The HighBees rode out Williston Road Saturday morning and starting somewhere about 9-10 miles from I-75 the road work was not complete and the bike lane on the westbound side is ground up in preparation for re-paving. The westbound vehicle land is paved, but not with the final layer. The eastbound side has the final layer of pavement. The main thing to be concerned about is that there is a deep groove in the pavement between the new asphalt and ground bike lane that has not been re-paved. We had two crashes on our ride as a result of this condition. The first one caused fairly minor injuries including cuts and scrapes and some bike damage. The second one was lot more serious where one rider had a pretty serious head injury and was transported to Shands by ambulance. Needless to say this put a damper on the rest of the ride and we are awaiting word as to her condition.

So the bottom line here is if anyone plans a ride that far out Williston Road be aware of that deep groove in the asphalt at the edge of the bike lane. Further, with there being a different level in the asphalt between the eastbound and westbound lanes, vehicles are reluctant to move over to give bikes some room, so the cars are close especially when you are riding outside the bike lane due to it being ground up. I’d recommend avoiding this area until all work is completed.

Ride safe,

Mike