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This year’s ATS was Friday November 4th through Sunday November 6th.  The decision on the route this year was a “no-brainer”.  After the success of last year’s Florida trip from St. Augustine to Cedar Key, it was only natural we reverse the trip this year and start in Cedar Key.  And after having a slight headwind last year going east to west, what would the chances be that we would have a headwind when we reversed the route?  Uh well… the chances apparently were pretty good, because not only did we have a headwind this year, it became so bad that we had to alter the route and daily mileage.  The 2016 ATS will be remembered as the most grueling of our ATSs to date.  With an average headwind of 20-22 mph – with gusts up to 27 mph – we were exhausted after both days, and limped into St. Augustine in the dark.  But again – everyone made it!  And our motto continues:  NO ONE LEFT BEHIND!

The year was special in that the PFK ranks were bolstered by new cyclists.  Our friends in the cycling club “Crankin’ Carbon”, under the able leadership of Ben Brown, provided the bulk of the new crew.  But we also added Pat Teasdale of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Pat became a fast and true friend and we are insisting he go on ALL future trips!  Mike Moore continued his loyalty in supporting the ride again and, although an excellent cyclist, doesn’t hesitate to drop back and “pull” when needed.  Popular newcomers Cathy Alford and Lisa Plock rode well and were an easy mesh into the group; we are hoping this is the first of many, many ATSs for them.   We thank our newcomers for not only adding a number of excellent cyclists, but all were really fun and great to be with. Oh yeh, and we again raised a lot of money for our PFK children with disabilities.

Dr. Jimmy Elder again blessed our trip before we departed for Cedar Key and we were once again blessed with safe rides for everyone.  We took Friday to leisurely make it down to Cedar Key and we again stayed in condos at Nature’s Landing.  The group was treated by chefs Eysel, Hughes, Parker, and Sherrer to paninis with chips with the chefs befittingly decked out in chef coats and bandanas (all of which, of course, made the food taste better…).  

The trip from Cedar Key to Gainesville, as previously mentioned, was tough.  Really tough.  The planned 67-mile first day turned in to a 48-miler.  But the sore muscles were quickly forgotten with dinner with tents and lights in the motel parking lot.  We also had an array of specialty drinks from the PFK bar that helped with the day’s agonies!  Chef Hawkeye again knocked everyone’s cycling socks off with his cheeseburgers.  Dessert included “birthday cake” cordials – which were popular to say the least.  Doc tried to somehow claim this was his belated birthday party everyone had forgotten.  

Sunday came with continued significant headwinds but the day was nothing like Saturday.  However, with the previous day’s mileage cut, Sunday’s mileage neared 90 miles.  We still had the challenge of a steady 15 mph headwind and twice the mileage of the previous day.  But again, we persevered.  We all made it to St. Augustine in one piece but with the last several miles a little on the “dark side”.  A special thanks AGAIN to Liz Singley who protected the rear group with an excellent all-day SAG.

The celebration in St. Augustine was spectacular with stuffed mushrooms and roasted brie with honey from Chef Doc and an unbelievable low-country shrimp boil from Chef Hawkeye!  Chef Doc’s dessert of bananas foster flambé topped off the night.  Needless to say, no one had trouble falling asleep Sunday night.

Many thanks to this year’s riders:  Cathy Alford, Ben Brown, Mike Cargal, Barrie Clark, Jamie Cox, Rhonda Eysel, Bill Foreman, Chester Fort, Erin Golden, Ken Gunnels, Mike Moore, Jay Parker, Greg Parsons, Lisa Plock, Jimmie Robertson, Dale Sides, Jack Sherrer, and Pat Teasdale.

Our SAGs were, as usual, outstanding.  Thanks so much to: Taylor Brown, VerDel Cargal, Nick Cox, Loretta Fort, Cathy Gunnels, Lori Hughes, and Liz Singley.  And everything went smoothly under the able and watchful eye of our Social Activities Chair Lori Hughes.  We now check Lori’s schedule first before we decide on an ATS date.

Stayed tuned for next year’s ride.  Dale Sides promises to come up with a new route in the Mississippi/Alabama/Florida panhandle that will have us in all three states on the 2017 ATS!!

After making the trek across Georgia from Columbus to Savannah the last three years, we decided to try another route for our ATS for 2015.  We have been talking about trying to cross different states for some time now and 2015 felt like a good time to begin with a different state.  Several states were in the running, but we settled on Florida.  With several new riders we felt it might be easier for our group to keep the ride shorter.  With a distance of only 135 miles coast to coast, and the route being significantly more flat than our Georgia trips, we were easily sold on this 2-dayer.

A pre-ride recon trip a couple of months before our ride helped us get the route decided between Cedar Key and St. Augustine. The wind on the recon trip was steadily from the east so we decided to begin in St. Augustine and benefit from the tail wind (as it turned out the wind was in our face the majority of the trip but averaged only 4-5 mph so it wasn’t significant).  The decision was made to make the longer trip of the two days on the first day since we were fresher with our destination on day one being Gainesville.

We departed early Friday morning October 9th from our “usual” spot and per Pedaling for Kids tradition, we did not leave before being prayed for by Dr. Jimmy Elder of First Baptist Church of Columbus.  We thank Dr. Elder and First Baptist for their continued support of PFK since our inception in 2010.  We firmly believe Dr. Elder’s prayers protect us and the 2015 trip was no exception; we had a great ride, a great time, and had no injuries!

Riders this year were: Tripp and Conner Blankenship, Mike “Campi” Campos, Barrie Clark, Reames Clark, Rhonda “Lil Riv” Eysel, Chester Fort, Mike Moore, Jay “Hawkeye” Parker, and Jack “Doc” Sherrer.  We absolutely had the best SAG team possible – led by the incredibly patient Liz Singley.  Katie Parker was a SAG again this year while also serving as the official photographer of the trip.  She was ably assisted by daughters Mary Avnor and Hendley.  Lori Hughes – who is the unofficial Social Chairman for each ATS – also served as a SAG along with Loretta Fort.  We appreciate the help and protection our SAGs give us; there is no way we could do our ATSs without them!

The first night in St. Augustine we stayed on the beach at the Hampton Inn and all ate together at a local restaurant within walking distance – the Sunset Grille.  The 87-mile trip from St. Augustine to Gainesville started out in the rain but that soon gave way to a beautiful day and great cycling weather.  

Our second night in Gainesville had us at ‘The Lodge’.  Hawkeye and Katie grilled absolutely fantastic cheeseburgers and we ate in The Lodge’s courtyard.  Doc manned the bar and the drink of the night was the “Orange Creamsicle”.  We even made friends with locals having a high school reunion.  Our new friends were very accommodating and insisted we join them in their reunion festivities.  It was a memorable night to say the least!

With a distance of only 48 miles, the second day of cycling was relatively easy.  Our two youngest riders – Conner Blankenship and Reames Clark – posed for photos at the Cedar Key city limits and were then honored by leading the group into town.  Cedar Key was a beautiful destination for us and we had great accommodations with condos at Nature’s Landing.  We celebrated our successful trip with a cocktail party featuring the Brazilian caipirinha and our always popular (?!) cycling trivia contest.  Mike Campos was recognized as the top adult fund-raiser with a beautiful crystal award and Conner Blankenship was likewise recognized with a crystal piece as the top youth fundraiser.  

We again thank all the cyclists and SAGs that made the trip a great time and success.  And thanks especially to the cyclists who raised significant amounts of monies for the children with disabilities that Pedaling for Kids helps.  The amounts raised far-and-away eclipsed what was required of each rider taking part in the ATS trip.    

Nicole Humphries, a senior at Columbus High School, did her senior project on baking. Part of her requirements for the senior project was to bake for charity. So, she decided to have a bake sale at her church, St. Mark United Methodist Church on Whitesville Road. She chose Pedaling For Kids as the charity to donate proceeds to and she did great! She baked chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins, cinnamon swirl bread, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. The congregation at St. Mark UMC were great and she was able to raise $233 for Pedaling For Kids. We want to thank Nicole and the entire St. Mark congregation for being so generous with their time and donations to make this a huge success!

 

The 2014 Pedaling for Kids Across-the-State (ATS) trip was another story for the ages – full of great adventure, tests of persistence and endurance, and again lots of fun times and laughter from start to finish. The group committed early to training in the months leading up to the trip and when the weekend arrived, the PFK peloton was in shape and ready.

This was the third successful trip across Georgia for Jay Parker, Rhonda Eysel, high school junior and triathlete Reames Clark, and Jack Sherrer. Veteran cyclist Mike Moore served as Road Captain and pulled the peloton from the front the majority of the 250-plus miles. Chester Fort was our other veteran whose strong riding and enthusiasm continued to motivate and encourage the group.

The trip was again started off right with Dr. Jimmy Elder of First Baptist Church praying for us in our classic meeting place in the parking lot of the Macon Road K-Mart. What a great way to start off our ride every year; Dr. Elder’s presence has become one of the traditions we look forward to and depend on with each ATS. And the prayers again helped us; we had only two small mishaps and all three riders were back up and continued cycling.

The new riders this year were fantastic. They had all ridden with the peloton for months and had learned how to work and cycle safely together. Mike Campos, CJ Baker, Jackie Aasand, Erin Golden, Tripp Blankenship, Joie Musselman, Lori Hughes, Tonya Mitchum, and Craig Boaz – in addition to Mike Moore and Chester Fort – were all successful in their first attempt at the ATS.

The across-the-state riders stuck with the same route planned out by veteran rider and PFK-loyalist Kenny Hall three years ago. We again launched from Robinson Farms in Marion County and finished the first – and the most difficult – of the three days in Hawkinsville. Jay “Hawkeye” Parker and wife Katie were in charge of our parking lot cookout our first night and it was a blast. They served great chips, dips, burgers, dogs and drinks. Entertainment that night included a skit by actresses Lori Hughes and Katie Parker about the washing of bike garments and a missing pair of underwear. It was absolutely hilarious. We were sure that the cookout in the parking lot was the first cookout of its kind ever  held in the Hawkinsville Best Western’s parking lot. We just hope they let us make future reservations with them…

Saturday carried us out of Hawkinsville and two-thirds across the state to Vidalia. We were fortunate to have had good weather and favorable winds for the most part. We again stayed in our dependable Hampton Inn in Vidalia. We had dinner at J&B’s Rare2Welldone Steakhouse and we could not have been treated better. Owner Belinda Lacklin made sure we had great service and our own “corral” and even made a sizeable donation to the Pedaling for Kids charity before we left. Thanks Belinda for everything!   The highlight of the night was the winning of crystal awards by both Rhonda Eysel and Jay Parker as the highest money-raisers for the ride – both for the second year in a row.

The third day is usually our most fun day and this year was no exception. The day is not only fun because we are closing in on our goal of making it across the state, but the cycling is easier: the terrain is more flat and we generally have a tailwind. The peloton this year often hit and maintained speeds in the low-20 mph range during parts of the day. This year the ATS Ride Honoree was Lori Hughes. Husband Scott had given her her first road bike the previous Christmas and she had committed to getting in shape and had prepared all season for the trip. There was no question we all wanted her as our honored ride leader.

We were again met at the city limits of Savannah by Savannah police officers and received an escort all the way to our hotel. As has become our tradition our Ride Honoree leads the peloton behind the police car into the city to the cheers of millions of Savannah residents. Although Lori was absolutely up to the task she initially didn’t realize the escort was 16 miles, so had to eventually slow the pace so she and the peloton could survive the escort! It was again a tremendously great feeling to pull in to Riverstreet and hear the thunderous roar of the crowd, the snapping of photographs, and the popping of champagne corks.

This year we stayed at The Mansion at Forsythe Park and the accommodations were fantastic. We had drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the Mansion’s bar before being chauffeured to Fiddlers         for dinner.

A special thanks to our massage therapist Alicia Blackwell of Waverly Hall. She helped keep our aching bodies on our bikes the entire trip.

And thanks to our wonderful and patient SAGs: Loretta Fort and Carrie Blankenship and to SAG Leader and Photographer Extraordinaire Katie Parker – all of whom kept us from getting run over for three days. We love you!

Thanks to everyone for the super-successful 2014 ATS. There are just too many funny things and great memories to list here … but thanks. Thanks to each of you for making it so great.

We had not arrived in Savannah for more than an hour before we had already begun to plan and to look forward to next year’s 2015 ATS ride!