The Bee-17s will ride from the
Earl
Powers Park, Saturday, March 3rd
to Melrose for a trip
of 37 miles.
The Route: Will
start
from Earl Powers Park and ride east on SR20 (Hawthorne
Road) to
CR234, where we will turn north and ride through Windsor to CR 1474, which
we
will take east until it become Price Road and "Ts" into Hwy21 just south of
Melrose, which we will take north into Melrose and the rest stop. We
will
resume going west on CR26, then take CR219A south back to CR1474, which we
will
take west to CR234, then turn south going back to cross SR20 (Hawthorne
Road)
and intercept the Hawthorne Trail and take it west back to SE 60th Terrace,
and
then return to SR20 (Hawthorne Road) for the short leg west back to
Earl
Powers Park. Anyone who "rides to the ride" can stay on the Trail at
SE
60th Terrace and ride back directly into Gainesville from there on the
downtown
connector trail (which goes back through/by UF and along Archer Road
all
the way to SW 34th street) instead of returning to Earl Powers
Park.
The Time: Meet
at 8:45AM, ride
at 9:00AM,
Saturday, March 3rd. Expect a full ride time of
~3:00
hours including the rest stop in Melrose.
The Ride: This is
a relatively easy ride of
~37.1 miles, of
mostly
flat roads with a few minor hills. Expect ride speeds of
15-19
mph with a target pedaling speed of 17 mph and an average
speed of 16-17 mph. 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.
The Rest Stop:
Will
be in Melrose at
approximately 19 miles at a convenience store/gas station with
restrooms.
The Start Point:
Earl Powers Park is located on
the east side of town on the north side of Hawthorne Road (SR
20),
which has bike lanes continuously from the east side of town; look for
the
brown standard park sign just outside the primary populated area east of
town,
several miles east of Waldo Road. It can also be accessed by bicycle
by
riding the Hawthorne Rail Trail approximately 4 miles east from Boulware
Springs, over the "hills and hummocks", until you get to the "SE 60th
Terrace" sign on the trail, where you can cross directly from the
Trail to Hawthorne Road and ride a few hundred feet west back towards
town
to reach the Park. There is no fee to enter and park at Earl
Powers
Park; we usually meet near the restrooms close to the entrance to 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.
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.
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.