It took brave, determined riders to show up at Morningside Nature Center in a steady rain to do the full Horse Farm Hundred century. About 70 riders met the call and were rewarded by a cessation from the heavens just before the ride start that lasted into mid-afternoon, sparing many of the faster riders on the course. The usual fast pack leading the century was dominated by Bicycle Castle and Water World jerseys. As the lead pack approached the lunch stop, riders were beginning to fall off the back in significant numbers. Final arrival times were in the range of four hours and forty minutes, very respectable for a difficult course on a windy day.
We guesstimate that 30 riders drove down to the Calawood campground to do the shorter rides in the Horse Farm territory. The roads were dry throughout the riding day, leaving only the wind as a challenge. There were plenty of horses about, and plenty of food at the rest stops. We can see the pool at Calawood full of cyclists next year when we will have a sunny Sunday October 8th for the Horse Farm Hundred.
The Horse Farm Hundred was a very important ride for me this year. It marked my return to century riding after a two-and-a-half year absence marked with illness and injuries. I wasn t pleased to wake up and hear rain falling.
Got up and got a move on though. I ve done wet centuries before. The Bridgestone had been loaded on the car the night before (this was its maiden century). Arrived at the start amid a traffic jam and the now famous closed gates. The gates came open though and I went in and got ready.
While milling around the groceries I ran into Jay and Bob from the Orlando area. I have ridden with them many times before and figured they d be good to hang out with today.
The ride started a little late, but that was OK since the rain had stopped. Jay, Bob, and myself watched as the racers all passed us going out University Ave. There were still riders behind us though.
We cruised along by ourselves or with two or three others until CR 320 where Bob flatted. It was a good thing because it gave me pause to stretch a tightening calf. From that point on it was just the three of us.
We pulled into Calawood, took a break, downed some sugar and caffeine, and assured my mom that I was OK.
We were then off on one of the hardest parts of the course. This stretch going into lunch is a killer, especially with a strong South wind making a headwind out of most of it. We enjoyed the break going up the East side of Hobeau Farm, but hated climbing the hill into the wind with lunch at the top.
Lunch back to Calawood was uneventful. Mom said that Chandler or Maureen said I looked beat at lunch and I told her about the wind and the hill lunch was on top of.
The rain came just as we were leaving this stop. It rained on us the rest of the way in, but we didn t mind because the tailwind was making us hot and the rain cooled us down. We sustained 18-20 m.p.h. all the way from McIntosh to Morningside. We arrived at the finish about seven hours and twenty minutes after we left. Take out about an hour for combined stops and that gave us an on-bike average just over 16 m.p.h. Not bad for three guys who haven t centuried in over a year (It was Jay and Bob s comeback ride too).
We weren t sure, but we thought we were at the front of the non-racers (or at least in the top ten of them). Not a bad comeback. Not bad at all.
The sun was out to see off the 193 riders starting the Santa Fe Century. With a roaring tailwind, the lead group sprinted up to Myrtis at record pace. Meanwhile, others took their time, with 19 heading for the Santa Fe River for an hour of canoeing.
The lead group broke up into little chunks after the halfway point. Two unregistered riders, unable to take advantage of the fabulous spread put on by the Gator City Kiwanis Club at the lunch stop, lead the procession. The first official group to finish set a new Santa Fe elapsed time record of 4:47, taking 13 minutes off of last years time. Todd Wurtz of Tallahassee was the workhorse of the group, with strong contributions from Roger Pierce of Gainesville and Craig Hardin of Valdosta.
By mid-afternoon the sun was overcome by the clouds of tropical depression #10, and late century arrivals did not need to take advantage of our portable shower, having had theirs before arriving at the Boys Club.
A special thanks to the Gainesville Kiwanis Club for manning the High Springs rest stop, Allstate Insurance for the Worthington Springs stop, and Covenant Baptist Church for the Hague stop. Also thanks to the Greater Gator JayCees for helping with the spaghetti dinner. The contributions of all of these organizations and the participation of the riders combined to provide over $3000 of greatly needed support for the Boys and Girls Club of Alachua County.