Cycling events are always fun, even when you get dropped and lost. That's exactly what happened to me at the Tour de Tow, a cycling event in Bartow, Florida. I have decided to participate in more cycling events, do some traveling, and enjoy riding my bike in different places. Why not start with some events that are maybe one or two hours away from home?
Checking online, I found a CAAM event in Bartow Florida called the Tour de Tow. The Tour de Tow is Bartow's annual cycling event where you can ride, 17, 35, or 63 miles. Of course my ego chose the 63 mile ride! There wasn't much information on their website and reading the description of the ride, it seamed like it was going to be a chill one.
I arrived in Bartow around 7 am. I checked in and then at 8 am sharp, the ride was on. My plan was to warmup on the first five miles and keep up with the main group. Well, it took me by surprise that before mile 2 a group of cyclist came hammering hard on the pedals. Again my ego did not let me stay out of that rush, so I jumped along. At first the peloton was a little disorganized, but after a few minutes an echelon was formed and people where riding like lightning. I tried to put in a lot of effort and I knew if that rhythm continued for too long I would be out of matches. Sadly, that happened and I eventually got dropped.
Still wondering what had happed, a guy came zooming by my side. That was my opportunity to get on his wheel and maybe have some hope of getting back to the main peloton. Together we formed a team with another cyclist, who also got dropped, and started the pursuit to reconnect with the first group. Once again, that attempt failed when we missed a turn and got lost. Thankfully, one of the riders had the route on his Garmin and we where able to get back on track. At that point, the thought of us trying to catch up with the main peloton was gone.
Even though we had all of these problems, we still had fun and I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery (and get a good workout). I definitely learned a few lessons with this ride and will do my best to return to the Tour de Tow next year!
Check out the video of this ride!