Halloween will bring out plenty of couples dressed in Lycra and pedaling as teams as the fifth annual Florida Tandem Rally kicks off in The Villages on Friday.
The rally will be held Friday through Sunday at the Waterfront Inn. The PANTHERS (Partners Aboard Neat Tandems Happily Enjoying Riding Simultaneously), a statewide tandem club based in The Villages, is presenting the rally.
Forty-nine couples from nine states have registered for the weekend of riding and camaraderie. Club president Bob Thompson said tandem teams “from Ohio, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Minnesota, Virginia, Indiana, Georgia and Florida will begin arriving in The Villages next week” for the rally. Packets of route sheets for various rides will be available for early arrivals.
Participants will have a choice of daily rides ranging from 20 to 60 miles. The weekend also includes an ice cream social Friday evening, a post-ride lunch Saturday at RJ Gators and a banquet at the Lake Miona Recreation Center.
The rally kicks off at 9 a.m. Friday in front of the Waterfront Inn with a mass start for morning ride with the local PANTHERS. Rides also will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday from the Waterfront Inn.
The PANTHERS are the state’s only tandem bicycle club.
“We will celebrate this year by recognizing tandem couples from across the United States who have attended all rallies since October 2010,” Thompson said. Seven of those couples live in The Villages.
For more information on the PANTHERS and the rally, go to www.floridatandemclub.org