Attention all GCC members,

I am posting a ride that is not limited to just HighBees.

Day: Saturday, January 31, 2009

Time: 7:15 am meeting, 7:30 am departure by vehicle for our ride destination, the Pinellas Trail.  This should get us to the trail head around 9:45 to 10:00 am.

Meeting Place: LeStore, on the corner of SW 34^th St and Williston Road. Suggest parking in the Publix parking lot next to the station as they have more parking available especially since the cars will be there all day.

Route and Mileage: We’ll get together at the meeting place and arrange carpooling to get all riders into as few cars/trucks/SUV’s/vans or whatever as possible and head for Tarpon Springs, the northern trail head for the Pinellas Trail. If you have never ridden the Pinellas Trail before, the northern half is more rural down to Clearwater, and the southern half from there to St Petersburg is more urban; although there are crossings that go over the streets so you don’t have to stop to cross streets. On the northern segment that is not a problem. The total trail length is 47 miles, one way. There are small towns along the way, so finding a good place to stop is not a problem. Riding about 25 miles south from Tarpon Springs will take us to around Indian Shores, south of Clearwater Beach. We can do a rest stop there and then head back. Upon returning to Tarpon Springs there are many options for lunch before heading back to Gainesville.

Pace: The ride will be at the normal HighBees ride pace which is about 16 MPH. based on the response to this ride, if we have riders that are slower we can set up a second group riding at a typical LoBee pace of 15 MPH and any others at a slower pace can likewise ride together. If there are some riders that usually ride faster than the HighBee pace, they can either ride at the HighBee pace or ride up ahead and we can all meet at a designated point. This is intended to be a fun social ride.

RSVP:  As this is not a normal Saturday ride posting, I am asking riders that plan to attend to e-mail me back and let me know. Also please let me know as soon as possible if you have a vehicle with a bike rack and you are able to drive to Tarpon Springs and back and how many other riders and their bikes you can transport. If you need a ride, please let me know that. This way we can be sure we have enough available vehicles to transport the riders and their bikes. According to MapQuest it is about 138 miles from Gainesville to Tarpon Springs and should take a little over 2 hrs to get there. In other group events I have participated in, such as a hiking club, to compensate the drivers, those that get a ride pay a certain amount to the driver. In this case, given the mileage, it seems fair that those getting a ride pay the driver they go with $10.00 to cover the gas, etc.

I think it will be fun ride and look forward to hearing from you.

Mike