Withlacoochee Trail Ride MeetUp of BF members in February
 

RonH and I rode together yesterday and lamented that we didn't know any of the Florida BF members and we thought that we might try a meetup at the Withlacoochee Trail so we can meet some of you guys and gals.

We would like to invite all BF members to a ride on the Withlacoochee Trail on a Saturday or Sunday in February. It would be great fun to meet and ride with you. We're open to which day/weekend is convenient for everyone.

What do you think?

If you're interested, Post your preference on day/date and we'll get this scheduled.

Sue

I'd be interested, what style of ride/distance?

I'd definitely be up for it, Sue. :) Depends on the date though.

Sorry, it sounds great to me but Pensacola is at the polar opposite end of Florida. Hope it goes over big and that the riding is great.

Bill

We'll have out of town company Feb 4 thru Feb 9 or 10 and we'll be doing the touristy thing with them. :rolleyes:
Also can't do Feb 28.
Any other date will work for me.

I'm probably in. At the moment, I don't have any other commitments, but things can change. On a weekend, I might have to bring extra people - the DH and the young'uns.

Extra people? That's ok. The more the merrier. :)

It's not that far from me, so it's a possibility.

Ride distance - whatever you are comfortable with.

Bring the family! The trail is a good ride for everyone. Those that like long, faster distances can head south out of Inverness and once they get past Floral City (7 miles) will probably see few riders. Those of us who are a little more 'pokey' or want shorter distances can head either north or south.

I believe there is a pie shop in Floral City for those that ride for pie!

We'll set a date soon - would like to hear suggested dates from a few more people and we'll try to accomodate the majority of folks.

The Central Motel in Inverness is right on the trail. I've stayed there several times and it is reasonable and clean.

I was looking at the cycling calendar and the 9th is out for me. The Race for Humanity is that weekend and I have plans to ride my bike with DH and Thing 1 to find a spot to cheer and ring my cowbells from. Now, to find the cowbells.

Also, I will probably ride from North from the Southern part as I live about 4 miles away from both the southern trailhead and the Ridge Manor trailhead. If the boys are all coming though, I might drive to Lake Townsend and start from there.

Have we figured out a date yet people? How about 2/16 or 2/17 as nobody has specified a date yet. That would actually work quite nicely as my little ones don't have school on the following Monday - President's Day .

Sandy Riley, the owner of the pastry shop has had some health problems lately. We found out while at the Floral City Art Gallery. Sandy also operated a small cafe there. The gallery folks said the cafe was closed until they could find someone else to run it.
I haven't been over to the Withlacoochee Trail in a while. Does anyone know if the pastry shop is still open?


My social calendar is filling up quickly :rolleyes: so if someone could pick a date that would hold that day open for riding. :)

How about Sunday, February 17th. We could meet at the Red Caboose at the Inverness Trail Head and ride south, hopefully meeting up with Liamskymom and others living toward the south end of the trail. We could plan a stop in Floral City if the pie shop is still open.

What TIME? What would work for folks?

I might be down to see some properties that weekend. If so, I will be happy to come ride with some folks, even though I am not a FL BF person (yet).

Sunday the 17th sounds good to me, weather permitting of course. And, punkncat, you should come of course.

The 17th works for me. :)

Put one more Clyde down in the probably catagory.

If you folks don't start too darn early, I might be able to come over and ride with you too. It's about a three hour trip to the trail from where I live in Okeechobee and a Sunday works for me. I'll keep watching this thread and see what happens...

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

PS, I'll be the guy on the long wheel base recumbent....

Why is everything on the 16th & 17th? I was already trying to choose between the Sebring 24 Hour event and a half marathon in Daytona!

I can come, but I have to ride my bike 10 miles to get there. So go easy on me. :) Any day is fine.

How does 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 17 sound to everyone. We can meet at the Red Caboose at the trailhead in Inverness. Ride distances and speed are up to you - the purpose is to get to know other BF members, not to race each other.

TTom - that should give you enough time to come up from Sebring.

If you'd rather a later time, please post.

Don't worry, I am slow. I'll ride with you.

Let me talk to a buddy and see if he wants to come along... I'll try hard to make it, 11am is great. I WISH I was in Sebring, that would have me an hour closer than I am. Okeechobee is the MIDDLE of no where and it takes hours to get anywhere from here....

I'll keep you posted, as my wife mentioned something last night about babysitting the grandkids (ages 1.5 and 3) that weekend????

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee

Agreed. I typically ride pretty slow, although I anticipate the "flat" to help with that a little bit. Either way, I am down for the fun and the meet, not a race.

11:00 is good for me and the family. On a very good day, we go slow. Usually especially with the 7 year old riding, slow is a stretch.

It seems that a few people who live south of the trail are asking if there will be two groups -- one starting in Inverness and one starting at the south end of the trail and the two groups will meet/join at some point.
Not sure about this. I know some of you can't or don't want to ride very far. Are we all meeting in Inverness and riding south from there or will some folks start at the south end and hope that enough people will ride far enough to meet half way, say near Lake Lindsey Rd (Nobleton) or Lake Townsen park?

This sounds like it will be a great ride and fellowship for y'all, have a great time and please post a thread with pictures of the ride if you will. At least I can vicariously ride the trail with everyone. I am looking at getting TomD77 and a few others up here to have a NW Florida, South Alabama ride this year. Have fun.

Bill