11th Annual FLORIDA TANDEM RALLY 2023
20-22 October
Make Reservations Now
Central Florida is a great location for tandem riding and the location for the 11th Annual Florida Tandem Rally held in… ‘Florida’s Friendliest Home Town’…The Villages, FL. The new Home2 Suites by Hilton Inn in Wildwood, FL, will be your host for the weekend at a rate of $129. Check out their website at https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/ocfwwht-ptc-2846bf7c-22cc-4cff-a076-fe00783f015b/ to make your reservations or call 352-913-2100 and mention the Florida Tandem Rally for this special group rate. Please make your reservations early to get your choice of rooms and to make the cut-off date of 20 September 2023.
The application for the Florida Tandem Rally 2023 is now posted on our new PANTHERS website at www.floridatandemclub.org. You can now fill out your application on line and pay via PayPal. If you enjoy riding with tandem friends from the Southeast and Central Florida, make your plans now to attend.
The Rides
Thursday’s Ride!
Plan to arrive on Wednesday afternoon and be ready to ride with the PANTHER regular weekly ride at 9:00am on Thursday starting from the Hilton Inn. Two distances will be available. Our ride will end at our local Panera Bread at Sumter Landing for pastries, sandwich and coffee. Ride leaders will be available to show you the route back to the Hilton Inn.
Friday’s Ride!
In years past, we have had a number of teams who arrived early and ready to ride. This year the rides on Friday with a short ride of 27 miles a 37 mile and a 46 mile ride. You are invited to begin your day riding with tandem couples who arrive early. This ride will begin at 9:00am and riding speed and distances will be tailored to meet all who attend. If you arrive later, route sheets will be available and you can start your ride at anytime during the day.
Friday’s Social!
All who register will be invited to attend an ice cream social at the Home2 Suites on Friday evening starting at 6:30pm. The Mystic Ice Cream mobile truck will be located at the Home2 Suites to serve all their delicious homemade ice cream. Sixteen flavors will be available and surely one of these will be your favorite. The cost is included as part of your registration.
Saturday’s Ride!
Multiple rides from 32, 44 and 52 miles will be available for Saturday and will start at 9:00am. Before the completion of each route you can enjoy lunch at the John Rohan Recreation Center that will be catered by La Hacienda Catering. After lunch, all riders will have approximately 5.3 miles to ride back to the Home2 Suites by Hilton Inn to complete the ride. The cost for this lunch is included as part of your registration.
Saturday Evening Banquet!
This year we will not have a Saturday Evening Banquet. Included in your riders pack will be a list of restaurants and sports bars that will be within a short distance from the Home2 Suites by Hilton Inn.
Sunday’s Ride!
Route for Sunday will be 27 miles in length. Start time will be 8:30am to allow you to return to the Hilton for a timely check out. Route passes by the new Villages Schools and Buffalo Stadium. Very low traffic volume on Sunday mornings.
EVENTS SCHEDULE
Wednesday – 18 October
Peddle and Paddle with Bruce Hansen Silver Springs State Park
4 pm to 5 pm – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
Thursday – 19 October
8 am – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
8:30am – Ride with the PANTHER from The Villages [28 and 38 mile]
2 pm to 3 pm – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
6 pm to 7 pm – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
Friday – 20 October
8 am – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
8:50am – Riders Meeting
9am – Ride start – Route sheets available for 27, 37, and 46 mile rides
1 pm to 2 pm – Pick Up Riders Packs and Registration at Hilton Hotel
6:30pm – Ice Cream Social by Mystic Ice Cream at Hilton Hotel
Saturday – 21 October
8:50am – Riders Meeting
9am – Ride start – Route sheets available for 32, 44, 52 mile rides
10:30am to 1:30pm – Serving Lunch at Rohan Recreation Center
Sunday – 22 October
8:20am – Riders Meeting
8:30am – Ride start – Route sheets available for 28 mile ride
GPS Route Files
Enclosed is the link to download the routes that will be available for the Florida Tandem Rally 2023.
https://ridewithgps.com/events/232775-2023-ftr
The original turns and street names were established by driving the streets/roads, and mileage was determined with a Garmin 1000. The route sheets were then given to Hank Williams who converted the routes to ridewithgps.com. Hank did a terrific job making this conversion since a number of roads and street signs/names have been changed inside the 50+ square mile area of The Villages which is now under construction. Locating the GPS routes from streets to multi-model paths required additional work since the paths will only recognize a bicycle and not a car. If there is a question as to the correct mileage or turn, the paper route sheets located within your Riders Packet will override GPS files.
Traffic Circles
Be careful when negotiating the “Traffic Circles” within The Villages. In all cases, you must YIELD to traffic approaching from your LEFT. If you are making a RIGHT TURN or continuing straight through the Circle, stay to the RIGHT.
If you are making a LEFT TURN at the Circle, move to the LEFT lane as you approach the Circle, and ride as close as practicable to the LEFT curb. After YIELDING to approaching traffic on your LEFT, enter the circle following the inside lane around the Circle. As you approach your street, signal your intention to turn, move to the RIGHT and exit the Circle.
All Rides
Routes listed for Friday, Saturday and Sunday will not have street markings. Please pay close attention to your route sheet and your accumulated mileage. Also note your “mileage error” as it relates to your route sheet and make ’short’ or ’long’ adjustments as needed. A Garmin 1000 GPS was used to determine all route mileage.
All rides have been located to take advantage of convenience stores and facilities with rest rooms.
Peddle and Paddle
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, as part of the Florida Tandem Rally, those of you who plan on pedaling at the rally can also do some paddling on the Silver River in Silver Springs State Park. We will meet the kayak outfitter at the state park at 10 AM. Releases will need to be signed and the 8 tandem kayaks that will be available to us rent for $70. We will launch at Silver Springs head waters and paddle to Ray’s Wayside Park about 5.4 miles away. The amount of time it takes to complete this trip depends on how fast you paddle. Bring a lunch and something to drink.
The river is very pretty and has a gentle flow going in the same direction that we will be paddling. Some of the things to look for are a lot of different kinds of birds, lots of turtles, gators (they usually want to be left along), eagles, lots of jumping fish, manatees, and there is a community of monkeys which we must stay away from because of their sometimes aggressive behavior and concerns about disease. The water is crystal clear and is a steady 72 degrees.
The kayaks you will be renting are very stable and if you have any questions our outfitter, Ryan, will be glad to assist. Life jackets will be provided and I strongly encourage you to wear them even if there’s almost no chance of going into the water.
When we finish paddling at Ray’s Wayside Park and our outfitter will shuttle us back to our cars at Silver Springs State Park.
We have always had a great time of this adventure and I hope you join me this year. The outfitter only has 8 tandem kayaks but he has a number of single kayaks too which rent for $50 each.
Please email me your contact information if you would like to join us at BruHansen1@gmail.com. Again, we only have 8 tandem kayaks but lots of singles. See ya soon.
Bruce Hansen.
Registered Teams and of September 30, 2023
Eric and Susie Dunlap
Jay and Sheilagh Fillon
Bob and Jan Thompson
Jack and Susan Goertz
Paul and Jody Borer
Ray and Nancy Murtaugh
Dave Cardarella and Marilyn Perdue
John and Juliet Preston
Tom and Margaret Flick
Philip and Beth Groebe
Mark and Debbie Livingood
Paul Stevenson and Laura Wright
Bill and Kathy Foster
Ron and Karen Bos
Troy and Kristina Wilson
Daniel and Marcia Williams
Cliff and Joyce Frank
Bob and Rose Jordan
Lonnie and Carol Jones
Steve and Pamela Stiles
Jeff Wahl and Michelle Edwards
Ric and Marcia Becker
Rhomas Fritz and Beryl Brodsky
Steven and Bonnie Kirschbaum
Peter Weinrich and Evelyn Bravata
George and Marti Ross
Art and Miriam Nordlinger
Ray and Maureen Clavesio
Gabe and Diana Mirkin
Bruce Hansen and Linda Pringle
Andrew and Patty Dosmann
Charles and Judy Harris
Wayne Phelps and Melanie Ashby
Norman and Denise Shurak
Dick and Patty Young