Category: Florida

CLERMONT, FLORIDA

The Horrible Hundred. “It’s only horrible if you miss it.” What is surprising about this ride is the elevation gain. Many Floridians who are flatlanders seem to be caught off guard by the never-ending rollers, and some steep (10-12%) but short hills. It is a tough course – 5500′ of elevation gain over 102 miles (164 km – 1,676m). By contrast, the MS-150 100-mile course in Loudoun Co., Va., is also 5500′ (actually 5800′) over 100 miles.

I first came here in 2016 and met my friends, John and Joe. In past years they haven’t joined me. Joe told me on Friday that he doesn’t ride much anymore.

You cannot arrive too early for the Hundred. Twice I’ve stayed in local hotels and that is the best arrangement so that on-site parking is not an issue. I stayed at the Home2Suites in Winter Garden which was 12-13 miles away via a straight shot on Fla. Hwy 50. It is six lanes with a small bike lane next to the curb. I did not want to ride that to and from the event. I drove it.

I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and made my way to the west side of town where I knew there would be municipal parking. Once I parked I went through the mental checklist of what I needed to take. This was similar to my pregame checklist as a soccer referee.

Bike. Inflate tires. Three lights, one front and two rear. Bluetooth speaker for the handlebars. Wahoo computer. Two bottles that I iced up at the hotel. Add water. Add Skratch drink mix to one. Four gels. Two chewable gels. Although there would be snacks on the course, I mostly prefer what I carry over what they serve, except for the fresh fruit.

Wrist band. I had been given one in yesterday’s packet to be worn on the ride as admission to the snack areas and for the post-ride meal. There was adhesive on one end that said to lift here. I did and whatever I tore removed the adhesive. Yikes.

I had parked beside where the course went and otherwise would have started there. No need to start at the beginning since it wasn’t a timed event that needed us to clock in.

I was one mile from the start and decided to ride there to the registration table and get a new wristband. When I went in, even before explaining my predicament, a woman held a new band over my wrist and affixed it. I think I was not the first person to have this trouble.

I proudly wear the team kit for Rooster Racing. Our motto is “Do Good, Ride Hard, and Live Well” which is on the back of my jersey. As one rider went by, he said, “Those are great words to live by.” Indeed they are.

The Roosters don’t have a large group but there are at least five in the Orlando area. On our team group chat, I invited them to join me on the Saturday group ride (free) or pay and ride the Horrible Hundred. None responded. None showed up.

Riding is more fun, sometimes, with people. Sometimes it’s more fun with alligators. Or bears. As I look to a possible Rooster event next year I am left wondering whether these are the people I want to ride with. They’re your best friends for one week and then don’t respond when you drive 1,000 miles and would like to ride with them. It feels fake.

I began the ride wondering what adventure lay ahead. I was a solo adventurer. At the start, a group of three asked me to take their photo. I did – maybe five or six from different angles. Plus one selfie. If you ask me to take your photo you always get a selfie.

A guy in my group from yesterday, Richard, recognized me and said hello. Today was his first century, and I eventually settled into shepherding him through the course. At times we stayed together. I rode ahead other times but would wait at major turns/intersections.

It appeared I was riding a faster pace on the flats but on the first hill we came to he blew past me. I had a bad Whoop Band score coming in, 28% recovery, and decided I would not press on any of the early hills. But I would catch him and we would ride together the entire day.

Richard has more melatonin than me. We talked about race and bikes and we both agreed we don’t see color on a bike. We see cyclists. We were in agreement that we were much better off before 2008 at not seeing color. Sigh. But today we were just two cyclists.

Richard started cramping around Mile 30. And then I remembered. There was one thing I forgot to bring and was still in the car – my magic anti-cramping potion – Hot Shot.

I didn’t have any cramps until leaving the rest area at Green Mountain at Mile 80. I stood as I was leaving (uphill) and my left hamstring seized. I settled it down but was cautious the rest of the way.

At 1:00 p.m. I used the Sirius XM app and streamed the Steelers’ broadcast to my handlebar speaker and listened to the Ravens-Steelers game. Steelers won 18-16.

When I finished I skipped the post-ride meal and just rode back to my car. And then drank a HotShot anti-cramp bottle. Done for another year. Tired.

---

---

DISTANCE: 102.3 miles
ELEVATION: 5830′

CLERMONT, FLORIDA

Since I first did the Horrible Hundred eight years ago, I have always enjoyed the Saturday “familiarization rides” even more than the Sunday main event. Saturday is for group rides and is more of a fun environment than a couple of thousand riders on the road on Sunday,

This year an email went out looking for volunteer group ride leaders and I answered. I was assigned the Cracker Cove group at 8:45 a.m. and looked forward to leading it. Instead, when I showed up I introduced myself to a woman who announced that she was the group leader along with a guy from Quebec. She would lead from the front and he would be in the back. I wondered what place I had in this group.

We rolled out and had gone about one mile. I was just a person in the group. There was a 9:00 group that went eight miles farther (42 vs 34). I announced my departure and went back to the start to join the 9:00 group. This was a smaller group, perhaps nine.

Once on the road, one leader was doing all the pulling. After about 10 miles I went to the front of the line and started working. Twice I dropped the group. Oops. When we pulled into a small park, Jeff asked me if I would join him and another rider for more miles. My Whoop Band showed a recovery score of just 30 and I told him I needed to stay with this group. They eventually peeled off to get more miles.

At times I was up front. At times I went to the back. I was having fun. Diane, a slim woman, was getting shredded in the wind and I dropped back to pace her. When she was looking for a shorter way back to start because she wasn’t feeling well I told her I would pace her. We would make it.

And that’s what’s nice about the group rides. No racing. Just having fun.

Back at the hotel long after the ride had ended, the director called to ask if we had an accident in our group. I told him that I bailed out and joined the 9:00 group So our group didn’t. I couldn’t say about the original 8:45 group.

We were never given assignments as to who we would be with. I felt completely useless in the original group, they had it covered. Maybe if we were all on a group text with assignments then things would have been different. But I helped a different group and no riders were harmed today.

And a final note. At least four of our Rooster Racing group live in this area. I invited them to join me today, no registration necessary. None showed. As I plan my future riding I have to remember that none of my friends showed up to join me in an easy ride. Fun day but disappointing.

---

COCOA, FLORIDA

I came here last fall for the Intracoastal Waterway Century. I enjoyed it so much that I came back in January and rode a metric route (66 miles).

I hoped today that I would ride a metric century (62 miles) but the wind forecast was daunting. Winds were coming out of the east at 20 mph.

On top of that, I stayed at the wrong location. Twice I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Melbourne-Viera and I thought I had booked to stay there again. Instead, I ended up at the Hampton Inn & Suites Melbourne. The properties were similar but my planned bike ride was not. I was 7-8 miles south of my starting point.

With the wind forecast, I modified my plan. I would start at the Rotary Park and ride the 11 miles to Cocoa. Then I would make a decision to do a metric or not.

At the park, it was very windy. You could hear the winds. I started out on familiar roads. Since I was mostly headed north the wind was a constant crosswind which made the bike difficult to control. I was next to the Indiana River and still saw some remnants of the damage left by Hurricane Milton.

When I reached Cocoa I looked at the bridge across the river. I thought about crossing it and making a loop with the Pineida Causeway. I took a distant look and really didn’t see a bike lane or shoulder. Just two lanes up and over. I decided not to go over the bridge.

Instead, I headed north. I came to another bridge crossing that I did not remember. It was not the one farther up that goes to the Kennedy Space Center. As a rider was coming south I waved him over for some local advice. He said not to take the highway and wasn’t sure one could. He did say I could take the one in Cocoa. I thanked him and kept riding north until I ran out of road.

Back in Cocoa, I wanted to eat at Murdock’s but when I arrived saw that it had temporary hours due to ADA and family matters. It wasn’t open. I decided to retrace my ride.

The ride southbound was just as difficult as riding northbound. The only difference was the wind was now coming from my left instead of my right, It was difficult for sure.

After the ride, I checked some heat maps of where cyclists ride. The Cocoa Bridge would have been okay. The next one north, call it the 528, would not. I saw no heat map rides. I’m assuming that it would be a very bad idea if not prohibited. But I may try the Cocoa Bridge the next time I’m here.

---

SANFORD, FLORIDA

This is a description of a route and not one ride. It was three rides on the Lake Monroe Loop which may or may not be its official name.

On January 24 I had a reservation on the AutoTrain from Sanford to Lorton, Virginia. The train left at 5:00 pm, but check-in with a vehicle was from 11:30 until 3:00. I wanted a nice ride in the area before a 15-hour train ride.

I found a ride on RidewithGPS that started at the Bicikleta Bike Shop in Sanford. It was a 27-mile loop around the lake and looked perfect. I found the bike shop and started to follow the route that I had uploaded to my bike computer.

I was only two blocks from the downtown area which is absolutely charming. Sanford has brick streets so I checked out the downtown before starting my ride.

Downtown Sanford is only one block from the lakefront which is very pretty.

I obviously did not study the route. I envisioned a 27-mile route hugging this lake the entire time. What I got was three and a half miles of lakefront views. I crossed a bridge over the St. Johns River which flows into the lake. And then I picked up a series of bike trails.

Part of the trail picks up a section of the Coast to Coast Trail

There were sections of boardwalks in the swamp. (Boardwalks scare me) Pretty but I’m not a fan of tires on wood.

I wasn’t quick enough with the camera but as I came around one corner I saw a juvenile armadillo scurry off the trail.

I gave up lakeside for woods. And swamp.

Eventually, the trail connected with a bike path next to Fl. State Hwy 415. It is separate from the highway and has an underpass at the one bridge to get to the other side to cross the river.

About five miles from Sanford the trail ends and one must ride on the road. But here the roads are more streets than highways.

The first time I rode it when I got back to the start I continued a second pass down the lake and found the AutoTrain. It was just an enjoyable loop.

My next AutoTrain reservation was on March 13. Arriving on March 14 I was prepared to ride the same loop. However, I thought it would be fun to reverse the route so I rode the same course but counterclockwise this time. Near the end, I routed to PDQ Chicken for lunch and then used the Wahoo’s Route to Start feature to get me back to the parking lot that was two blocks from Bicikleta’s.

And it was six days later I was headed home. No AutoTrain this time but I was headed up I-4 early in the morning. I stopped at the park next to the bridge that crosses the St. Johns River. I would ride the loop again albeit with a different start location,

There were no surprises. I could ride this loop without a map. But it’s nice to have a map on the computer as I like to display the distance remaining.

This is an easy, flat, ride with lake, swamp, and forest views. I highly recommend this to anyone in central Florida looking for an easy and enjoyable ride, Finish with lunch in Sanford.

PORT ORANGE, FLORIDA

My trip to Florida led me seeking sun and warmth and preferably ocean views. Or one view. I ended up at Ormond Beach because the Hampton Inn was very reasonable. I found a route I wanted to ride but the map was showing sections of unpaved road north of Flagler Beach that seemed strange. I ruled that out.

I found a ride on RidewithGPS that I would follow. It began at the Hub Cycling in Port Orange up and over to Flagler Beach then back south to Dayton Beach. While I wanted to ride on A1A next to the ocean, the route avoided much of that when there was an alternative, presumably because of traffic and safety.

The roads were a mix of residential streets, country roads, a little highway, and the A1A right down through Daytona Beach. At one point I deviated from the course and rode over to the A1A.

I wasn’t sure what it would be like when I reached Daytona Beach. But on the two-lane southbound route, I found new sharrows had just been painted. A sharrow means bikes can use full lane and are often on roads where it would be too dangerous to pass a cyclist riding on the right side of the lane. Better to ride right down the middle. Any cars that would pass would already be partially in the left lane and would always move over.

I was headed into a moderately strong headwind from the south. And I as getting tired. I had two bottles with me – one with Skratch and one with water. I took two gels and two feeds. I could tell around 50 miles I was running on E.

I found a service station/convenience store and stopped in for water – and a Snickers. I haven’t had a Snickers in forever but I knew its sugars would sustain me the last 12 miles.

I didn’t realize it at the time but this was where we started our cancer ride on April 11, 2013. Today I just missed passing the starting point because I had moved off the A1A and back to John Anderson Drive next to the Halifax River (less traffic).

I was hoping to go faster today but on that day we had a group of four setting a good pace in 2013. I wasn’t going to match that. But my goal of warmth, sun, and an ocean view was met.

---

---

COCOA VILLAGE, FLORIDA

Quick Thoughts – The registration process stated that the event materials including a T-shirt would be mailed to the riders. I registered two months in advance but never received anything. I had to arrive early today for late registration ready to explain that I never received anything. Turns out they didn’t mail mine. Sigh.

I met a nice young woman who was sitting on the curb 15 minutes before the start time. I convinced her to sit on a bench with me and save her legs. Kristen Reynolds was riding her first Metric Century and was a bit nervous about being able to finish.

Part of me wanted to ride with Kristen to make sure she would finish but I decided to stick with my plan of a full Century ride. At just about 8:00 we all started moving. The event had around 400 riders so it wasn’t too large, unlike a Sea Gull Century which has more than 5,000 riders.

As I rolled out I recognized one of our Roosters from this summer’s trip to Luxembourg. I rode up to Keith but he didn’t know who I was. Strange. Very strange. I rode with Keith for the first 15 miles even catching Kristen who was flying. I was surprised that the split in the two routes came so quickly. I never really said goodbye to Keith or Kristen. They turned right. I turned left. Goodbye.

I turned west on the Century route while a large group I was in went east for the Metric. I was the only one who turned left. I thought I would be riding the rest of the century alone. I was prepared to ride alone. In one mile was the first rest stop. I made a quick pit stop and noticed a group of 5-6 guys getting a group photo taken. I left. Solo.

After departing the stop I may have ridden one mile, at most two, catching one rider when the group I saw minutes earlier passed me by. One rider announced they were passing and told me to jump in. Another said, “Jump in, take a rest and recover, and then take a turn.” I liked the invitation.

After the group passed me I jumped in. I had to judge what type of rotation or pace line they were riding and match it. We went in order with each person pulling off when they were comfortable. There were a couple of short pulls and a couple of long pulls. Their group of five became a group of six. As we passed other riders we grew to about 20 with the six of us doing all the pulling with 14 passengers. There were riders willing to tag on but not become part of our group.

The composition of the group changed when we came to the NASA Causeway Bridge to the Kennedy Space Center. I was at the back hoping to take some photos. When I ride I love to take photos. Sometimes I can do it while riding solo but more often I pull over for a shot. Today I was in a line most of the way and could not capture the views to share with others.

It was flat. Everywhere was flat. But the causeways all were bridges that became hills for those in this area. We came to the “hill” on the NASA Causeway. There was a split in our group and I found myself on the back of the split. I quickly moved past one or two riders to catch the front of our group.

Coming down off the bridge we had a great view of the space center to the left across the Indian River and a canal to the right. I saw an alligator in the canal but could not take a photo.

At the end of the causeway, our group pulled over realizing they dropped Walter. One rider doubled back about one-half mile to see if he was coming but didn’t find him. I later learned that Walter had been off his bike for three years and jumped in today to ride 100 miles. Dumb if that’s what he did. The group waited about 10-12 minutes and then continued on without him.

Walter apparently abandoned and presumably called for a SAG. But no one in our group called him? Maybe they knew him but weren’t necessarily friends with him much as I would be in the Prince William Cycling group. I know a lot of people but I’m not friends with most or have their cell phone numbers. Poor Walter.

Around Mile 60, Herb and I were at the front and we caught another group. In doing so we dropped the other three riders we were with. I was willing to hang on the back of the new group after pulling so much but Herb suggested we wait for his group because “they need us more than we need a free ride.” We waited.

Leaving the third rest stop I wanted to ride faster. And it was a weird situation that I joined a group and rode 45 miles with them but was ready to abandon them. Is that wrong? Twice when their riders were hurting the group stopped so I did too. I was part of the group. But to ride a century the advice is to ride the first third slow, the second third normal, and leave yourself enough in the tank for the last third. I did.

Today I had lots in the tank and wanted to pick up the pace. Every time I was on the front I was constantly looking to see if someone was on my wheel. And often it was one rider with a split. Sometimes it was just me. I slowed down.

At what point do you become part of the group and can’t leave? I could have pedaled away at any point, with or without a word. But I stayed with the group taking turns pulling with those still working.

In the end, we finished together except for Jim who dropped back with three miles to go. And I know Tom appreciated I was pulling my share in the group when he couldn’t contribute. After the ride, he thanked me for pulling. He said he doesn’t normally ride that fast and was just trying to hang on but was very pleased with his average speed for the day. I didn’t tell him that I was always slowing it down to keep them with us.

It was a good day. I started slow to stay in with the Metric riders until they turned. Then I thought I had 85 miles of solo riding ahead of me. The Melbourne Old Cranks (my new name for them) made the ride very interesting and enjoyable. I don’t know how many they had passed and how large of a group they wanted. But they invited me to work with them and that clearly saved my energy. And I was the only one who joined them.

Never say never. I thought this would be a one-and-done ride and it probably was. But I already drew a new route for my personal century ride if I would do this again. I’d follow the Metric ride back to finish, cross the causeway at Cocoa Village then pick up the Century route. It would mean four causeways instead of two, only two miles that are “off course” (crossing the causeway at Cocoa) and a new distance of 107 miles. Sounds awesome. Maybe I’ll be back. I would like that.

---

---

SOME ODDS AND ENDS

I monitor my biometrics with the Whoop Band. Without fail, my recovery the night before a big event is always in the red. Today was no exception.

Take it easy. Don’t ride too far today. Yea, right.

I think the mental aspect affects the physical recovery. It’s not like I stayed up all night worrying but just knowing a big effort is required seems to effect me.

---

At the Eau Gallie Causeway, I heard a piece of metal being hit and landing. It has a distinctive sound. I also knew it was me. I thought for sure that I would have a flat within the next 30-60 seconds but I survived that. Unbeknownst to me was I had a slice in the tire. We were at Mile 79 and had 21 miles to go. None the wiser, I rode on the slice back to the finish line. Pretty impressed by those Continental 5000s.

I should have pulled over and inspected it. Although I had an extra tire with me in my car, I didn’t carry it with me on the ride. I really had no choice regardless. Ride and hope. And carry the SAG number in case I had to stop.

---

If there was any question as to whether I was part of the group and therefore should not have left them it is this. Jim gave me a shoutout on his Strava (although I’m not from Roanoke).

---

It was windy. But most of the route was north-south and the winds were consistently ENE, in other words, crosswinds.

I’m still learning Windsock but this graphic shows the wind direction. Crosswinds. It also looks like there was a two-minute penalty for the wind which I guess means with no wind I would have finished two minutes sooner. That seems low to me but it’s fun to think about.