This is a ride not to miss. It's in central Florida and has hills. Yes.....you heard me right....hills in Florida! I had to come and see it and ride it for myself.
This is a very organized ride with lots of vendors on both Saturday and Sunday and the ability to pick up your registration materials on Saturday if you pre-register. There are 35...really 38....70....really 75 and 100 mile rides in the hills. This is a challenging ride with lots of elevation and is hosted by the Florida Freewheelers out of Waterfront Park in Clermont.
Nevada Laura...my riding buddy from NJ who is now staying in Florida.... and I did the 38 mile ride and finished with 2,780 feet of climbing.
Each of the rest stops had a theme. Unfortunately I was only able to experience one since Nevada and I did the shorter ride. The theme for this ride was a Biker Bar. 70's music in the background and volunteers dressed up as motorcylists with tattooed arms....very clever!
The rest stop was at the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook & Trailhead
A built in bike pump near the bathrooms. How convenient.
My riding buddy!!
There was one special rider at this rest stop. He was paralzyed and was riding with hand cranks. I will think twice again before complaining about doing a hill. Kudos to him!
Here is a Florida hill.
Five miles from the finish I had a flat....the third one in three weeks. Ugh.... One of the gals behind me worked at the bike shop and took my back tire off and found a metal wire in the tire which she couldn't get it out so they called the sag. However, three guys came by and one of the guys, Joe, was determined to get that piece out of the tire and get me back on the road which he did. I was able to finish the ride thanks to Joe I sent the sag on its way.....without me. People are so nice here....and very helpful.
Once back I was able to get the one of the guys from the Florida Freewheelers....sponsors of the ride....to change the front tire. Yes....I said the front tire. Back tire was in better condition than the back....there was bubbling in the front tire,,,and a piece missing on the sidewall.... which required it to be changed. Thank you to Chris who changed it for me!
I highly recommend this ride to anyone considering a visit to Central Florida. Clermont is approximately 45 minutes from Disney. It's a cyclist's paradise for anyone who enjoys riding in the hills.
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