Emancipate yourself from your everyday ride and escape to North Florida for a fantastic tour exploring a symphony of exquisite Florida dirt.
It’s high time for a Rodeo Rally with friends you know and haven’t met yet, and with the help and local knowledge of Singletrack Samurai, we’ve put together a fun and probably warm event to look forward to in January.
The Rodeo Southern Migration Rally invites you to quiet byways and gravel roads around Gainesville, Florida for a three-day bikepacking and touring adventure with other Rodeo Labs bike riders, employees, and lovers of dirt alike.
With a self-supported bikepacking spirit we’ll ride by day and share campgrounds and campfires by night. Far from being an ultra-distance suffer fest, the route seeks to be challenging but enjoyable for participants. Elevation profiles will be mild thanks to Florida’s less mountainous topology, and the miles will tick by with good company and good conversation.
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Our ride will start and finish at Critter Creek Sanctuary which will offer Pre and Post-ride camping for participants. On day one, we will make our way west from Gainesville towards the Suwannee River Corridor to our first sleep at one of the exquisite river camps in the area. These locations offer plenty of space for primitive camping and feature five screened shelters with electricity and fans. On night two we will go east towards Osceola National Forest to sample the dirt roads that are so distinct from the previous day. The camp that evening will be near the banks of Ocean Pond.
On both nights riders will have access to hot showers, bathrooms, and electricity. On the final day, we will return to the private ranch and end our 230-mile journey. This is a self-supported 3-day 2-night expedition. There will be a shorter overnight option for those individuals that would like to complete the route, but don't have Monday available.
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Route Details:
One month before the ride, the start location and all pertinent details regarding the course, itinerary, and schedule will be shared with riders via an RWGPS event link and google drive folders. Using the RSVP event link allows riders to use the app features for no additional fees or subscription membership. Once this information is revealed there will be no refunds available.
There are plenty of resupply options out on the route, more or less every 20-40 miles.
Pace / Vibe / Difficulty:
This is intended to be a guided group ride/rally! The daily distances are long enough to be challenging, but the pace can be as fast or slow as you like. We encourage a chill / conversational pace, slower than a race pace, so you can hang out with other riders and meet new people. Riders are always welcome to go fast, self-navigate, and ride either ahead or behind the group if they want to do that.
There is no SAG wagon, gear hauling, or bail-out option included in the registration fee, but the course is located within cell phone coverage areas and if worst comes to worse you can Uber back to the start area. Think of this as a self-supported bikepacking event where you have the responsibility for yourself. If you’ve never done a self-supported trip before, we will update registrants with a template gear list so they can use this trip to get familiar with self-supported bikepacking.
Schwag:
Included in the registration cost is a Rodeo Southern Migration a short sleeve jersey, and a patch which is only available to participants. Select your jersey size based on other jerseys that you typically wear. We’ll make a few extras for those that are vain and select a size too small. Also in the schwag bag will be a pair of matching Ridge Supply socks, so select your sock size accurately as well.
Rider and travel coordination:
We will set up a Slack or Discord channel so that riders who are going can communicate with each other and possibly collaborate on travel plans. Once you register you’ll get an email invite to that discussion.
There are only 40 spots available, I hope you reserve one for yourself today!
Note: This is the proposed miles per day, the route may shorten, but will not get longer.
Distance per day with a 3-day schedule:
Day 1 88 miles
Day 2 78 miles
Day 3 63 miles
Distance per day when done as an overnight:
Day 1 88 miles
Day 2 112 miles
Would love to show every one of you a marvelous adventure in Wild Florida, If you have any logistical questions email Karlos@singletracksamurai.com.
View a Sample of pics and videos showcasing the typical surfaces on the route.
