Today there were only 2 TeamOne members who showed support for the Southwest Florida Tour de Cure in St. Petersburg. Catherine and Z participated in the ride but the other 19 TeamOne Champions were there riding alongside us in spirit. The course selected was the 65-mile course (actually 63.5 miles) starting from Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg.

The forecast revealed a cool day ahead. They were prepared for a day of riding that would start out in the mid-60’s and hit the high-70’s. The route took them through the beautiful area of St. Petersburg, with mostly straight runs of the opened road and several turns. Last year the Florida wind was brutal. This year it was a mild but strong 9 mph from the southwest at the start but it changed to the northwest on the return.

The night before the event, Catherine and Z joined Cesar, Brandon, and others in St. Petersburg, FL for dinner. The food at Hooks Sushi Bar and Thai Food restaurant was said to be delicious. The other benefit of getting there the night before was that the team members could stay up later watching the championship UFC fight. Both fighters (Khabib and Thug Rose) the team was rooting for won their matches, the only drawback was they could only get 2 hours of sleep before the ride in the morning.

The Ride

The team started the day around 5:00 am to register by 6:15 am. Since the 2 members drove from Orlando the night before, there wasn’t a 4 am wake up.

The day turned out to be clear, comfortable, and of course slightly windy. The temperature did start in the lower 60’s, but by 8 am it was in the upper 60’s. Perfect for riding!

This ride, only 2 weeks after the Lake Nona Tour de Cure, was once again planned just as a casual ride for the team. It turned out to be challenging in terms of pace because the wind was in their face, but the team pushed on while keeping the intensity and speed up.

The team began the ride with a large peloton group averaging 15 mph. After the first 5 miles, TeamOne road captain (Z) jumped out of the group and started to attack the pace averaging 19-20 mph. Catherine and a lady from the cycling club “Village Idiots” jumped on Z’s tail and they created a smaller peloton group of 3.

The group continued through neighborhoods, some well manicured, and some dilapidated. Regardless of the area’s appearance, the roads were unobstructed. The only exception was a part of the road that was under construction and it had a 2-inch drop which became an obstacle once it was time to leave that stretch of road. Three miles from the 43-mile rest stop Catherine was a victim of her first flat. The other 2 riders stopped and helped her with the flat. SAG arrived within 5 minutes to provide assistance and cold bottles of water.

With the temperature rising, the 3 riders missed 2 SAG stops … when they finally saw their first and last rest stop at the 43-mile marker it was a very welcomed sight. The volunteers kept the energy up! Hydration (water and Gatorade), oranges, apple slices, and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches were readily available. The volunteers were bringing items to the riders. This rest stop was like a fine dining restaurant on how they catered to the riders. Thanks to these volunteers with their wonderful smiles and encouragement TeamOne pushed on for the last 20-mile stretch!!

The veteran (Z former military and has been riding the longest) of TeamOne was fighting off cramps in his hamstrings, calves, and other places he never experienced before. After the 53-mile marker, Catherine and the new friend rallied around him switching lead position every mile because of the strong wind. Of course, since it is Florida, the wind seems to whip around in your face the entire ride.

Towards the end of the ride, in the remaining 10 miles, TeamOne members and the rider who previously joined the paceline kicked it up another notch and finished strong. TeamOne members ended up averaging 17.1 mph for the entire 63-mile ride. What an experience to travel at these speeds in the wind, gusting up to 20 mph at times, and the distance for some riders who are accustomed to having a least one replenishment stop every 14 – 22 miles.

New to the team this year at this event, only the second time riding in a Peloton pace line, Catherine showed what an outstanding athlete she is.

One of the best parts in starting the ride from St. Petersburg is that after the ride there is a Starbucks less than .25 miles from the finish line. If anyone has trained with TeamOne … they know, they love their coffee after a ride.

TeamOne’s main goal was to support the Tampa ADA team. TeamOne is happy to have had the opportunity to participate in the ride and encourages our communities to continue to support this worthy cause.

Event Day Statistics

This is the course charted by one of the team members who participated in 63-mile route.

Photos

Thank you,
TeamOne