Lake Minneola Scenic Trail/Clermont Trail

What a nice surprise this morning, as ten riders assembled at the Winter Garden Station for a ride on the West Orange Trail and the Lake Minneola Scenic Trail/Clermont Trail. The recent weather pattern had whittled away at attendance for many of our riders, so having this many turn out today was quite a treat.
After a busy meet & greet, we aired up one reluctant tire and launched our entourage westward through downtown Winter Garden. Deanne, Carol, Shelton, Janice, Alice and Rodney were balancing on two wheels, while Steve, Phil, Paul and I managed the horizon from our trikes. The trail was fairly busy this morning, so additional care was needed to insure everyone enjoyed a safe outing. Early in our trip out we saw a half dozen triking friends from the central Florida who had started at the County Line Station for their ride east.

From the County Line Station, you may now travel west to Clermont on the Lake Minneola Scenic Trail/Clermont Trail over some gentle hills through a nicely rural area. There are a few crossings which demand diligent attention, but the trail is very nicely maintained. The southern shore of Lake Minneola is simply beautiful and is directly adjacent to the trail. Click the photo above or visit the photo gallery to see today's shots.

On our return trip we stopped for a few minutes to visit with our friends going the other way which produced a large assembly of recumbent craft including no less than 10 trikes!

By the way, even though their website implies the trail is paved for only 3.1 miles, it is actually paved all the way to the West Orange Trail so our trip was a total of 31 miles.

Trail condition: Excellent
Facilities: Excellent

O\vo~

Withlacoochee North

This morning turned into a regular trike fest, as I was joined by friends from the central Florida area. Phil and Paul on their brand new Trice Qs and Steve on his trusty Catrike Road emerged from the Shamrock in downtown Floral City after breakfast, right on time for a ride to the north end of the Withlacoochee Trail.

Setting the tone for a morning of surprises were the enthusiastic Ah-oooooh-Gah horn sounds heard at our first intersection where we encounterd a veritable parade of antique cars. Just moments later a ponderous squirrel nearly lost it when Phil made a sudden pass around the pack. Unlike my ride on Saturday with so many clouds, today's clear skies and holiday brought riders, walkers, and skaters out in force. Wonderful barbecue smells wafted across the trail and picnics were getting under way.

Mark joined us at the northern trail head and rode his bike south with us for a while before turning back for home. We were all beginning to consider that requisite afternoon nap that awaited.

While the north half doesn't have the Croom Forest and is closer to more development, it still maintains that rural charm that really enhances any outdoor experience. The trail is very well groomed and in excellent repair and I'll now be able to add its track to our Feet First Trails Guide. If you'd care to see the photos from today's ride, just click on the photo above.

After loading up, we retired back to the Shamrock for drinks before heading home.

O\vo~

Withlacoochee South

I started at the gazebo in Floral City this morning, on heels of an early morning rain shower that had flooded the area. A puddle bridged the trail right in front of the gazebo and the pavement was wet all the way down to I-75. After that the surface was dry and the sun came out and warmed up the butterflies who busily lined the trip. Click this photo to see the rest of them, or go to the photo gallery.

There are always surprises waiting out on the trail, but you never know just what to expect. Today I saw the largest bald eagle I've ever seen, then remembered my camera when it was too late. Also watched in awe as a bare-footed, helmet-less, cyclist with a fresh head injury performed craftsman quality, wheel truing using nothing but a pair of small trees that had the decency to have grown close together alongside the trail. A little while later down the trail, I was actually overtaken by this athlete as he safely returned to his vehicle.

Made it to the south end, just below Trilby, FL and back without rain. 46.6 miles for the day.

GoogleGeekers: I noticed on Google Earth you can count up to 26 cyclists on the Withlacoochee Trail, south of FL 50.

See you back in Floral City on Monday.

O\vo~

Fort White to Ichetucknee Springs

We headed out to the Springs in search of a farewell party for Rachel, one our riders who will be leaving us. Never did find the party, but Sandra and I enjoyed a very pleasant ride through the countryside in and around greater Hildreth, Florida. We visited both the north and south entrances to the State Park and found absolutely no shortage of tubers, in cars and trucks, on foot, in trams, in line, just couldn't quite locate that one we were seeking.

On the way back into Fort White, the timing was just too perfect to pass up an opportunity to stop in at the Goose Nest for a buffet lunch. They are now selling to-go buffet orders by the pound.

After lunch, we switched horses and Sandra had a test ride on the Trice Q.

O\vo~

Flagler-Marineland at 8:00 AM

Well, actually, no. It's not really a "Rail Trail", it's more of a glorified sidewalk, but it is a nice change of pace to be able to ride along the coast, see the ocean, and breathe that fresh salt air. Many things, including people, just seem to be a little more colorful in this environment. The trip from the center of Flagler Beach up to Marineland is only 14 miles and includes three readily accessible, public restroom facilites. By far, the nicest of these is to be found at Bing's Landing where there is also a boat ramp and well shaded park.

Just across the street from Bing's there is a popular little Ice Cream/Subs Shop in case it gets too hot. We had started just early enough to be on our way past the place ten minutes before it opened, so we missed it on this trip.

Possibly as much of a third of the route is shaded and at one point in this area (near Palm Coast) there was a break in the surface today, with a very brief little detour onto the grass around the construction. Nothing near as inconvenient as the one of a couple years back, when the new Publix was under construction.

Larry, Sheila, Carol, and Shelton joined me on this excursion and it was smooth sailing all around. We even had a light sea breeze cooling us off on the return trip into Flagler Beach.

30 miles

Trail Condition: Not bad (I've seen it cleaner)
Facilities: Very Good
O\vo~

Nature Coast State Trail

Today was particularly toasty but light tailwinds seemed to come out of nowhere! Gary and I rode over to Cross City, where you simply never know what you are liable to see, and managed to get back across the Suwannee River before noon, escorted by one of these light and variable breezes.

I wanted to get this trail mapped on my Trails Guide, so we split up (Lone Ranger and Tonto style) at the "delta" and I headed on southward to Chiefland for lunch. It turns out to be somewhat interesting to note that this trail, ridden from end to end to end is exactly one metric century. (100km = 62.1 mi) I am not entirely sure it is appropriate to discover this when the heat index is hovering around 100 degrees, however! At least, the smart money would have been on including a visit to Fanning Springs in the middle to cool off!

Trail Condition: Excellent!
Facilities: Trenton - open, Cross City - locked, Chiefland - open

O\vo~

Hawthorne Trail

A warm, moist morning produced visible sun rays piercing the forested hills of the Hawthorne Trail. These hills are always like a little cup of coffee to really get you charged up early in the ride and then to remind you that you aren't quite through just before you get back to Gainesville. The natural setting of this trail easily qualifies it as one of Florida's best with the lure that you can almost count on seeing wildlife as well as other folks enjoying the corridor not necessarily on wheels.

To add additional accuracy to the Trails Guide page I'm building, I went ahead a pedaled down to the overlook at Payne's Prairie only to find this youngster and her mother (click on the photo to see more).

Gary, Deanne, and I were feeling confident that we could make this trip in spite of the heat forecast for today since we had started early enough and there was a light breeze. Our usual rest stop was somewhat disappointing with a posted "Out of Order" sign deflating hopes for convenience, but we were making such good time that we merrily forged on. Just after admiring the new concrete trail section that bridges the intersection of SE 200th Terrace, we arrived in Hawthorne and met up with George Edwards' troop preparing for their return to the Rochelle trail head.

The aforementioned breeze seemed stronger as we turned to face it and it carried along with it a noticeable increase in the chance of a shower. A cotton-tailed rabbit grazed bravely on the trail right of way as we approached and turned tail just as I clicked the camera on. Our return trip seemed to be going rather smoothly, yet just as we passed George's group again, droplets became drops became full rain which changed the experience into an entirely different one.

By the time we were climbing the hammock again, the rain had stopped, but everything was wet and refreshed. The turns in this area called for a little more caution with loose debris from the hard rain the day before and water from this new shower. While we loaded up, George rang me to confirm we had seats waiting at Satchel's for pizza. That turned out to be an experience not to be missed!

32 miles

Trail Condition: Beautiful, some light forest litter
Facilities: "Out of Order", temporarily we hope
O\vo~