored by the Florida Freewheelers.

I arrived on Wednesday and it was already too hot.....well at least for me.....to do any riding so Nevada and I decided to take a car ride to the quaint town of Mt. Dora.   I have heard so much about this town that it was time to visit it and check it out for myself.  On Columbus day weekend each year they host a weekend cycling event but I have not had time to check it out yet.

 You have to enlarge the photo to see the plane but we were lucky enough to see a seaplane landing at the marina.  Actually a nearby town Tavares is the seaplane capital of the world.

I couldn't pass up taking a photo under this street sign!

Mt. Dora reminded me a smaller version of New Hope.  It's full of coffee shops, bakeries and shopping.  It's a tourist trap in my opinion and there are no roads with bike lanes or shoulders to safely ride from Clermont to Mt. Dora so Nevada and I decided that this would be the only visit to this town.....at least for this trip.


On Thursday we decided to take our bikes and head to Yalaha bakery in the town of Yalaha.   The bakery serves German baked goods.....including soft pretzels....yum....and has a deli with German deli items.

Here are some of the signs along the way as well as few photos of the bakery.

One of the driveways along the way to Yalaha on a busy road. 

 There is really a town called Howey-in-the-Hills!!

 I had to take a photo of this sign for Perpetual Headwinds.  She is always interested in seeing unusual street names or towns and has been known to come up with a route to go by unusual roads in NJ!

 One of two vineyards in the area.

At the end of the day we had ridden 42 miles and climbed almost 2,600 ft.  My legs.....and my body....felt the last few miles in the heat and the final climb back to Nevada's place.  We climbed South Buckhill Road....both ways.....one with a 15% grade and that probably had something to do with it!


On Friday we decided to do a less hilly ride....I didn't know how much climbing I still had in my legs after Thursday.....and ventured out to Montverde.  What an interesting place.  Lots of roads with shoulders to ride in and that's always welcome. 

A housing development that went bankrupt in 2008.   The clubhouse looks like an Italian villa.  They are trying to bring it back.  Lots starts at $500,000 and the houses that are already constructed are well over a million. 

Some other sites while visiting Montverde.

 Montverde has one of the best private schools in Florida....Montverde Academy..... with the tuition similar to the cost of college.  It's well attended and well known.....at least in Florida.  It reminds me of The Lawrenceville School.

The pizza shop....the only restaurant in town......well almost. .....until we stumbled on this.....

Can this be true?   Who knew I was going to visit the town on this day?  It certainly got my attention

The Coffee Shop of Horrors......a new coffee shop......with Nevada posing with her bike.  They don't have their retail license yet so they were giving the coffee away free...    There was a jar for donations and I gladly contributed.

Some sites within the coffee shop

Yes it is what you think it is.....a skeleton toilet paper holder.

I would have bought some for Perpetual Headwinds but it was not freshly roasted coffee....it was bagged coffee that was previously ground.  

The coffee of the day was Burial Grounds.....pretty good but not strong enough for my taste.


We ended up the ride with 20 miles and a lot less climbing as promised.   My legs really appreciated the flatter route.



Clermont is a great town for riding the hills.  There is also a training center in town where some of the best triathlete's come to train.  It is a town not to be missed!!

Thanks to Nevada for putting me up for a few days and being such a great host.  I would have never had the opportunity to experience this hill lovers delight.....and yes....in Florida.