The Bee-17s will ride a 30 mile loop from O'Leno State
Park Saturday, January 21st, returning in time for
lunch.
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.
The Route: We will
start at the O'Leno parking lot where Chandler has the Chili
Picnic set up, riding out to the entrance on US41/441 and going north to
CR18
where we will turn west and take it west to Ft White, then turn south onto
US47
and follow it to CR138, where we will turn east and ride to US27, which we
will
take northwest to CR778, which we will take east to US41/441, and
follow US41/441 back to the O'Leno State Park entrance and back to the
parking lot and picnic pavillion.
The Time: Due to cool overnight temperatures
currently
forecast for Friday night, we will
meet
at 9:00AM, and ride at 9:15AM, Saturday,
January 21st. Expect a total riding time of
~2:00 hours including a potential short restroom
stop in
Ft White if necessary. We should easily return before Noon for the
chili
lunch.
The Ride: This is an easy
ride of
~30 miles, with mostly smooth roads and some roadside
trails. Expect ride speeds of 17-19 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 an
optional restroom break in Ft White if needed; our
usual midway snack stop is NOT planned today, due to the
shortness of
the route and the picnic lunch waiting for us at the end of the
ride.
We will stop briefly several times for water and layer-shedding breaks
as
usual.
The Start Point: Oleno
State Park is on US 41/441 eight miles north of High Springs. There
is an
entry fee to the Park, $5 per car with 2 to 8 people, $4 for
single
occupant car, $2 for bike riding or pedestrian entry. The park
opens
at 8:00AM, so there is plenty of time to arrive, organize your side dish
efforts, and socialize a bit before our ride starts at
9:15. More information about the park can be found here: http://www.floridastateparks.org/oleno/
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.