The Full Route: Will start from the Tower Square Publix going south on SW 75th St, then turn east on SW 85th Rd, then south on Williston Rd to CR320, which we will take east to the intersection with CR329, which we will take south to Flemington Park, where we will meet up with anyone who has opted to take the shortcut ride of only the 30 mile HF Tour starting at Flemington Park instead. It is estimated that the ~21 mile ride to Flemington Park will take ~1:20, so the ride of the Horse Farm Tour portion should begin at approximately 9:00AM after the people riding the full ride from Tower Square Publix take a brief rest stop at the park.

We will resume riding from the park going south on CR329, then turn east on NW 160th St, then south on NW110th Ave to W Hwy 316 which will follow east to resume NW 110th Ave going south until it intersects NW 110th St which we will take east to NW 90th Ave, which we will take north to NW 120th St, which we take east to NW Hwy 225A, which we will jog south on to NW118th Street, which we will take east as it turns into NW 110 St Rd then NW 120th St and goes over I-75 and "T"s into CR25A (NW Gainesville rd), which we will take briefly north to the rest stop at Lowell. After the rest stop we will resume going northwest on W Hwy 329, then north on W Hwy 225, then turn west onto CR318, which will take us back to Flemington Park.

Note: This is the sixth of a series of rides targeting coverage of the Cycling Festival routes, to prepare our riders to participate in either or both of these events, or to give them a taste of both routes if they have generously volunteered to serve as support staff for one or both of those official events. If you have not yet volunteered to help stage one of the two events, please consider contacting Roger Pierce to find out how you can help make these important annual charity events work; Roger still needs a few people in key positions essential to pull these events off successfully; some of these positions do not conflict with doing the actual rides on the same day; please check the web site or contact Roger directly to help him fill these remaining spots.

The Time: Meet at 7:30AM, ride at 7:40AM, Saturday, October 15th. Expect a full ride time of ~5:00 hours including the rest stops; about 2:30 hours if you are doing only the HF Tour. if you are doing the optional short ride starting from Flemington Park, meet there at 9:00AM and wait for the other riders to arrive.

The Ride: This is a relatively hilly ride of ~30 or 72 miles, with a few longer hills and a few rough chip-seal road stretches, but mile after mile of scenic thoroughbred horse farms in Marion County. Expect ride speeds of 15-19 mph with a target pedaling speed of 17 mph and an average speed of 15-16.5 mph due to the rolling terrain and length. This is a no-drop friendly ride for riders in reasonable physical condition; we will soft pedal as necessary to keep the core of the group together because riders on this ride are expected to be able to ride at the stated group speed; nevertheless we will wait for everyone to regroup at each major turn and after fun sprints, if necessary to prevent drops. Helmets are required, suntan lotion is recommended, as some parts of this ride are in sunny open areas. Due to the hilly roads of this Horse Farm Tour and the 72 mile full length, if you want to go faster for a while, please declare a "sprint", take off at whatever speed you want to go, then wait for the rest of the group to catch up when you get to your stated goal; it's going to be a LONG day if we don't hold the speeds down to at least the nominal Bee-17 speed of ~17 mph for most of the ride.

The Rest Stop: Will be at Lowell at approximately 40 miles at a convenience store/gas station with restrooms; it is somewhat beyond halfway in the ride, so you should bring enough water to last for several hours of riding before being able to refresh your supplies. There will be short restroom breaks at the park in Flemington each time we pass by there, and an optional stop at the Pearl Country Store in Micanopy only if needed.

The Start Point (full ride): The Tower Square Publix is located on the west side of town at the intersection of SW 75th (Tower Road) and Archer Road; Archer road has bike lanes from I-75 westward and RTS bus service on route 75 which stops at Tower Square. If you drive, please park on the south most (Archer Rd) side of the parking lot well away from the Publix store entrance.

The Optional Start Point (30 mile HF Tour only): Will be at the park at Flemington. The easy route to Flemington is to go south from Gainesville on I-75 to the CR318 exit (exit 368) marked as "Irvine/Orange Lake", then take it and go ~3 miles west towards Irvine & Flemington until you reach the intersection with CR239 at Flemington (by a small country store) then turn north and go ~300 feet on CR239 and make a left turn into the park at Flemington. You can also go by many different routes by bike to Micanopy, then take CR234 south and follow it into Marion County, where it will be renamed to CR239 at the county line, then follow it south to the park in Flemington. There are restrooms and covered picnic tables and parking at the park, and the country store nearby carries a modest selection of drinks and snack foods.

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. A copy of the General Plan for the Bee-17s has been posted on the GCC mail list and is also available from me upon request.

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