Gran Fondo brings lots of bicyclists to town

The Gran Fondo bicycle event took place this weekend -- a fair on Saturday and the bike ride on Sunday, which started at Coral Gables City Hall and ended up at Miami City Hall, right here in Coconut Grove. 

In between was the actual bike ride, there were three courses, it wasn't a race, it was a ride. The courses were either 25, 54 or 101 miles. Bikers would ride south to various areas in the county and then come back.

It's nice to see so many riders in the Grove, sometimes it does get overwhelming though. A friend is considering starting a bicycle/riders group in the Grove, I'll give you more info when I have it.

What was nice was that at various times, as riders came onto the grounds, the courses were announced, like, "Here come the first of the 54 mile riders!"

There was lots of food and a bar set up and lots of booths with bicycle-related vendors. It culminated in a pasta party, which was held under a large tent, which had hundreds of seats set up at very long tables.

As much as there were thousands of people around, riders and spectators, it didn't feel like a massive, overwhelming thing, you know, like Critical Mass. No streets were blocked, traffic flowed as usual. It was sort of subdued in a way, maybe they were just all exhausted from the long ride.

Gran Fondo’s are fun and exciting mass cycling events popular in Italy, a country that captures the essence and the romance of this sport. "Gran Fondo" means "Big Ride" in Italian. This was the gateway into the event after the long ride, bicyclists came in under the banners here.

The end.