Southeast - 29th Cross Florida Bike Ride (170 mile Coast to Coast one day ride)

I have yet to exceed more than 125 miles in a day but I think I'm going to give this one a shot-

http://www.spacecoastfreewheelers.com/events.htm

Hey thanks for the heads up. This looks just what I am look for to test out my '73 Paramount. I am new to Florida as well

Go for it. My longest ride of the season was 120 and I finished Ride Across Indiana (160mi) last year in good spirits.

I have yet to exceed more than 125 miles in a day but I think I'm going to give this one a shot-

http://www.spacecoastfreewheelers.com/events.htm

I have often thought about doing this ride but I don't think I can maintain the speed to complete it in the required amount of time.
Good luck to you and would like to read a ride report when you finish.

Doesn't look like the type of ride one would like to tackle facing unfavorable headwinds.

dang...this ride is usually in the fall...May 2nd is 2 weeks before MS150 which I'm commited to,although this would be a great ride...

I have often thought about doing this ride but I don't think I can maintain the speed to complete it in the required amount of time.
Good luck to you and would like to read a ride report when you finish.
Average speeds you have to maintain per the website (http://www.spacecoastfreewheelers.com/events.htm) -


Ride time and cutoffs

Due to safety concerns and our finish location being in a public park all riders must complete the ride before sunset. Which on May 2nd, 2010 in Weeki Wachee Gardens will be at 8:05PM. This gives riders 13.5 hours to complete the Cross Florida Ride. Our SAG vehicles will be enforcing the following cutoff points and times.

100 miles (Rockridge Rd & US-98) - 1:30pm (7 hours @ 14.3mph avg.)
140 miles (SAG 4 location) - 5:00pm (10.5 hours @ 13.3mph avg.)
163 miles (SR-50 & US-19) - 7:30pm (13 hours @ 12.5mph avg.)


If you don't make these cutoffs you will be SAGed to the finish line in one of our SAG vehicles.

I was considering trying it myself, but I'm in the Air Force Reserve and the ride is on my drill weekend... :notamused:

Average speeds you have to maintain per the website (http://www.spacecoastfreewheelers.com/events.htm) -





For anyone interested, I put together a time/mileage spreadsheet for this ride.
At any point along the ride you can easily see if you are keeping the minimum pace required to meet each cutoff, as well as SAG stops, the cutoff points, and convenience stores.

http://tinyurl.com/yz794ze

If anyone needs a ride over from the Spring Hill area, (or anywhere else on the way in between there and CoCoa Beach) let me know. I'm leaving Sat around noon and have one extra seat in my pickup.

If anyone needs a ride over from the Spring Hill area, (or anywhere else on the way in between there and CoCoa Beach) let me know. I'm leaving Sat around noon and have one extra seat in my pickup.

Good luck, it looks like it is going to be very warm. No rain on Sunday but 90*. Give us wimps a good ride description as soon as you can.

So how did you do?

Did the course actually take you on I75 as the map shows? Looked like an odd place to hop on the interstate considering the less trafficked roads available.

So how did you do?

I made it, which was all I was hoping for going into it. Finished in 10:15 with 9:45 on the bike. I was really surprised how well I felt at the end- much better than I normally do when I complete century rides. This was totally unexpected as I never had enough time while training to complete any rides over 100 miles and opted to do 60-80 mile fast pace rides combined with interval training instead (I think this will be my training regime for these longer rides going forward).

The course itself was so-so. Had some rough stretches, and sections with high traffic along the way but probably the best route they could come up with for between the start/finish points. We even had a couple of "Paris–Roubaix" cobblestone sections along the way. :)

Overall, I really had a great time and was impressed with the support that the Suncoast Freewheelers supplied. I'll be there again next year for sure.


Did the course actually take you on I75 as the map shows? Looked like an odd place to hop on the interstate considering the less trafficked roads available.

That map is most definitely wrong. We crossed 75 but never rode on it. This map- http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/fl/-cocoa-beach/829127267138298850 looks to be the correct route.

[QUOTE=fetad;10758681]So how did you do?

I also was happy to complete the ride. I was worried that I would not make the cut-off times. I did much better than I expected. I finished in 10:02 with 9:21 on the bike. Even though seasoned BF'ers will laugh, the Florida Mountains were incredibly hard for me. Sarasota, where I live, is completely flat. It was incredibly hot, my bike was reading up to 105 degrees on the road for much of the ride. The course was really well marked. I can't wait to do it next year! Thanks to the Spacecoast Freewheelers, they did a great job with the event.

Congrats to the finishers! Great job on a very hot FL day and plenty of cross winds for your ride.

Mark