The Horrible Hundred 2016

Sunday November 20

This is the second time I have done this event.  It's about a 3.5 hour drive from Bonita Springs and it was also a chance to visit with Nevada, my NJ riding friend who happens to have a house in Clermont, FL where the event happens each year and is hosted by the Florida Freewheeler's.

Nevada's new home in Florida

Chelsea, Nevada's silkie terrier.  She was wearing a coat since it was so cold

I arrived on Saturday, the day before, to pick up the registration packet and to attend the bike expo which occurs both Saturday and Sunday.  Nevada and I picked up our registration packet and we both purchased several items including a "Share the Road" jersey which supports safe cycling in the state of Florida.

The weather was expected to be very cold for Florida.....in the high 30's / low 40's.   The latest start time for any ride was 9 AM as there was no mass start.  At 9 AM the temperature was a balmy 44 degrees!  I was cold even though I had brought enough warm gear to ride.  The issue was that by the time we finished it would be close to 60.  How you do dress for that??

Here are some photos from the event.

Getting ready for the ride.  Can you tell it's cold?? 

The rest stop at Green Mountain Scenic Overlook

 

A fashion faux pax.  Capri's with booties

Guess who we saw at the event?   Snowflake the Paratrooper's three legged dog from the 2015 Veteran's ride

I was able to talk to Jake, Snowflake's owner,  to ask him why he was not at the Veteran's ride  this year and he told me that he was deployed and just came back this week and will go back next week.   Be safe Jake and Snowflake!


There was a sign that I wish I could have taken a photo of but we were in the middle of the climb.  It was after we came out of the rest stop.   It said....."Are We Having Fun Yet"   Too funny but just what I was thinking.

 

 A view of the lake around Waterfront Park

The finish line

We did the wall.....a 14 % climb which is the same climb Joe b, Leslie, Liz and Dave C did on the Mount Dora ride.  In the end we ended up with 36 miles with 2300+ ft of climbing.   Nevada and I had a vegetarian lunch, walked around the expo one more time and decided to head back to her house on our bikes.  That added another 4 miles and 200 ft of climbing.  It was a great ride and if you have never done this ride I highly recommend it.  I did make a suggestion to the event organizer to add a 50 mile option.  To go from 35 miles to the next ride level at 70 miles is tough for Florida Flatlanders that don't do hills regularly.  Let's see what happens next year.

On Monday Nevada and I did a short 19 mile ride with 1400 ft of climbing before I headed back to Bonita Springs.  There are very few places you can go on a bike in Clermont without a climb being part of the ride.  Many of the climbs are  about an 8-10% grade but the last one we did was Skyridge Drive with a 14 % grade.  Since we didn't have time to do Sugarloaf Mountain at 14%....this was its replacement. 

The Veteran's Ride 2016

Sunday November 13, 2016

This morning was chilly by Florida standards.  That means it was in the low 60's.  I have even brought arm warmers that I decided to ditch ( with a little persuasion from a north east buddy that was texting me before the ride....thanks Dave) and it was a great decision.  One less thing to carry.

 The SoWeFlo group gathered for a photo shoot before the ride

 Martha L and Liz F getting ready for the ride

 Gray and Liz F

Joe B and James K who are my Tuesday and Thursday riding buddies

 Brad D posing for a photo inside the Humvee

 A Florida National Guardsman.  Thank you for your service not only today but every day!

We started out about 8:15 with a Humvee escort at the front as well as the back of the group.   The ride was a bit disjointed in the beginning starting out at 24 mph and often slowing down to 14-16 mph at intersections and then speeding up again.  It definitely felt strange to be riding on Rt 41 ( otherwise known as Tamiami Trail) but with the Humvee as well as police escorts in each county it felt safe.  Many drivers honked their horns to acknowledge their support of the ride.  This is a very patriotic part of the country.

We stopped in Fort Myers at mile 22 at the Crown Point Plaza hotel for a water and food break.  Naples Cyclery was the host of this event and also provided the rest stop at Crown Point. 

Once back on the road the speed was again slow until we rode over the Ft. Myers bridge.  It was a slow ride over but once we got over the bridge the speed once again picked up and we were doing the advertised speed for the ride of 22 mph for pretty much the rest of the ride.

The next 25-30 miles were very flat and fast.  My leg and hip started to hurt at mile 39 but I refused to give up and worked through the pain until the end of the ride.  I stood a lot out of the saddle and clipped out a lot but I made it to the finish.

It felt good to get off the bike.  There were showers and a changing area for the riders and the Naples Cyclery crew loaded the bikes while we showered and changed.  Thank you for all your hard work!

We had a burger or hot dog or veggie burger and a beer/soft drink/water as part of our entry fee which was very welcome after a 54 mile ride.   There was also a presentation by a volunteer of the Collier County Honor Flight.  Here is more information about that organization.

 http://www.collierhonorflight.org/


There were two buses and I decided to take the earlier bus back with many of the others.  It was an interesting ride back.  The driver turned onto a one way street in the wrong direction.  Yikes.   Thank goodness the cyclists on the bus were paying attention and yelled to the driver in time to prevent an accident as there was an oncoming car.  He  backed up the bus and got to the right entrance to get us onto Interstate 75.  He also made a unadvertised stop along the way to drop off bags of clothes and other stuff that he transferred to another waiting bus before continuing on to our final destination back at Naples Cyclery.  We never did find out what that was all about.  Hey....that's what you get for a $10 bus ride!

It was a great ride with a great group of people.  Thanks to all who gave up their day....and a few bucks....to honor our veterans.  It was a small price to pay for our freedom!!!






Once back on the