The Rotary Club of Flagler Beach hosted Cycle Flagler on May 1, 2016, and 3 team members (Diana, Kelley and Z) braved the Florida coastal winds for another day of riding. This ride spanned the beauty of the A1A along the Atlantic Ocean with spectacular views of palm trees, sand, and ocean. This year’s charity event was in the fight to eradicate polio.
With several options to choose from the team originally signed up for the metric century (66+ miles). The day of the event in the best interest of one of the teammates they participated in the 40+ mile ride instead. He, who will remain nameless, was up 24 hrs before, celebrating a friend’s birthday. For him the day was just a continuation of the day before.
The day started early for the other team members at 4:30 am with an uneventful drive to Flagler County airport. Once there, the team enjoyed a light breakfast of coffee, bagels and muffins set out by the Rotary Club volunteers.
It was a lovely course with pretty much straight runs of open road, and once again the infamous Florida wind was in effect.
The Ride
The day was wonderfully clear. This wind helped plenty because it was HOT!!! At 7:30 am it was 79 degrees and within 2 hours it was 93 degrees. The ride was planned as a very casual ride. With the heat, it all worked out perfectly.
It was a grueling 19 miles in the wind along the A1A. The incredible view took some of the sting out of the winds. Finally the first rest stop was there. The volunteers at all the stops were incredible — peanut butter and jelly sandwiches magically appeared in hand; trail mix and cookies were plentiful, as were the smiles from all the great volunteers.
After a short break, the team was back on the road and took the bridge. It was a slight rise in elevation, and gave a great view of the intra-coastal waterway.
Along the way, there was a stretch that they experienced a flat tire. However, always prepared, the team member had a spare handy and the tools to change it. After a slight delay, they were back on the road.
More miles gave way to more spectacular views of Flagler county. The team managed to push through the wind and the payoff was a nice average of 17 mph, no simple feat in the incredible (10+ mph) ocean “breeze” that day. Thank you to the 2 Florida hospital riders (Ralphi & Maria “Pily”) for thier assistance in pulling through the wind.
After finishing the ride, the team members enjoyed a great BBQ put on by the Rotary Club. This included pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw, and dessert. One of the best things about riding is the special care these volunteers took to make sure the cyclists had a great day!!
Event Day Statistics
This is the course charted by one of the team members who participated in 40+ mile route.
For more details: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1149536614
Photos
Thank you,
TeamOne
Thank you Diana, Kelley and Z for representing TeamOne in the Flagler community ride and assisting the Flagler Rotary club in their charity to help eradicate polio. We are all proud of what this team does in all its charitable endeavors.
This was such a fun ride! We even had a warm-up lap (of 3 miles) on the runway. Now that is not something you do every day.
This was my first time to ride Flagler County and the A1A. It was a challenging ride with all the wind in my face for what seemed like forever, but it was fun in spite of Mother Nature.
The volunteers were great! I found out they have been doing this for about 10 years now. They told me every year they learn something when putting on this event. I have to say they have done a remarkable job in making me feel welcome.
I look forward to participating in this ride again!
I participated in the Cycle Flagler metric century once before and this was overall a better riding experience then the first.
This was a beautiful day, for Florida the wind was moderate (strong anywhere else), and the group we were in was pretty awesome, including the 2 new riding friends (Maria “Pily” & Ralphi). Ralphi is a monster when he is in front and pulling into the wind. Maria “Pily” & Ralphi are both in training mode for La Vuelta 2017.
Maria “Pily” & Ralphi
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Thank you for pulling us through the wind on the A1A!!!
Regardless of the course you may ride in this event you can be guaranteed that the scenery will be beautiful and the runs are great. Motorist are the other added surprise because very respectful and mindful of us cyclist throughout the ride.
The last bit of greatness was the rest stops as mentioned before, they wait on you hand and foot.
This is an event you should place on your calendar for next year!!