It's time again for the famous Chilly Chili picnic, featuring all the best chili concoctions that the creative cooks in the Gainesville Cycling Club can conjure.

 

The Gainesville Cycling Club will have its famous chili fest on Saturday, Jan. 27 at Oleno State Park, just north of High Springs on US 441.   Bike rides start at 9 a.m., food starts about noon.

 

Please invite friends, we will have planty of food, and Oleno is a great place to introduce friends and family to the fun of bike riding.

 

Group ride leaders may want to plan a ride in the Oleno area.  For road riders, there are many rural roads, including the northern part of the Santa Fe Century route.  

 

For family oriented rides, Oleno also now has a paved bike trail that goes to Itchetucknee State Park (12 miles to Itchetucknee, 25 miles to Branford).  The trail goes next to an excellent thrift store in Fort White.

 

Oleno also has many miles of dirt trails for mountain bikes.  These trails are not very challenging for hard-core off-road riders, but are perfect for beginners and family groups.  The trails are historic, with some trails having been used since the Spanish buit a mission near Oleno, more than 350 years ago.  The first Federal Highway built in Florida (in 1824), the Bellemy Road crosses the Park and is in its original condition (no cars)..  

 

Chandler will lead a history ride on the dirt trails.  This ride is suitable for beginners and families.

 

For those who don't want to ride,  Oleno has excellent hiking trails.  An excellent trail, the River Sink trail (about a 30 minue walk), takes you to where the Santa Fe River disappears into the ground, and flows underground for about 4 miles.

 

As for food,  club members should bring their finest chili, or a salad or desert.  Chandler will make a gigantic pot of  the famous "Fowl Flesh chili"  a mild chili made with turkey meat, guarenteed to offend no one and hopefully will temp vegetarians to partake.  The club will also provide a large pot of rice.

 

The picnic will be in the picnic area next to the Santa Fe river.  Food starts about noon.  Chandler will have a three burner camp stove to re-heat chili, and we will have a grill with charcoal to cook various offerings or sacrifices and to reheat even more chili.  The Club will provide soft drinks.

 

Oleno State Park is eight miles north of High Springs on US 441.  Entry fee is $4 per carfull of people.

 

Chandler could use some help in the kitchen, in particular someone skilled in cooking brown rice.  If anyone wants to volunteer to help cook rice, please let me know.  I will bring the rice, stove and cooking pots, all you have to do is supervise.