The Cross Florida Individual Time Trial (CFiTT) rolls out on the 2nd weekend in December, begins at dawn (usually) in New Smyrna Beach with a rear-wheel dip in the Atlantic Ocean, and ends with a front-wheel dip in the Gulf of Mexico (MEXICO) near Inglis/Clear River. In recent years, the ferry at St. Johns River has been out of service, and the route has looped around Palatka before dropping into the Ocala National Forest, totaling about 300 miles. This year, 'Ranger' Tim Fahy offered to rent a pontoon boat and ferry riders across the St. Johns, shortening the route to 245 miles. This seemed like a reasonable trade-off for my first off-road fixed-gear ride...if it all went to heck, at least I'm not in it for many miles.
The weather in New Smyrna was cool and dry; forecast for Saturday would be similar, but a chance of light showers in the late morning.
The starting and ending wheel-dips, Atlantic to Gulf.
I don't have any other photos of the ride because it sucked. Good grief, I've taken the privilege of coasting for granted. Those 245 miles riding fixed-gear felt like 400. A lot of that feeling was due to not being able to coast, but some of it was due to a conservative tire choice that back-fired. I opted for a set of 2.6" Bontrager SE2/XR2 tires instead of my usual 2.1/2.2" Schwalbe Thunder Burts. I figured the added tire volume would give me some leeway to bulldoze my way around Chuck Lennon and Santos, as I wouldn't be able to coast and finesse my way around roots and rocks. The downside is they roll slower than the Thunder Burts, and running higher pressures to reduce the rolling resistance caused an unbearably harsh ride. My concerns about finesse through Santos were overblown...riding fixed on a rigid MTB on those trails is not an issue. But the harsh ride took its toll and I struggled to maintain interest to even finish the ride during the last 30 miles. My butt hurt that much. Even my seat wasn't happy, as my inability to stand (and coast) to unload the saddle over harsh terrain was impaired, which led to bending the seat rails. Nonetheless, I ground it out and wrapped it up, and set a fixed-gear FKT in the process (27h:21m). And, I have a taste of what's to come in February.
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