Our season's end is drawing near.

With hundreds and thousands of miles in our legs and under our tires this year, we say so long to the sunshine that lasts long enough to get in a nice evening ride.

Now we usher in the days of trying to squeeze in miles in the mornings or sneaking out of work early to have enough daylight to make putting on the entire cycling kit worth while.

Soon enough we'll have to allow ourselves an extra 10 min of "gettin-dressed" time to account for the extra layers of leg warmers, arm warmers, ear warmers, under shirts, full-fingered gloves and jackets. Some of us may even hang the bike up all together (shame on you).

It was a good season with great rides. We can remember the triumphant attacks up Millhopper Road, the courageous bridges up to the leaders, the super-human pulls at the front of a fast group, the tireless ascents up the I-75 overpass or the victorious sprints to the "Devil's Millhopper" sign just before returning to the Chevron. Let's bury our memories of getting dropped on Chestnut hill, or cramping up just before the big sprint finish, don't concern yourself with the time you couldn' t hold the wheel of the fast-attacking "German" and were forced to sit up and wait for the remainder of the group...cause remember, there's always next season.


In a side note...
The Tues/Thur rides will still go on. However, they are going to be moved to the Progress Center off of 441 in Alachua. We'll get our "base-miles" in, all while enjoying the safety of a lighted loop around the business park. Easier rides with less attacks will probably be the order of business, but if a "fast-attacking German" decides to lift things to a pace that isn't acceptable to you, you're never more than a mile behind (or in front, depending on how you look at it).

We'll be meeting at 6:00pm starting this tuesday (11-1-05) out in front of the big glass biulding. See ya there!