Today we were riding from Fort Myers to Sarasota which consisted of a 93 mile ride, a few sponsor visits and a relaxing dinner courtesy of the Howard’s. The ride overall was exciting as my pace line consisting of Chris Kiker, Michael Dailey and Nick Orifici got off to a strong start despite the head wind. Once we got past lunch the head wind has changed to a tail wind, which helped us cruise through the pastures of Floridian Backcountry with gorgeous trees covers in Spanish moss. After arriving at lodging a few of us left for a media meeting with a new sponsor at Hydr8 who specializes in cryotherapy. After speaking with the owner Fernando, he gave the team a giant crate of goodies ranging from protein powder, Gatorade, and plenty of snacks. Afterwards I had the pleasure of eating award winning barbeque with the Howards (his son cycled in Gear Up Florida as well). I thought it was great to be able to sit back and relax while listening to some stories from the other teams in years past. Overall, it was another amazing day out in Southern Florida with the gentleman of GUF 2017.
Jimmy Glass (Iowa State University)