It's been a week since the Mt. Dora ride but it has been busy and I am just getting around to blogging about the weekend.
The Mt. Dora Festival Bicycle Festival was suppose to run from Friday 10/7 through Sunday 10/9 but Hurricane Matthew changed all that. The festival at first was only canceled on Friday but organizers were advised to cancel Saturday too to give first responders and clean up crews time to clear the roads. It was a disappointment but fully understandable. Over 1,300 riders were registered but with only one day a riding a lot of riders did not come to the event.
There were five of us registered for all three days including Dave C. from Buck County who flew to Florida to attend the event. Two of the group decided to go up Thursday regardless of the weather predictions in hopes of getting a ride in all three days. The other three of us went up on Friday afternoon when it was determined that the west coast of Florida was safe for traveling to the event and for riding. As it turned out, with rain and wind gusts of almost 70 mph and Hurricane Matthew not making a landing by mid day, the two that went early did a lot of scouting out of routes via car. Most everything in Mt. Dora was closed as was in the surrounding areas in anticipation of power outages and downed trees. There was also limited gasoline as there was no power for the pumps to pump gasoline to car fuel tanks.
Dave C and I arrived around 3 PM on Friday with no incident and plenty of gas on Interstate 75. Liz and Leslie, the other two people who had traveled to Mt. Dora the day before, were staying in the same motel and we met up for dinner and to discuss the next day and whether we would ride. They determined that the roads were rideable on Saturday and we went to an Applebee's for dinner which was one of the only restaurants open in the area. Liz and Leslie decided to do a century on Saturday ( with predictions of wind gusts of 30 mph!!) and Dave C, Joe B and I decided to meet others in downtown Mt. Dora and determine ride length and route then.
On Saturday morning bright and early, Leslie, Liz, Dave C and I rode towards Mt. Dora which was about a 6 mile ride but it was dark and we needed lights at 7 AM. We parted ways about a mile outside Mt. Dora because their route was going in the opposite direction of Mt. Dora for the century route. Dave C and I met Joe B and a bunch of others who decided to come up on Saturday and ride even though the event was canceled The three of us tried to ride with another bigger group but when they were still chatting at 8:15 AM ( and we were ready to go at 8 AM) we decided to do the 40 mile route on our own. It was called the Three Bob Ride.
The route was well marked but there was a lot of debris on some of the roads. We kept running into two other riders who were following a similar route but doing a 60 mile route. We met them again at the only convenience store that was open in the area. It was about 25 miles in the ride and I was glad to get off the bike for a while. The two guys said that they had met two crazy women who were doing a century. I laughed and said we knew those two crazy women who were part of our group doing a longer ride. Liz and Leslie had just left the convenience store and I tried to call out and get their attention since they were just at the corner near the store but they didn't hear us. That was about 9:30 AM and that was the last we heard from them until about 3 PM.
Dave C and I rode pretty much together while Joe B.was with us for a good part of the ride but was feeling his oats and rode ahead with a faster group a few times. My right side began to go numb and I had to stop and get off the bike to stretch. Thank goodness Dave was with me. I got back on the bike and had about 10 miles to go and I thought that it would be just Dave C and I but Joe waited up ahead and we all rode back to Mt. Dora together.
Joe B was staying with family in Orlando so he had parked his car in Mt.Dora for the ride and then went back to Orlando to spend time with them while Dave C and I had another 6 miles to ride back to the motel.....into the wind. That was the hardest 6 miles I have ridden in a long time. Rolling hills on a busy highway ( with a bike lane) into the wind. I was never so glad to see that motel entrance and get off the bike and collapse in the room. The shower was a welcome relief as well.
By 3 PM we had not heard from Liz and Leslie so I texted them and they were still 30 miles out and facing headwinds of 20+ for those 30 miles. They arrived back at the motel after 5 PM. They later told us that the counties of DeLand and Volusia were devasted by Hurricane Matthew. The convenience stores that were marked on the route sheets were closed because there was no power. Debris on the roads and power lines down made their ride very tough. They finally found one biker bar open and it took them an hour to get food. They need to stop, though, as it was the place open and they were running low on snacks They needed their time off the bike and food to fight the winds for 30 miles back to the motel.
Dave C and I decided to go into Mt. Dora at 2:30 PM to walk around the town and pick up our registration packets at 4 PM. Liz and Leslie asked if we could pick up their registration packets and I said I would try. I had made arrangements with one of the registration staff when we returned from our ride earlier in the day to pick up Joe B's registration materials. We also made dinner reservations at the Lakeside Inn through one of the registration staff who graciously offered to do so. Dave C and I walked around town and then picked up our registration stuff at 4 PM. What we didn't know was that we were in the first 150 people picking up registration stuff so we were able to go on the wine walk. That allowed us to taste 6 wines at 3 locations. Here are some photos from that walk.
We heard from Liz who was going to meet us at dinner at the Lakeside Inn which is a hotel/restaurant on the historic register of buildings. Leslie decided to stay in and relax. Their room had a full kitchen so she had plenty of food to eat so that she could refuel for the ride the next day.
Here is a view from the Lakeside Inn porch where we had dinner.
We were back in our motel early so that we could get a good night's sleep and be ready to drive over to the ride start at 7:15.
On Sunday the ride was fully supported with sags and ride leaders. Here's a group photo before the ride started.
In fact, the ride leaders had neon zip ties tied to the top of their helmets so they could be easily identified. It was really a great idea. The most popular ride, The Assault on Sugarloaf Mountain, was 39 miles with Sugarloaf Mountain being the hardest climb at 14 %. Dave C's Garmin said 17% but who was going to argue a 3% difference. It was a hard climb. The first rest stop was several miles before the climb and they had lots of goodies, including pickle juice in small cups. Why pickle juice? It is suppose to prevent cramps! It was the most sought after item at the rest stop. ( but not by me) The also had bike valets which were people who held your bike while you enjoyed the rest stop. First time I have ever seen such a thing.
The climb up Sugarloaf Mountain was tough. Dave C. compared it to Jericho Mountain in Bucks County. Several people had to walk and one person stopped in the middle of the road and just stood there. I am not sure if she was cramping up or just couldn't do the climb. Guess she didn't try the pickle juice. At the top was the second rest stop. The host was Harry, a retired veteran, who puts out large canisters of water for cyclists. He does that every day not just on the day of this event. He also puts a donation jug next to the water for donations to The Wounded Warriors as well as instructions on how to fill the water canister if it is empty. Just go up to the house to where the hose is located and fill up the canister and return to the table in front of the house. It's just that simple. I was lucky enough to meet Harry and shake his hand. I doubt if you would see that in NJ or PA.
Harry did have a few interesting signs posted on his front lawn.
We had one last rest stop which was the same as the first. The bike valets were there ready to hold our bikes again. Very cool.
We rode back to Mt. Dora and there was one last hill to finish the ride. They really know how to hurt a tired rider. However, there was a little surprise at the end of the ride when you showed your number and proved that you finished.
Last Saturday there was another century ride....this time by our group here in Florida....the Southwest Florida Cyclists. Of course Liz and Leslie joined on that train of riders. The rest of the group....7 of us....did a 43 mile ride.
You go girls! Keep pedaling.
