February 20th, 1864 in Baker County Florida was the true Battle of Olustee. At approximately 2:30 in the afternoon of February 20, the Union forces approached 5,000 Confederates entrenched near Olustee Station. The opposing forces met at Ocean Pond and the battle began. The Union made the mistake of assuming that they were facing Florida militia units that had previously routed with ease and committed the Union forces piecemeal into the battle. The Union and Confederates reinforced their engaged units during the afternoon and the battle took place in open pine woods. The Union forces attacked but were savagely repulsed by withering barrages of rifle and cannon fire. The battle raged throughout the afternoon until, and as the Confederates committed their last of his reserves, the Union line broke and began to retreat. Union casualties were 203 killed, 1,152 wounded, and 506 missing, a total of 1,861 men—almost 40%. Confederate losses were lower: 93 killed, 847 wounded, and 6 missing, a total of 946 casualties in all—but still about 20%. Additionally, Union forces allowed six artillery pieces and 39 horses to be captured as well. The ratio of Union casualties to the number of troops involved made this the third bloodiest battle of the War for the Union.
148 years later the Battle for Olustee is back but this time it is not lead by swords and gun powder instead it is lead by men and women on two wheels riding for the love of cycling. The Battle of Olustee Ride has been going on for more than 25 years. This is my third straight year and Michele’s second straight year of riding it. The ride is a 115 mile starting at the Holiday Inn in Gainesville, Florida heading North past Lake City and Interstate 10 and back South to Gainesville. The ride travels through the Battle Ground of Olustee and hence its name.
This year the ride started with 123 riders. Who counted…I do not know but that is what has been passed around on facebook. The first 75 miles of the ride was fairly mellow. The group rode in a double pace line around 20 + mph with everyone talking. The only store stop was at the 46 mile marker and it was a small convenience store that got slammed with 123 riders trying to get food and pee. After grabbing some food and waiting a long time for the rest of the group to do the same the group finally got back on the road. The pace after the store stop picked up a bit but nothing substantial. The ride wandered South past an airport and as the group got closer to the 75 mile marker the pace continued to increase slowly. At the 75 mile marker the flag got dropped and it was every man and woman for themselves. To make matters a little more difficult, the last 40 miles were also the hilliest. The race was on for the next 40 miles back to Gainesville. There were attacks, quick rotations, surges and so on. Nothing got away and the group was coming into Gainesville for the sprint finish. A few riders got to the front and set a high pace to lead their sprinter out but one by one each faded quickly. As we approached the final kilometer, the lead rider was not able to hold the high speed and a traffic jam began to form. I had at least three handle bars hit my legs. In order to keep the ride safe, I nailed it and got the field strung out again. With less than 300 meters to go, the sprinters jumped off my wheel for the win. The winner of the sprint pushed 1933 watts in the final sprint. Damn, that is a lot. We regrouped and started to make our way back to the cars. Dustin and his roommate lead us back to the stadium where Michele and I parked. This year the ride did not seem as hard. Maybe, it was because there were no pros out there like years in the past. Maybe, it is because Michele and I are that much stronger…doubt that. Who knows why but it was still a great ride. Here are some stats from the ride.
Duration of the ride: 5:17
Average Speed: 21.7
Distance: 116
