Central Florida Individual Time Trial

Well, let me start by saying, sorry that I never finished the BRP write up. I just got busy and the subtleties needed to keep it personalized began to flee my mind and I just didn't want to force it; at least I have the majority of it in my memories, and that's all that matters!

So, I went down to ole Florida for a new version of the Central Florida Individual Time Trial (CFITT), which is called the King's Road. Huge thanks to Graham Partain and Karlos Rodriguez for the efforts towards route creation. It's mainly just "gravel" or hard packed dirt roads, double track service roads, and pavement; no single track, no typical water crossings, and minimal difficult sand sections. This version starts in Steinhatchee on the western side of the peninsula, and ends at the pier in Flagler Beach on the eastern side.

Several months back, a friend of mine, JD, asked if I wanted to do it (I think that's how it went). JD is a friend that I met through a friend, and we have just remained over the past 5 years or more. He lives in the Tampa area and is a paramedic/firefighter. He has a background in endurance racing, on the mountain bike but does a little road riding as well. He's also really good at drinking beer. He recently completed a 24 hour adventure race and I think this is what got him into the idea of CFITT. Anyway, he has never done any bikepacking so this would be his first. I was super pumped to accompany him on his first multi-day trip and knew he would be fully capable of completing the task.

Being a point to point route, the logistics aren't the easiest. I tried to arrange a rental car from the finish to near the start, so that I could leave my car at the finish and drive myself and my bike to the start, dropping off the rental in the area and having JD meet me there and drive us to the start. Sorry, I know you all don't need to know all this, but, I told you anyways, because I talk a lot. Anyway, that rental car thing didn't work. JD said he'd just meet me in Gainesville, leave my car, and his girlfriend Malena would drive us to the start and pick us up and take me back to my car from the finish. Hugh THANK YOU Malena, you are so awesome! Thank you thank you thank you.

Oh, let me just add, I left out of Chattanooga to drive to Gainesville, and was on the road for no more than 4 minutes before I noticed my car swaying a lot. I thought, no freaking way I have a low or flat tire. Pulled over. Low or flat tire on the back. Nearly flat. Not enough air in it to feel comfortable enough to drive it a mile or so to a service station. DAMNIT WHY DOES THIS CRAP ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!?!? I only had about an hour to spare in the time I allotted myself for the drive to meet Malena and JD. I NASCAR-changed my spare tire, drove to a gas station and made sure the pressure was right, and hit the road again. Don't fret, the spare isn't a donut...it's the same wheel and tire as the other 4.

Fast forward to the next morning, starting the ride, since that's what you came here to read and I haven't even made it that far in like 8 paragraphs. We stayed at a tiny little hote, errr.....motel in Steinhatchee. We woke up to beautiful sunny morning with temps in the low 50's but a line of showers expected around lunch time. We rode to a small coffee shop and grabbed a coffee and then backtracked on the route, for about a mile, to get to the actual start. I got a large coffee and, like an idiot, thought I'd sit it in my feed bag (it's like a fabric cup holder on the handle bar) and pedal since it was smooth road; it wasn't a smooth road and the lid half way shot off and coffee was all over all of my electronics and me. Sweet. Glad to get that out of the way. Any who, the town is an awesome little coastal fishing town on a canal with dilapidated buildings and boat hulls scattered about. We made our way along and then across the canal and eventually out of town.

Since I'm now resuming this write up about 1 month after starting it, you can expect the rest to be a bit less lengthy as I don't really remember a lot of it now. We made our way out of Steinhatchee and onto some sweet limestone roads with a nice tailwind. After that, we had a long straight two track path that was like it was built on a small levee, with some rotting wood bridges and cattle grates. We made our way to our lunch stop around mile 50; we opted for pizza because, pizza.

The lunch time rain that had been forecasted had not arrived yet and it was after noon. The radar showed the line getting close. We opted to hit the trail and try to make it to the next town, which was Trenton, for shelter. It worked out perfect. We arrived at Cherry's Restaurant, where they let us bring our bikes into the little tiki-style area, just in time. We had just sat down at the outdoor bar to have a beer when the rain hit. It was brief, lasting only 20-30 min.

I don't really remember what we rode after this, and no, not because of the libations. We were headed for Ginnie Springs State Park which is where we were camping for the night, which was around mile 85 or so, and a little off route. We arrived just as the sun was setting, assembled camp, went back up to the store for some dinner and a ric of firewood, and returned to camp to enjoy the fire and then crash. I didn't really take any pics other than the sunset. Glad the dumpsters were there to enhance the pic.

Day 2 started without incident, other than being in the mid 30's in Florida, and we had about 80 miles ahead. We were headed for High Springs for coffee and breakfast, which was about 15 miles or so. I think the section after High Springs was my favorite part of the route. The temps were in the mid 50's, the wind was at our back, and the limestone roads could have been ridden on paper tires. All of that coupled with a vast canopy of live oaks littered with Spanish moss blowing in the wind and farm houses along both sides of the road made for a majestic ride!

Night 2 was supposed to be spent at the Iron Bridge Camp Shelter on the Florida Trail; this was about 1.7 miles off route, on a hiking trail. It was fun navigating the tight single track in the dark but the camp shelter was occupied by a huge group of people, so we said hi and pedaled past them. It wasn't the smartest decision, and we knew that, but we still set up camp under the powerlines on a service road, knowing it would have been warmer in the trees. The temp was much colder, likely into the upper 20's. I figured the road was closed but low and behold, 3 min after climbing into my tent and getting settled, I hear JD say "Shit! Here comes a truck!". Haha!!! I jumped out real quick and we talked to the guy. He said he was just headed to the camp we had passed and that likely no one else would be coming through and we were fine. We had staggered our tents in case someone needed to get by. All good.

Day 3 was the last day, with about 60 miles to get to Flagler Beach. It was 20 miles to Palatka, where we stopped to eat. After that, we hit the famous Old Dixie Highway, which is an old brick road which was a thoroughfare for the affluent to access Florida from the Midwest. We rode an 11 mile section and it's pretty much straight the entire time, without any turns; some of the brick is completely exposed, but the majority is just patches of exposed brick with loose sand over the top of it, which made for tricky navigation on skinnier tires. I wasn't mad when that section was over with. Also, pee break for JD.

We were on the home stretch after this. We rolled across the bridge to Flagler Beach, took a pic on the pier, and enjoyed a few much deserved adult beverages before Malena drove me back to Gainesville to my vehicle, where I had THREE warnings from mall security for parking in the parking lot, but NO tickets. Another WIN!! Now, 7 hours back to Chattanooga after riding for half the day, and I arrived at 2am. Whew, long day. Me need sleepy.

I was so excited to get away and spend a few days on the bike, ignoring the volatile political world that was going on elsewhere. It was great to share the experience with JD, completing his first multi-day trip. He did exceptional and I hope we get to share some more long miles in the future. And again, HUGE thank you Malena for shuttling us around for this logistical conundrum. Until next time! (which is actually the HuRaCaN in Florida 10 days from finishing this write up)