The Dorie-Less Loop 29 miles 13-19 mph

Our beloved (or behated, or bemehed) Dorie has had to take some time away from cycling, but today is the day she gets back on her bicycle! Well, okay, maybe not the day U are reading this, but the day of this event. She is expected to be weak and unsteady, so we'll only go a mile or three when we ride with her. And this isn't that ride. This ride is for U, so that you can get some mileage in, before doing a second ride in one day, the one that Dorie will be doing. Woo-hoo! When did U last do TWO bike rides in one day?

This first ride is the Dorie Loop but without the upper stem and back, just the Loop part. We'll ride clockwise, Safety Harbor, Philippe Park, Oldsmar, Town & Country Trail, George Road, Skyway Park, CCC incorporating the Bridge of Doom, and Bayshore back to the start. Don't worry about it if U don't know the route, because we'll be riding a single file line or a pack or some hybrid thereof, and we won't let U get lost. There will be a brief stop at SkyWay Park for water refills and pit stops (or is it piss stops?). We'll allow breakaways on the CCC after the BoD, and again on Bayshore. We won't do the portion down to Cypress Point Park and back, cuz we want U to finish this ride, look at your mileage, and think "just a little bit more and i can hit the round 3 - 0", thereby motivating you to join the second ride, and help chaperone Loopy Dorie herself up toward Philippe Park and back. Yes, i know, that's a cold admission of outright cyclist manipulation, but please overlook it and join us.

U do need to be capable of riding nearly 30 miles at a pace that may sometimes reach 19 mph in the group or line, and at a pace that expects to finish in 2.5 hours counting water breaks and traffic lights. U must be hydrated beforehand, wear a helmet, follow all laws, rules and regulations, and agree that your participation is at your own risk. U must also have the stuff to fix flat tires, although we won't all leave U if U do get a flat. All the other usual disclaimers and small print from other MeetUp rides apply, too.

Gene Sanders
412-779-5151