- WHAT’S GIVING? -
Three Men And Their Bikes Raise Funds
For Celebration Foundation
By David Berelsman -
So, what do three friends do when the
gym is closed due to COVID? They decide
to ride their bikes across Florida!
Brad Wagoner, Dave Berelsman and Paul
Kinser are avid bike riders and
Celebration Foundation members. They
heard about an adventure called “The
C2C” and decided it sounded like a fun
ride and an interesting way to raise a few
dollars for the Celebration Foundation!
Florida is creating a 250 mile bike path
from “Coast 2 Coast” (C2C) by linking 20
existing bike trails. However, the C2C has
about 50 miles that have not been
completed. Some unfinished areas are
not suitable for biking because they
require using a very busy, 2-lane roads
(dangerous).
Using mapping programs and GPS, the
group discovered a way to skirt these sections
using quieter and safer backroads.
They created 5 routes of about 50 miles
each day.
The ride started in downtown St Pete on
the Pinellas Trail. The first 15 miles had
plenty of undulations in the form of major
highway overpasses. After we left St Pete,
the ride was smooth and quiet. We discovered
the Starkey Wilderness Park
where we enjoyed miles of meandering
paths through scrub, pine and palm trees
- which made a magnificent vista.
Irish Dance
FREE TRIAL CLASS!
The Finnegan Academy of Irish
Dance offer Irish Dance Classes for
ages 3-adult in Celebration, Sundays
from 4:00pm. Classes are lead by
Amanda Finnegan (T.C.R.G) from Galway, Ireland
and Maggie Domingo who recently returned from
'Lord of the Dance' tour lead by Michael Flatley.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Call: 321.370.8097
Email: [email protected]
Most of the trails were so quiet that we
could easily ride six feet apart (social
distance) and still have a pleasant conversation.
When you are riding for hours
each day, you find yourself discussing
many unusual topics: like trying to
decide which will be better after the ride
- cheeseburgers or ice cream sundaes?
That brings up the detail that most people
ask about: “Geesh, riding 250 miles!
You must have lost a ton of weight !”
“Well yes, and no”. We did ride many
miles as we trained for the ride. And
during that time all of us shed a few
pounds, and found that our clothes fit
differently. BUT, during the daily rides,
even though we burned about 2,000
calories on each section, there was no
great weight loss. Dang.
After St Pete we rode from Brooksville to
Groveland. The stretch reveals some of
the most rural parts of Central Florida.
It’s truly a leap back in time with
concave, single story motels that have
empty swimming pools, 2-pump gas
stations, and small general stores.
We started in Groveland and headed for
Sanford on day 4. This stretch has
wonderful scenery as it winds through
the Lake County woods to join the West
Orange Trail and then through charming
Winter Garden.
Day 5 was the final 54 miles from
Sanford to Titusville - and we cheered
each other as we crossed the finish line
at the entrance to the Canaveral
Seashore National Park.
We felt even better when we found that we had raised about
$2,000 for Celebration Foundation programs.
Does this ride sound interesting to you ? We will happily share
our route and riding tips. Who knows, we MIGHT even do it
again in the Fall, and you can join us!
If you would like to learn more about our ride… find it here
https://bit.ly/C2CRide
Want to learn more about the Celebration Foundation?
www.celebrationfoundation.org
Keep pedaling! [email protected]
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