The day started at 05:30 AM sometimes called “0” dark thirty. A quick breakfast then off to Mount Dora ,Florida to get the day’s assignment for the Mount Dora Bicycle Festival.

This event took place on October 8, 9 and 10 ,2010. It began at 8 AM on Friday and ended on Sunday afternoon. The Mount Dora Bicycle Festival is an annual affair that has taken place for 36 years. It runs for three days from Mount Dora, Florida and includes ten different bicycle rides during this period. The rides wind through Lake County’s beautiful countryside and range from 18 to 100 miles. One of the bike rides even includes a canoe trip. These treks are not considered to be races but interesting and pleasurable tours through some of Central Florida’s scenic vistas.

The Lake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ( LCARES) directed by Strait Hollis provided radio communications on the bicycle loop trips each day. They set up their mobile communications trailer in down town Mount Dora adjacent to the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce office. The Chamber is the sponsor of the event and plans out the routes to be traveled. The net control station located in the trailer maintains radio contact with 25 LCARES amateur radio operator volunteers located at rest stops and in mobile communications vehicles patrolling the bike routes to insure the safety of the riders.

Events such as these help the volunteer radio operators train for deployment during a time of natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornados which are not uncommon in this area. These amateur radio operators get the experience of running radio communication nets and exercising their portable equipment to make sure everything will run smoothly if and when they are called upon during an emergency.