Gainesville Cycling Club
September 21, 2014 eNews

Festival Time!

The Gainesville Cycling Festival, incorporating the Santa Fe Century, Horse Farm Hundred, and the Share The Road Celebration of Cycling, is happening October 25 and 26, 2014.

We encourage all of our Club members to support this event, which helps keep our dues ridiculously low, and enables us to make a $10,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County. GCC members get a special rate on the rides ($5 off of each) when you register using the expedited sign up button in the Members Area. (Volunteers wait for your shifts to display before registering.)


Festival Volunteering

We're now signing up volunteers to make the Festival happen. You can see the available slots here. There are instructions on that page for signing up. The prime slots fill quickly, so don't delay (Worthington Springs, Hague, and Trail rest stops are already full!).

All volunteers get a complimentary event t-shirt of your choice (there are 16 different versions available!), and most get a free ride in one of the events. You can sign up for more slots to get an additional shirt and ride (details on the page). Do not register for the Festival until your volunteer positions are listed on your Members Area News page.


This is the LAST WEEK to register at pre-registration prices. The cost goes up to $45 the week of the ride, and team discounts will not be available.

Use the expedited Sign Up button in the Members Area to register.


We'll have extra people in town this year for the Gainesville Cycling Festival as we partner with the 2014 Share The Road Celebration of Cycling.

On Friday at the Historic Train Station in Depot Park, there will be presentations on The Economics of Cycling in the morning, and the Florida Bike-Ped Safety Summit in the afternoon. The sessions are no cost; if you'd like a box lunch during the lunch presentation, it's $12.

Friday evening, we're having a Bike and Food Truck Rally at Innovation Square.  Pick up your Festival packet, and enjoy the bands and food.

After the Santa Fe Century on Saturday, come the the Share the Road Awards Banquet at the Paramount Plaza Hotel.  The keynote speaker is T.J. Juskiewicz, the director of RAGBRAI.  There will be a raffle and silent auction to help restore the Depot Park sculptures for fallen cyclists.  The fee is $45, which includes the meal, one drink, and a raffle ticket.  GET $5 OFF by using coupon code GCC5.

Register for these events as part of your Festival registration.


Open Streets Gainesville is a temporary, car-free, road closure open to any non-motorized activity including art, music, walking, bicycling, dancing, exercising, socializing, and playing. Participants are empowered to use the public roadway in ways not normally available when open to traffic.

We're doing it in Gainesville Sunday, October 5, from 11 am to 3 pm, on University Avenue between NW 6th and NE 7th.

The event is co-sponsored by the Florida Department of Transportation, the City of Gainesville, Gainesville Citizens for Active Transportation (GCAT), Gainesville Cycling Club (GCC), GetActiveGNV, and Bike Florida.

Participation is free and attendees are encouraged to support local businesses by purchasing drinks, food, goods, and services. Businesses along the route are encouraged to be open and have a presence on the street to engage participants.

Businesses, organizations, and individuals can participate by sponsoring the event, providing supplies, or leading group activities that will engage attendees in a healthy, active lifestyle.

Visit openstreetsproject.org for more information about this and other Open Streets events.

Email openstreetsgainesville@gmail.com with questions or comments.

Click on Open Streets Gainesville for info, updates, and to RSVP!


Rising From Ashes Movie and Music Night

On Friday, September 26, join us for a fun evening of music in the Courtyard by Fiona Bas aka The Improper Contraband, wood-fired pizza by Humble Pie, Swamphead brew and an awarding-winning exciting, beautiful, upbeat movie "Rising From Ashes" about an Olympic level biking team created in Rwanda by the American inventor of the mountain bike.

* $15 donation at the door & courtyard
* Humble Pie pizza & beer for purchase
* Big thanks to our sponsors Swift Cycle and Bike Works.

Come be inspired to make that which seems impossible possible and see how beautiful Rwanda, land of a thousand hills, really is!

For full details, visit the Movie & Music Benefit for Rwanda Sustainable Families 6-10pm event on Facebook.


Beware The Low Sun

As we are in the time of the autumnal equinox, the sun is currently rising and setting due east and due west. Our grid pattern road network is set up so that a lot of roads run due east/west. This means that as the sun rises and sets during these few weeks, it will be directly in the eyes of roadway users traveling towards the sun.

As bicyclists, this is important since motor vehicle drivers may be sufficiently blinded to be unable to see us. A number of years ago, two GCC members were hit by a car while riding under these conditions. You should avoid riding east in the morning for up to an hour after sunrise, and avoid riding west for up to an hour before sunset, especially on roads that do not have bikelanes or paved shoulders. If you must ride under these conditions, use a mirror to keep track of overtaking vehicles, and be prepared to leave the roadway if necessary.