Horses and Hills: The Gainesville Cycling Festival

For years people told us about the Gainesville Cycling Festival. They called the Horse Farm Hundred their favorite ride in inland Florida. We kept making plans, plans that got scrapped because of schedule conflicts. This year we finally got there.

We were initially confused about the weekend event. People kept calling it by different names. Then we figured it out. The weekend has two events. The Sunday event (the Horse Farm Hundred) is almost 40 years old. Then about 25-30 years ago they added the Saturday event (the Santa Fe Century).

Saturday's Santa Fe Century has 103, 68, 55, 32, and 18 mile rides. There is the road ride and a gravelers event. The routes stay pretty much in Alachua County where Gainesville is located. 

Sunday's Horse Farm Hundred has 102, 57, 45, 30, 25 mile rides. These routes are in both Alachua County and Marion County to the south.

With around 350-400 riders, this is a perfect size event. (Think Goldilocks: not too big, not too small.) There's something for every type of rider. Short rides for the casual riders. Pace car led century rides for the dedicated. You have pacelines, solo riders, and small groups of two or three. Routes are well marked. GPS guidance is good. SAG support was well organized. They call the Alachua County routes "flat" but coastal cyclists would call them gently rolling hills. Marion County's Horse Farm route is definitely hilly and more challenging. The scenery along the routes is wonderful. It's almost all rural, but you also get to ride briefly through a charming old town or two.

We drove up to Gainesville and did both days. We normally ride the metric century routes at events, and that is what we aimed for in Gainesville. We go to events to enjoy the routes and the scenery, not to watch wheels. While we didn't know a soul at the ride, riders quickly formed paceline groups as readily as well-trained sled dogs. So we rode with a group for a half hour or so each day, enjoying the social mood. Then we let the groups pedal down the road while we stopped for a picture or two. Which then let us ride the rest by ourselves, enjoying the ranches, farms, woods, and, of course, the splendid horses, along the route.

This is going to be an annual road trip for us. It's a winner.

One of the many lovely horse paddocks along the route.

Creeks and a lake or two were worth a stop along the route.