It's a well kept secret, but there is a major century ride run just an hour north of Gainesville. This year on Sep 11 around 400 cyclists, mostly from Jacksonville, converged on the small hamlet of Glen St. Mary (right next to MacClenny) for the North Florida Bicycle Club's Endless Summer Watermelon Ride. The ride traverses flat, low traffic, country roads in north Florida and south Georgia, with the predominant scenery being pine plantations and forests.
After dealing with registration SNAFUs, the charge got underway at just after 8 am, a half hour late. The lead pack wasted no time in releasing its pent up energy, setting a pace that would see an average speed of over 24 mph at the half century mark. A major reason for the very fast pace was that most of the front pack was doing the metric century! So at the turn off for the full century the company got quite sparse until small groups managed to form up. The fast launch meant that many century riders set personal bests for the year.
After the ride, preregistered riders were served a spaghetti dinner (day-of-ride registrants got a six inch subway sandwich). And for desert they had watermelon!
For those looking for adventure and challenge, do what me and Sean Nickerson did this year. Ride up to MacClenny on Saturday (carry only what you'll need to lounge around a motel room and ride the next day). Then ride back to Gainesville after the Century. And hope the late afternoon showers stay away.