Day 5 Gator Hell Week

You would hardly even know a new year had started if you had polled those of us riding around Florida this week. It was another day on the bike, preceded by another early evening. When you’re riding 100 miles a day, it begins to add up quickly. No one even cared about staying up to greet 2008. Sleep is more important.

The first of two cold fronts blew through before daybreak today, with a brief line of showers to wet the roads and bike path for our early morning start. The wind picked up in intensity by late morning, blowing solidly from the northwest. Our route had us going dead into it for 24 miles along the Withlacoochee Trail, but thanks to the dense vegetation, we were shielded from much of the wind’s effects.

And as soon as we headed east on Rt 44, we picked up what would be a very friendly and favorable wind for much of the remainder of today’s miles. Brilliant sunshine, with albeit much cooler temps (mid-60s at best) and a nice push from behind are a nice combination, and we made great time aiming for the mid-section of the state. Lunch was in Center Hill at the 58-mile mark.

It’s about 12 miles after lunch that our route finds the first hills that make the Clermont area such a great place to ride. Short rollers, with an azure lake at the bottom, left us feeling more like we had stumbled into a Minnesota summer. But the palm trees reminded us otherwise

The afternoon SAG was in Minneola at Rt 27, where riders had to make a quick decision about whether to take the very short 12-mile direct route to Winter Garden (primarily on bike paths), or opt for 27 more miles via Sugarloaf Mountain, perhaps the most challenging hill peninsular Florida has to offer. Sure, it only climbs 200 feet from bottom to top, but it is a real hill, with a 16% gradient in one section. The view from the top is stunning.

And so most of us opted for the Sugarloaf option, giving us 111 miles for the day. Weather reports we heard upon arrival warned of much chillier temps the next two days, with the daytime high struggling to hit 50 tomorrow, and then below freezing tomorrow night. And let’s not forget the 20-30 mph winds from the northwest that will be friend or foe for parts of tomorrow’s route that heads southwest from here.

After five days we’ve covered about 520 miles. Seven of our original group have ridden every mile, which, if it holds, will yield a slightly better than 50% mark for total completion.

But there’s still 300 miles to cover and some chilly winds. Time to dig out those booties I brought. They’re around here somewhere…