The assault
on Sugarloaf isn’t the only challenge as the 43rd annual Mount Dora Bicycle Festival gets under way — and under the weather.
MOUNT DORA — Bicyclists descended on the city Thursday for a long weekend of pedaling and partying, but for the second year in a row, their fun at one of Lake County’s signature events was stunted by bad weather.
Hurricane Matthew shortened Florida’s oldest bicycle festival by two days last year, and this year, Hurricane Irma caused cancellations.
If that wasn’t bad enough, rainy weather greeted participants on the opening day of the 43rd annual Mount Dora Bicycle Festival. Though Tropical Storm Nate was projected to go toward the Panhandle, Mount Dora’s forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms through Sunday and threatens to dampen one of the festival’s highlights: the Assault on Sugarloaf, a 39-mile ride that includes 1,100 feet in elevation.
As the rain came down, David Burton, 71, who drove to the Lake County city from Tennessee with a friend, said he’ll probably leave a day early.
“We’ll see how this turns out,” said Burton just before riding off in the rain on the festival’s introductory 21-mile ride around Lake Dora. The consolation for bicyclists: The weather was a cool 75 degrees.
For Nina Kraft, the weather isn’t without its irony. The retired professional triathlete moved to Lake County eight years ago for the ideal biking of country roads and sunshine over training in New Zealand or Australia.
“You can train the whole year here,” said Kraft, 48, who is from Germany. “The weather’s perfect; the biking routes are perfect.”
Organizers expect more than 1,000 to attend the recreational bicycling event, shy of the cap of 1,500 riders.
To amp up the festival’s appeal, an extra day of activities has been added as well as a concert by the reggae band The Wailers, made famous by the late Bob Marley.
The festival includes 15 routes for all levels of rider — from the 11-mile Tangerine Rimble Ride to the 55-mile Battle of Buckhill — totaling nearly 600 miles.
“They have a ride every day that basically accommodates every level,” said David Sanborn, owner of David’s World Bicycle and an event sponsor.
Many festival routes touch Mount Dora and trace the contours of shores on the Harris Chain of Lakes.
“It’s a little different at 20 mph, human-powered,” Sanborn said. “You get to see a lot more.”
Jim Gunderson, co-owner of the Lakeside Inn, which opened in 1883 and is the oldest continuously operated hotel in Florida, said he had cancellations from riders in South Florida because of Irma, but the inn will still be at full occupancy throughout the festival.
“There’s enough demand that we sold those rooms,” Gunderson said. “Assuming the weather cooperates, I’m expecting a good bike festival.”
Gunderson said most riders are amateur bicyclists who love the varying hills and sights Lake County offers.
“There’s terrain, and for a lot of folks in Florida, that’s unusual.”
Festival organizer Rob English, president of the Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce, said a few perks have been added to enhance the festival.
“We’ve made a conscious effort to make it more of an experience not only for the riders, but their significant others,” English said.
Riders each get a jersey and a finishing medal, along with hot breakfasts and evening wine walks and beer gardens to create a beginning-to-end “Disney” experience, he said.
Mount Dora’s arts and crafts festivals draw in many from outside the city, but unlike the bicycle festival, they’re usually day trippers, English said.
“We’re the only one I know of in the Southeast that’s a four-day festival,” he said.
David Stone, 55, flew from Connecticut for his second year at the festival but decided to skip out on the first rainy ride Thursday.
Stone bikes twice a week, and while he loves Mount Dora, he’s more excited about the biking.
“I know you think you’re hilly, but Mount Dora is not hilly compared to Connecticut,” he said. “These roads are quiet.”
He said he won’t be concerned about the weather unless there are thunderstorms.
“Then I’ll probably worry,” he said. “I’m riding on a solid piece of metal here.” jruiter@orlandosentinel.com