Originally Posted by
stonewahl
Does anyone out there have any insight into this ride? This year the distance is approx. 165mi. from Cocoa Beach to Crystal River. There is basically 10 weeks to continue getting ready. I have completed a couple of centuries to help prepare but any advice would really help in getting ready!
I am also training to do this ride. It would certainly be the longest single day distance I ride for sure. I have done several centuries solo, as I usually ride solo, but some things concern me about this ride in particular.
1. There is an 11 hour cut off time. Close for a lot of people. They told me about 300 people sign up and about 1/3 finish it in time.
2. They have added 2 very hilly areas. In FL this is practically a joke, but add the nasty winds we can get here frequently, and this can be extremely nasty. I guess some would call it "challenging".
My only personal goal is to finish the entire thing. Preferably under the 11 hour mark. It will be very close for me if I can do it in that time as break time counts against your total time. I will be training for it doing 130 mile rides on the weekends with very minimal break time. Having said that, it is those "healthy" breaks that allow me to do these 130 mile rides solo in the first place.
Where are you at? Maybe we can meet up sometime between now and then go do some "hills" in Clermont t prepare for the hill part of it. I was there today with 30-40 mph winds and it was not fun at all.