Huracan 400 Ride Report Day 2

 We set our alarms to wake up at 5:45 am, but our twitchy, achy bodies had us awake at 5:30 am.  We moaned, we groaned, but got our stuff together and headed down to breakfast, where we made quick work of coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast.

As we got on our bikes, I believe we all winced when our nethers contacted the saddle. I was glad I applied some Boudreaux's Butt Paste as well as a pack of Chamois Butt'r. While I had no chafing or sores from yesterday, I wanted to make sure and keep it that way today.  While the skin was in great shape, the sit bones were tender.

We pedaled a few miles to rejoin the route from where we left the night before.  Temps were in the mid-60's and their was a slight cool breeze.  Traffic was quiet, being a Saturday, and we safely rode 16 miles through the neighborhoods of Apopka before hitting the Loop Trail around the lake.

Lake Apopka ... one of my favorite sections.

The Loop Trail was hard packed and fast.  Those 21 miles went by quickly, as we had plenty of wildlife and landscape to lay eyes upon.  So ... many ... gators! We finished this section with a switchback climb up Green Mountain.  We stopped and walked up several flights of stairs to the overlook; I could feel the weight in my legs.  At the Green Mountain Trailhead, we stopped, got water, and butt'rd our bits Even though it was from a fountain, it still tasted like beach sand.

Green Mountain Overlook

At mile 40 we entered the Florida Pyrenees.  All on asphalt, the next 20 miles was a series of small but punchy hills.  These were not rollers but steep climbs that had me saying, "I am NOT using granny, I am NOT using granny!"  

Florida is not flat

With a tender tush, I opted to stand on these climbs and give my bits some reprieve.  Oh, and a nice southerly wind kicked up during this time, which made those climbs even more challenging.

A nice little 100 foot rise along the horizon

After the Pyrenees, we fought a terrible headwind into Minneola.  We found a Publix and stopped to eat lunch and resupply.  I grabbed a banana and a King Size Snickers and PayDay. 

Sushi!

With full bellies, we slowly pedaled through neighborhoods fighting the winds the whole way.  And it was getting hot!  I was not complaining because at least the 15 mph headwind had a cooling effect. Finally we hopped on the South Lake bike path and enjoyed the views along Lake Minneola, including the beautiful old stands of live oak trees.

Lake Minneola

After 6 miles of paved bike path, it was another 16 miles of asphalt to the Van Fleet Trailhead.  All this flat after the Pyrenees was beginning to take its toll on my lady bits; mashed and smashed is the best description for how things felt down there. Lisa and Lindsey were also having the same problem.  In addition, Lindsey tweaked her knee trying to clip in her pedals.  Cleats that were brand spanking new for the ride had now been ground down to a point that made insertion and removal of her shoe most difficult.

We stopped to fill up with water at the Van Fleet Trailhead as this would be our last opportunity without filtering.  But watching that gray water come out of the faucet, I began to think about filtering even that. I applied more Chamois Butt'r, but was really wanting an injection of Lidocaine into my sit bone area.

Highs for the day were in the low 80's

After just a short 2 miles on Van Fleet, we entered the Green Swamp.  I have heard nightmares about this section: mud, water, more mud, soft double track, everything to kill your average speed.  And there was 45 miles of this, according to Lisa math.

beginning of Green Swamp, not too bad

The roads through the WMA were in extremely good shape.  There were a few mud holes to skirt around, but not enough to even warrant the 🖕. 

Lisa was so strong through the swamp

Lindsey really began to suffer as the miles drug on.  I felt so bad for her, but there wasn't a damn thing I could do except offer encouragement.  Both Lisa and I did most of the pulling through here to allow her to keep as much pressure off the knee as possible.  

We stopped at a small camping area just before we hit the paved Rock Ridge Road which was the most southern point through the swamp.  The camp host was nice enough to give us each a bottle of cold water.  The biting flies were fierce here, but I managed to pull up the route on Google and swat flies simultaneously.  I think I cried a little when I realized that we were not even halfway through the swamp. I began to dislike Lisa math. 

As we pedaled along Rock Ridge Road, enjoying the smooth asphalt, I did a little bike math.  Yep, our day was going to be a little longer than the projected 135 miles.  Lisa and I chatted about our situation; we didn't have the heart to tell Lindsey who was having to a dark place to keep on chugging along. 

The easy spin along Rock Ridge Road ended quickly and the course turned back into the swamp along a freshly plowed section of double track.  It was very chunky riding, but at least rideable: it could have been a lot worse had it not been for the moisture in the soil.

Why?  For a fire break, perhaps.

At least for Lindsey, the pain in her knee subsided when she was walking.  Fortunately there was only a mile or so of this and then we were back on some better double track as the sun slowly began to set.

With 30 miles left of the swamp and another 8 miles of pavement to the hotel, we trudged on as darkness enveloped us.  We were all quiet at this point, seeing the opportunity for a hearty sit down meal slip away from us again. We had a moment of losing our way when we did a complete circle in sugar sand around the boy scout camp, wondering where the hell the correct road was.  Upon retracing our path and looking closely at the track, I figured out that there was a single track that we were supposed to jump on. We had to go through the camp and and the trail was semi-hidden with some deadfall.  Whew! I thought we had entered purgatory for a moment.  And those buildings at the camp were CREEPY, as in B-movie horror film creepy.  Wish I had snapped at picture of them.

After the short bit of single track, we found ourselves on a section of double track that had lots of limbs.  Despite seeing the large limb in front of her and even calling it out, it latched onto her derailleur. Her derailleur/pulley cages managed to chew it up, but not before it tweaked her Transmission derailleur, which is supposed to be indestructible.  While it did not snap off, it did something to her shifting causing her chain to skip in the lower gears. So now she was relegated to the highest 5-6 gears.

It was smooth sailing on Ranch Road.  With miles still left to go and our water running low, Lisa approached a campsite and was greeted with two of the tallest Great Danes I have ever seen.  The owner grabbed them before they attempted to jump the fence and eat us.  Although a bit reluctant at first, they did give us each a bottle of water.  Thanking them profusely, we went on our way.

After several miles of more double track, we turned on Meg's Hole Road.  And soon enough there she was ... the hole we had to cross.

Meg's Hole

About 30-40 yards across, we navigated along the far right and it never got more than mid-thigh deep.  The water was warm as well.  After that was Lacoochee Road, which was deep with soft sand.  There was a little pushing involved, but then we found where a Razor had recently gone through and followed its firm'ish tracks, eventually turning onto Graveyard Road, which was in much better shape.  And we could hear civilization, meaning our ride would soon be over.  The 45 miles of Green Swamp was actually closer to 60.

Hitting Hwy 50, we turned on the afterburners, or at least it felt like it.  There was a Winn Dixie close to the hotel, so we were trying to make it there before closing.  Arriving at 9:45 pm, we were 45 minutes too late.  What the heck?!?  They close at 9 pm, on a Saturday?  Frustrated, we headed to the hotel, checked in, showered  (my lady bits 😱), and then headed to McDonald's, the only fast food restaurant open at 10:30.  I got a double quarter pounder with cheese sans bun and a Coke (Eric, don't judge me, as I was hoping for better at Winn Dixie).

Bonus:  we got upgraded to 2 rooms!

 

I still managed to eat and wash our clothes and get to bed by 12:30 am, although it was a very fitful sleep, as the legs were heavy with fatigue and achy.

Our 135 mile day was really 153 miles with 2900 feet of climbing.  So that should mean tomorrow ought to be a short day, right? 😏  

Elapsed time: 14:58        Ride time: 12:56

Here is the Strava Link:  https://www.strava.com/activities/10643994963/