The Bee-17s and LoBees will
ride from the San Felasco Park on NW 43rd Street,
Saturday, May 5th through LaCrosse in a 34 mile loop back to the
picnic.
The Route: Will start
from the San Felasco Park, and proceed north on 43rd Street, then turn
northwest onto US441 and proceed to Hague, where we will turn north onto CR237,
then east onto NW 156th Ave, then northwest onto SR121, which we will take into
LaCrosse and the rest stop. We will resume eastward on CR235 to CR231,
where we will jog briefly south to NW 192nd Ave and take it east until it bends
south into NE 21st Street and "T"s back into NW 156th Ave, which we will take
west to CR231, which we will take south until it merges at the "Y" into
SR121 (NW 34th Street) then intersects NW 53rd Ave, which we will take west
back to NW 43rd Street, and from there back to our cars or the park and
picnic.
The Time: Meet
at 8:00AM, ride
at 8:15AM, Saturday, May 5th. Expect a full ride
time of ~2:45 hours including the rest stop.
Note: For this combined ride, we will lower
our usual cruising speeds by about 2 mph, which is the upper end of the
LoBees usual riding range, to provide them the opportunity to ride a
little faster than usual while we ride a little slower than usual, so we
can enjoy socializing with them and arrive back at the picnic not so tired and
prepared to eat a nice picnic lunch. In the event that any gaps form, we
will adjust our speed down or wait at the upcoming turns to reform our group, so
that no one is left behind. Bob Newman will be out of town during this
ride and unable to lead, so we will leave as one group at the start time.
IF you haven't already RSVP-ed for the picnic, be
sure and go to the Members Area at the club web site and sign up, so that
Roger can order adequate quantities
of food.
The Ride: This is
a relatively easy ride of
~34.4 miles, of mostly
flat roads with a few hills. Expect ride speeds of 15-17
mph with a target pedaling speed of 16 mph and an average
speed of ~15.5 mph. This is a no-drop friendly ride;
we will soft pedal as necessary to keep the core of the group
together; we will wait for everyone to regroup at each major
turn and after fun sprints, if necessary to prevent
drops. Helmets
are required.
The Rest Stop: Will
be in LaCrosse a little
early at approximately 13 miles at a convenience store/gas station with
restrooms, so be sure to leave there with enough water to complete the
ride.
The Start Point:
The San Felasco Park is a very small park
located on the west side of NW 43rd Street near the TV20 station and
tower. It is just north of the Hunter's Crossing Chevron, where you may
want to park if you are arriving late, as there is limited parking at the park
itself, about 25 spaces. DO NOT confuse this with the San Felasco off-road
riding area usually accessed near the research centers on 441 near
Alachua. The ride itself will start at the park,
so allow a few minutes to ride to the park if you are leaving a vehicle at the
Chevron or at Hunters Crossing, or at the Talbot Elementary School parking area
nearby There is a restroom at the park.
The Ride Aids: Route
maps will be available at the start of the ride; if you want a preview map of
the ride or a Garmin .tcx file, email Ed at the address below; anyone
on my mail list is sent a map in the Ride Report for the previous
ride. General information about the Bee-17s is now available in the
"Riding Groups" page at the GCC web site:
Weather: In the event
of questionable weather as we near ride time, a GO or cancellation notice
will be posted on the list server approximately 1 hour or
sooner before posted ride meeting time; if you don't see anything by
then, the ride is most likely a GO; if you still have concerns or useful
specific information about bad weather along the ride route,
please give me a call.
Note: The Bee-17s are
now an official GCC riding group. Anyone wishing to "join" the group as a
regular member can do so from their own Members Area page and will receive
a Ride Report for each ride. Non-group GCC members continue to be welcomed
to join us on any posted ride they feel like riding without having to
formally "join" the group.