On Sunday August 30th I had the pleasure of riding with JC’s Bike Shop group who ride out of Deland Florida. The last time I had the ‘pleasure’ of riding with members of JC’s bike ride was in November 2014 with the infamous ‘Seminole Cyclefest’. Back then I had hung on as long as I could until mile 62 which was the second SAG stop and thankfully for me the end of the ride at an average pace of 27mph up to that point. What would Sunday hold in store for me this time?
It seemed like the middle of the night when Blue Hammers Club president and friend, Ty Turbyfill texted me at 5:12am asking me what I thought about the weather? We had both been dubious about the chance of the early arrival of ‘Tropical Storm Erika’ and 70% chance of rain in the morning. I pulled up the weather App and whilst Orlando looked like it was going to get a soaking, Deland seemed to be fairing better. After a begrudging nod of approval from Ty we set off on the quiet and lonely I-4 for JC’s house to meet up with JC and his entourage of riders.
Upon arrival in Deland it looked as though many of the riders who usually show up had decided to turn over in bed and go back to sleep, however Ty and I dressed in the street and boarded our Canondale Evo’s, lights flashing and gamins beeping. I should have reminded Ty at this stage to remember to go back to his front car seat and grab his extra water bottle…..
No sooner had we departed the subdivision and were heading out on our way, the pace was hotting up as we switched left and right through quiet Sunday morning streets, calls and shouts of ‘hole’ and before we knew it we had navigated historic Lake Helen and were on the SR 44 eastbound for New Smyrna Beach with JC at the helm, tucked in a pro position, hands resting on his hoods, flat back, horizontal forearms and pushing a big but comfortable gear and cadence on his Giant Propel. There were only 7 of us riding and the the rotations started. I was up next after Ty, half mile pull? Mile Pull? Not sure, just do your pull and rotate back. The moment I got to the front Juan Carlos, on his beautiful Gold and Black Canondale Evo yelled out from behind for me to get on the inside of the white line. I complied immediately did my pull and rotated to the back.
Before I knew it we had joined up with another group close to New Smyrna Beach and were now headed back inland to the Texaco stop before heading back along Maytown Road and back home. A welcome stop at the Texaco provided me with some Beef Jerkey and Gatoraid. I looked at Ty and said that I was glad that the pace didn’t stay at 27mph the whole way. We rolled out onto Beacon Light Road, the only ones there. It was atmospheric as the wind picked up and the clouds blackened. JC and his crew continued to tap out a steady tempo, 95-100 cadence and big gears. It was my turn and I felt good, the wind reminded me of growing up in my beloved Yorkshire, in Northern England, where it never goes far away from you. I did my pull and we then turned right onto the relative safety of Maytown Road, with the Oaks blocking the wind we flew like the wind all the way back to Osteen.
The 85 mile route concluded with a fast pull all the way back up 17-92. Ty, Gary, JC and myself put down the watts and kept a steady cadence all the way back to JC’s neighborhood. We were greeted at the driveway by an enthusiastic and grinning Juan Carlos, drinking a well earned Yuengling after a hard days work. All that was left now was to grab that coke and get back on the road to Orlando. The ride had been a great experience and opened my eyes to the beauty of the area north of Orlando. As I grinned from ear to ear and said how good I felt, Ty turned to me and said how most of JC’s Bike Shop strong guys hadn’t turned up due to the weather. Perhaps I need to return, and soon.
james@bluehammers.com
To download the route we rode pls click on the below link for a GPX Garmin file – you can easily convert this to TCX online with a variety of sites for more recent Garmin devices.
Distance: 85 miles
Pace: 21.8 mph
Dude excellent article. I’ll be there on the next one. Need some hard training for JHOP 100
Thanks Darren! It was a great experience – especially since the weather was cooler – the little rain that we had did not detract from an awesome, scenic and fast ride!
James you are getting stronger hope to stay on your wheel at 6 Gap.
Thanks Todd! Can’t wait to be riding with you at 6 Gap – not long now!