by Gary Kirkland
Not quite fast enough to be a Glider, but what were they?
That was the question pondered by Bill Boyett when trying to come up with a name for the ride group he leads each Saturday. Then he remembered a little oyster bar in Jacksonville Beach, and the name just seemed to fit. The Sliders were born.
The Sliders grew out of the Hunters Crossing group, which also meets at the GRU office across from Hunters Crossing shopping center (NW 43rd Street and NW 53rd Avenue) on Saturdays at 8 a.m. But the Sliders wanted to go a little faster — 15 to 16 mph compared to 12 to 14 — with fewer stops. On a typical Saturday they will ride 30 to 45 miles. Normally a half-dozen or more are along for the ride.
"The first rule is that nobody gets left, everybody comes out and has a good time," Boyett says.
A ride with the Sliders is an experience, a multi-mile razzing session with members continuously ribbing each other the entire time.
"The whole group is as loose as it can be," Boyett said, "old fat men going out and playing mind games with each other."
Except it's not just for guys, as some of the female regulars can attest.
Another feature of the group is that every month to six weeks they'll shift their starting point and take a road trip to explore more distant scenic routes. This has included adventures into Columbia County, a journey down the Withlacoochee State Trail and recently a ride that began at Santa Fe High School and followed sections of the Santa Fe Century route.
"We really work on variety," Boyett says.
Boyett's e-mail postings often detail these adventures and remind members of upcoming rides and prompt them about being punctual (the only way to get left is to show up late; the group leaves the parking lot at 8 a.m. sharp). And just because his messages are electronic doesn't mean there won't be some of the road-style razzing included. In a recent note he chastised two of his regulars for "wimping out" on a Saturday, just because there were predictions for 80 mph winds, and inch-and-a-half diameter hail.
"Fresh air and a chance to fill your water bottle with ice, what more could you want?" Boyett says with a grin.
If you'd like more information about the Sliders, call Bill Boyett at 338-2945.