Ride Recap

Participated in the Rails to Trails ride which turned out to be a good day for a century ride. The weather was perfect as it was overcast with a light cross wind from the east at 6 mph.

I never heard the total count of riders but there seemed to be more riders this year than last year. For cyclist that use this trail, it was an opportunity to give back to the area. Proceeds are used to help maintain this great trail. The ride offered food before and after the ride with plenty of sag stops along the way.

I started the ride in the dark at 7:00am heading north from Inverness to get the 12 mile road loop with hills out of the way at the end of the north entrance. I pulled in with a group of 5 riders to the north end of the trail. They stopped at the sag stop and I continue onto the road portion with another cyclist who was riding with us. Toward the end of the 12 mile road loop Pat, a Suncoast cyclist passed us and I joined him. Pat was a much better rider than I and ended up pulling my butt for 75 miles at 20-24 mph. At that point I was done and told Pat I was dropping off and to continue without me. I rode the last 25 miles at 15-19 mph.

I could certainly tell this was my first century ride since the MS ride. Next time I need to do a better job at pacing myself. Overall it was a great event to help support this trail and complete a century.