Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Tallahassee's fifth year of Riding For Hope


Last year I did the metric century course at the Ride For Hope, around 60 miles. This year I dropped down to the 40-mile ride. Following that trend, next year I'll be doing the 15-mile ride, and after that, the "Family Fun Ride." The Ride For Hope currently has no shorter choices than that, but by 2013 they may have added more options.


As it is, Ride For Hope seems to be all about options and variety. In addition to the routes that I mentioned above, riders could choose a full century, 100-miles. And in keeping with offering variety, for this year's fifth annual event, the staging area of the race moved from Celebration Baptist in Killearn Estates to the fairgrounds on the south side of Tallahassee. This meant five new cycling courses for 2010. The metric century course didn't look terribly attractive this year, staying on the coastal plain south of Tram Road and thus including lots of straight and shadeless stretches of road. It also seemed over 60 miles long, which was more cycling than I felt I could enjoyably do that day.


The century riders took to the road at 6:30am, and the metric century group at 7:00am. Those of us in the 40- and 15-mile rides got to wait till the relatively civilized time of 8:30am before starting. The 8:30 group was refreshingly free of riders with delusions of being Lance Armstrong. A few were casual enough to ride comfort bikes, or fine old machines with lugged steel frames. On the other hand, there were people so wary of the 40-mile distance that they were carrying huge supplies of "GU" or some other carbohydrate paste and were talking about feeding schedules. Actually, a couple of pre-ride breakfast biscuits from King McHardee's would take you the distance, but maybe some folks just like eating paste.


The 40-mile route took us out of the fairgrounds onto Paul Russell Road and then down Zillah Street to Tram Road, where we headed east. Tram gets its name from having been a railroad (or at least a logging tram), and is almost utterly flat, following the north edge of the coastal plain. At that time of morning there was quite a bit of shade, at least until we crossed US 319 and arrived in the Southwood area. At Southwood we lost the 15-milers, who turned north onto Four Oaks Boulevard. Beyond Southwood the scenery along Tram Road was dominated by planted pines and Tallahassee's Southeast Farms wastewater reuse facility.


Around ten miles we got to make our own turn to the north onto W. W. Kelly Road, which took us out of the coastal plain and into the red hills. The ride ceased to be flat, but the slopes weren't severe. The road was too open for there to be much shade, but the scenery included residences and small farms. Gardenias scented the air. At one point we passed a procession of Corvettes of various vintages headed for a Corvette show at one of the farms. Just as we were wondering about all the sports cars, they were probably wondering about all the bicycles.


A traffic light marked the intersection with US 27, which we crossed to arrive on Chaires Cross Road. Approaching Chaires we also crossed the canal through which Lake Lafayette drains into the St. Marks River. Chaires itself was picturesque, shaded, and tiny. Even on a bicycle, Chaires is a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of village. Just north of Chaires we stopped at Chaires Park, a chance to get some water and a handful of cookies while taking a break in the shade from our bicycle saddles. Oh, and the park also has indoor plumbing.


Leaving the park, we headed north to Buck Lake Road, where we turned east. Somewhere along Buck Lake we crossed the St. Marks River, but I couldn't say if it was the dry ditch or the stagnant, fetid gully. We crossed it once again after we turned and headed back west on Capitola Road, but I couldn't identify it there, either. I'm not sure why maps indicate the St Mark River that far north because it is quite often dry as far south as Tram Road, but geographers and hydrographers must have their reasons.


Capitola Road took us back to Chaires Cross Road, completing a small loop in the Chaires area. From here we were going to be retracing our route back to the fairgrounds. This time around, the convenience store at US 27 looked like a good place to stop for a cola. The sky was starting to cloud up, and back on W. W. Kelly Road it started spitting rain. The shower had ceased by Tram Road, but then heavy rain started falling around Southwood. Shortly after I left the four-miles-to-go water stop, the rain stopped again, leaving behind wet pavement and a road smelling of crushed toads.


Back at the fairgrounds I had a little trouble figuring out how to get to the finish. In my defense there was no arrow or sign indicating that we were supposed to go in the Monroe Street gate, but I should have been able to figure it out from the sign reading "Bicycles Only." Certainly everyone else figured it out. Eventually I did, too, and made it to the exhibition hall where we got food, fluid, and shelter from the next rain shower.


The organizers reported that 430 riders participated in the 2010 Ride For Hope. The event raises money for the Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center, and will be back for a sixth annual edition on 10-11 June 2011. Look for me on one of the slow bikes.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 6:47 PM
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