Have Fun at Charity Athletic Events
2006 Intracoastal Century Ride
Family Vacation
Our century ride, with Team in Training, takes place on Sunday. Tomorrow morning we’ll be heading up to Cocoa Beach which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from our house. We did this century ride two years ago and had a blast. This year we decided to bring our kids along with us for a mini family vacation. We are bringing the whole crew with us. Our daughter and one of her friends, along with our son and his girlfriend will be traveling with us. The kids are doing the happy dance since they get to skip school on Friday. We won’t be back in town until Monday afternoon, but that is a teacher’s workday, so they won’t be missing a second day of school.
Road Trip
We have to take 2 vehicles to get all our bodies and bikes up there. We’ll be in my husband’s truck with the girls, 5 bikes and coolers filled with water/soda/snacks. Three of our cycle team members will be driving in our van along with our son and his girlfriend. We have some other cycle team members meeting us at the house on Friday morning so we can all leave at the same time. Can you say ROAD TRIP!! We’ll be driving to our hotel, dropping off our bikes, then heading up to the Kennedy Space Center to go play with rockets.
NASA is about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. Our second rest stop during the century ride, is at the Police Hall of Fame, which is right next to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. After leaving that rest stop, we go across the NASA Parkway and ride through the space center – cool!
Leaving Police Hall of Fame
Beginner Cyclists to Semi-Pros
We’ve formed our team, of mostly novice road bikers, into a tightly knit cycling team. Our first training ride, with the team, took place on Mother’s Day back in May. On Sunday, October 26th the team will be riding 102.5 miles at the 20th Intracoastal Waterway Century Ride. I remember that first training ride, which covered 15 miles. That was the longest that the majority of our team members had ever ridden on a bike. And now they are on the verge of completing their very first century ride. I’m so proud!
Fun-Fun-Fun
On Friday night we will be going out for a team dinner at a local, Cocoa Beach seafood restaurant. On Saturday night our host hotel has a Pasta Party for all the Team in Training teams, from all over Florida. On Sunday night, after getting back from completing the century ride, our host hotel has a Victory Party for Team in Training. I’d better ride 102.5 miles this weekend, sounds like I’m going to be doing a lot of eating! The Cocoa Beach Pier is around 2 miles from our hotel – great place to grab a snack, enjoy a beer or two (carbo loading!?!) and people watch. I remember something about coconut shrimp and jalepeno and cheese stuffed tater tots from our trip two years ago – YUMMY!
Surf’s Up Dude
There are two surf shops just down the street from our hotel. The Cocoa Beach Surf Shop has a 5,600 gallon fish tank, seafood restaurant and Starbucks coffee in the lobby, in addition to multiple floors of surfy goodness. Ron Jon’s, which is located next door, is open 24 hours a day. We will have to set a time and $$ limit for our kids – they go nuts in surf shops. Hey, they are native Floridians, surf gear is everyday clothing to them. My husband grew up in Surf City, NJ, just a hop, skip and a jump from the ORIGINAL Ron Jon’s.
Also Scheduled
Ron Jon’s Surf Shop is a sponsor of the 2008 Florida State H.O.G. Rally being held in Cocoa Beach from October 22nd through 25th. The main part of this motorcycle festival takes place right on Cocoa Beach, just a few hotels away from our hotel. Vendors, bands entertainment and more are scheduled to take place from 8 AM to 10 PM each day. That should make for an interesting weekend, I hope none of our cycle team was actually planning on getting any sleep before doing the century ride.
Our hotel has a heated, outdoor pool and private beach access. Hey, are we doing any bike riding while we’re up there? I’ll be writing up a detailed report of the century ride after we get back in town.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Bike Diva
Hey Lynn,
I hope you and your team have a safe and successful ride! It sounds like you have a fun weekend planned.
One of my daughter’s best friends works for NASA (a real rocket scientist) and I got to be there for the night launch of the shuttle this past spring. Absolutely awesome! I also visited NASA’s Dryden Research Center at Edwards AFB in California four years ago. I interviewed test pilots and got to go on board the 747 that carries the shuttle between bases. That was pretty cool too. (Yes, I’m a space groupie.)
All the best to you and your team!
Marilyn’s a NASA groupie! HA-HA!!
I feel like a kid at Christmas. Can’t wait to leave for Cocoa Beach.