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.
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
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