Events - The Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) :::

BRAG Home-> Events -> WinterRide

WinterRide 2013

February 26 - March 3
St. Mary's, GA

Online event registration for WinterRide 2013 powered by Eventbrite

For Those Who Love to Ride.

For more information, email Jerry Colley at jerry@brag.org.

BRAG's fourth annual WinterRide will start in beautiful St. Mary's, Georgia. The dates are Tuesday, February 26 through Sunday, March 3, 2013.

The average high temperature this week in St. Mary's is 65°F. St. Mary's is 350 miles from Atlanta and takes about 6 hours to drive.

This is a great late-Wintertime escape, a relaxed multisport event suitable for all levels of bicycling. Non-riders are welcomed also.

The schedule is subject to change due to availability of venues.

2013 Schedule of Events
Tuesday, February 26
Wednesday, February 27
Thursday, February 28
Friday, March 1
Saturday, March 2
What you will need
What is included in the fee
What is not included in the fee
Cost
Registration Limit
Local Cyclists
Directions to the start
To Register

Tuesday, Feb. 26:

Arrive at Cumberland Inn and Suites, 2710 Osborne Rd., St. Mary's, GA. Arrive early enough and bike 3 miles to the St. Mary's Submarine Museum, the Cumberland Island Museum, and the Film museum in downtown St. Mary's.

There is an optional 1-hour trolley tour of St. Mary's leaving at 2 p.m.

Bring a bottle or two of your favority wine or beer for our nightly happy hour. Optional dinner together at a local restaurant.

Photos by Jerry Colley and Edna Grosskopf

Wednesday, Feb. 27:

Ride the 33-mile St. Marys Loop Ride, led by local cyclists. Visit the oldest church in Georgia, a War of 1812 site, the U.S. Navy Kings Bay Submarine Base, including the USS Bancroft Memorial, the Sugar Mill tabby ruins, and Crooked River State Park. Come back to St. Mary's for happy hour at the CVB and optional dinner together.

Thursday, Feb. 28:

Walk next door to Harvey's Supermarket deli for sandwiches for lunch. Or stop at Subway on the way to town. We will take the ferry to Cumberland Island. Bikes are not allowed on the ferry, but you can rent one on the island if you want to. Or just plan to walk the 5-mile recommended leisurely hike along the beach.

You may take the 9 am ferry if you want to spend the day on the island, rent bikes or take the optional motorized tour to see the northern end of Cumberland, including the little church where JFK, Jr. was married.

Or take the 11:45 am ferry and take the guided tour to the Dungeness ruins, have a picnic lunch, and enjoy the 5-mile hike along the beach.

Either way, the ferry leaves Cumberland Island at 4:45 pm. Don't miss it!

Bikes are rented on Cumberland Island from the ferry deck hands and are first come, first served. Reservations are accepted for the Lands and Legacies motorized tour. Call 912-882-4335 for a reservation ASAP. The fee is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and children. A park ranger will lead the walking tour to Dungeness. Jerry Colley will lead the beach hike so you won't get lost or left behind.

Cumberland Island is one of the most beautiful places on earth and is a photographer's paradise. February is the time to see it, without the heat and the bugs. Back at St. Mary's, we'll have happy hour downtown, then optional dinner together.

Friday, Mar. 1:

Ride your bike to downtown St. Marys. Then take our private ferry, The USS BRAG, to Fernandina, FL, another photographer's paradise. Bikes are allowed on this ferry. At Fernandina, we will have optional lunch at the Gourmet Gourmet restaurant, then head out to visit Ft. Clinch. There are small fees to enter the park and the fort.

After Ft. Clinch, we will bike to the Atlantic Ocean for a beachfront snack. We will regroup at The Palace Saloon, Florida's oldest saloon. Then make our way back to the ferry for our return trip to St. Marys for happy hour and optional dinner together.

Total mileage today is 33 miles.

Saturday, Mar. 2:

We pack up this morning and head by car to the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge and Okefenokee Adventures, 4159 Suwannee Canal Rd., Folkston, GA. We will tour the historic homeplace, the walking trails, and lookout tower by bike or car. Then it's time for lunch, included in the fee, and an overview of the swamp by Okefenokee Adventures' owners Chip and Joy Campbell. Then we start paddling the swamp by canoe or kayak on our guided tour of this third photographer's paradise of the week.

After our tour, we will continue by car to Waycross, GA, where we will spend the night at the Jameson Inn, 950 City Blvd., Waycross, GA, one of BRAG's sponsors. Happy hour at the hotel and optional dinner together.

Sunday, Mar. 3:

After breakfast at the Jameson Inn, check out and head home to BRAG about your week's winter adventure in Georgia.

For more information, including cost and directions, email Jerry Colley.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Road bike for Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Bike helmets are mandatory. You may rent a bicycle from Camden Bicycle Center.
Backpack to carry your lunch to Cumberland Island on Thursday. Also a trash bag to carry your trash off the island.
Sunscreen. I hope we need it.
Insect Repellant. I hope we don't

WHAT IS INCLUDED:

Hotel for 5 nights, double occupancy. We will try to find a roommate for you; but if we can’t, you will have to pay the single room supplement of $200.
Breakfast in hotel for 5 mornings.
Happy Hour for 5 afternoons. BYOB. Please bring your favorite wine or other beverage to share.
Ferry to/from Cumberland Island, bikes not allowed.
National Park Service admission to Cumberland Island.
Ferry to/from Fernandina, FL on the USS BRAG, bikes are allowed.
Lunch, canoe or kayak rental, and guided tour at Okefenokee Adventures.

NOT INCLUDED:

Bike rental on Cumberland Island.
Lunches and dinners (Lunch on Saturday, March 2 IS included.)
Admission to Ft. Clinch State Park and Ft. Clinch.
Entrance fee to Okenfenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Personal items, including Happy Hour beverages.

COST:
$425 per person, double occupancy, or $625, single occupancy. There is a $50 late fee per room for registrations received after February 9, 2013.

REGISTRATION LIMIT:
WinterRide is limited to 65 registered participants.

LOCAL CYCLISTS:
Local St. Marys and Fernandina cyclists are welcomed to ride with us at no charge and/or join us for Happy Hour. Cyclists who wish to camp at Crooked River State Park, 6 miles from the hotel, are welcomed to ride with us at St. Marys and Fernandina at no charge and/or join us for Happy Hour. If you want to join us on the ferries to and from Cumberland Island and Fernandina, and on the swamp tour in Folkston, the fee is $150 per person. Sorry, but we cannot prorate this cost a la carte.

DIRECTIONS TO THE START:

I-95 to Exit 3, GA 40, Kingsland – St. Mary’s Exit. If coming from Atlanta, i.e. headed South on I-95, turn left on GA 40 E, King Ave. This road becomes Osborne Rd. Go 5.8 miles and turn Left into Cumberland Inn & Suites, Kingsbay Hotel, 2710 Osborne Rd., St. Marys, GA.

TO REGISTER:

You may charge this tour on your American Express, Visa, MasterCard or Discover Card. Log on to 2013winterride.eventbrite.com to register by credit card.

Or you may register by check. Please send this completed registration form along with your check for $425 per person (or $625, single room supplement) payable to BRAG to:

BRAG
P O BOX 871111
STONE MOUNTAIN GA 30087-0028

By submitting your completed registration form, you are acknowledging that you understand that there are no refunds after January 26, 2013

There is a $50 per room late fee for registrations made after February 9, 2013. The tour is limited to 65 people.

Want to stay up to date on all BRAG rides and other major rides in Georgia and the Southeast?

Note: Our email list will never be sold or used by third parties.

Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.