Feet First

Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail

Deanne, Gary and I made up the entire group today. Winter seemed to have "left the building" for this ride, leaving behind what was very nearly a perfect Spring day! A nice cool start with a light SE breeze that matured into a helpful little tail wind on the return trip.
Nearly as present as the small birds darting from side to side, were the number of recumbents sighted. A good sized group, we think from the central Florida area, included some out of state visitors on tandem recumbents, who brightened the scene with their colors. Photos are posted in the gallery.

While Gary had to rush on back, Deanne and I stopped in at Sonny's in Hawthorne for refueling and rest. They had replaced the tired, old, picnic table style furniture with new traditional tables and chairs which gave the dining room a much more spacious feel and, no doubt, enhanced the serving experience.

There were quite a few folks out on the trail, cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers, even employees offering information and taking care of maintenance tasks as well. Also, our late start amplified the number of oncoming cyclists we encountered, a couple of which turned out to be other Feet First members riding on their own schedule.

Looking forward to the Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail for next Saturday. Yall Come!

Trail Condition: Very good
Facilities: Environmentally friendly
O\vo~

Nature Coast Trail

Saturday morning in north central Florida was full of surprises starting with a record-breaking low temperature that approached the teens. Gary and I agreed when we met up at the Trenton trailhead that our sanity was in question, but we had planned to be there and it was a beautiful day, so we visited the Foodway for some breakfast and allowed the morning to warm up slightly, since it was still in the thirties.

It was now ride time, though there were no other attendees. At least sunscreen was easily conserved today as precious little remained exposed after suiting up. The forecast of a high in the mid 60s encouraged us to proceed and it was just above 40 as we started out. None of this discouraged the bird population, especially robins, they were everywhere and quite busy it seemed.

As we were about to cross the Suwannee River, a walker and his leashed dog were coming the other way and the dog was carrying a large, slingshot shaped piece of wood in his mouth. As a friendly greeting I smiled and asked, "You got him collecting firewood for you?"

The walker, without hesitation, simply replied, "He whittles!" and kept on walking.

The river was quiet and smooth, as free of traffic as the trail had been, but on the other side there was a veritable parade of motorcycles descending into Old Town where we, too, stopped for a break.

Starting at the Old Town trailhead, we saw two other riders braving the morning. Instead of continuing on to Cross City, we decided to double back and turn south to Fanning Springs to visit the wayside park at the river there and were surprised to find a new park. Fort Fanning Historical Park is on the north side of US 19 right at the river's edge and, we were later told, will be the home of a reconstructed Fort Fanning. It has nice, brick-lined sidewalks with landscaping and benches and a lovely view of the river.
We followed the sidewalk back to the east and discovered a hidden corridor beneath huge old oaks that goes all the way back to the rail trail where there are future plans to add a restroom facility. Photos are posted in the gallery.

On the way back to Trenton, we did encounter a couple more riders and finally saw the temperature above 60. An additional surprise was finding a freshly smashed glass bottle on the asphalt, but Gary's trusty pan and brush made short work of the unusual blemish.

Looking forward to the Hawthorne Trail for next Saturday. Yall Come!

Trail Condition: Excellent
Facilities: Excellent
O\vo~

O'Leno to Ichetucknee

It had been nearly a month since I last rode, so I thought I had best get out there and make the best of the break in the weather. The most energy efficient ride for me is the quick 4 mile drive up to Fort White, so that was my decision. I headed west out to the Ichetucknee River and then back to town before pedaling toward O'Leno State Park.

About half way to O'Leno, I met an oncoming cyclist, whom I had seen before. I waved and spoke to the gentleman only slightly younger than myself and continued on my way, dodging the debris of the still unmaintained trail. A crew had, at least, removed the large trees that were across the trail the last time I rode it, but it continues to be free of any sweeping or edging activity.

At the entrance to O'Leno, I turned about and began the trip back to Fort White. It is a little hilly on that end of the trail and as I came over what feels like the highest point, there in front of the the old Tanner place, I was surprised to see this scene.

I couldn't quite figure what on Earth could have happened here, where there are no intersections and such. Moving on down the slope, it soon became clear that the incident involved a cyclist. It was the fellow I had greeted before! On his return trip, he had apparently blacked out and taken a tumble. A deputy told me that a motorist had called in his misfortune and as we talked the paramedics arrived and began questioning the cyclist about his condition.

The paramedics, guided by the patient's response and evidence of a solid blow to the forehead, began making arrangements to airlift him to Gainesville. There appeared to be no equipment failure as I looked over his bicycle; tires were inflated, nothing looked damaged or out of place. The deputy loaded it up from transporting to the station in Fort White and the ambulance pulled away.

On my way back to my car, I began to hear the sounds of a helicopter approaching in the distance. Nice to know folks can get the help they need out here in the hinterland, but this neighbor I had seen before, surely had enjoyed better days.

Trail Condition: Navigable, yet not maintained
Facilities: Not provided
Emergency Services Response: Excellent
O\vo~

Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail

Mark, Deanne and I met up early at Everybody's Restaurant in Baldwin for our usual country style breakfast and dose of local color and were elevated by our server to the stature of "Darlin's" while she made sure we had everything we desired. Then off to the trailhead, a few blocks north, where Sandra joined us.
This was one of those days that sees a range of temperatures, starting off a little cooler than expected and warming rather rapidly. It was accompanied by a thin layer of clouds that overcast our experience with less than direct sunlight but was unable to mask the natural beauty of this trail. In north Florida, among the paved tails, the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park is this trail's only rival in that department.
It's quite easy to forget to notice the trail surface itself, mostly because the surrounding forest is so beautiful, but also due to its well maintained condition. I was somewhat surprised to see so many people enjoying the trail this time, so I guess the secret is out. There were families, cycling and roller-blading, walkers, runners and horsemen... not crowded, but well used.
At the half-way point, where we are used to visiting the facilities, we were drawn off to the side to another trailhead that had been opened since our last visit. The Harvey House appears to be the central feature, though it has parking, a long, elevated boardwalk nature trail running through a dense pine forest, many acres with specimen Live Oaks planted, and connects via concrete trails to the trailside rest stop. We spent a few minutes there talking with folks and met another recumbent trike rider, John Landress, from Jacksonville.
At the east end, the Imeson Road Trailhead had a nearly full parking lot, unlike our launch in Baldwin which was almost empty.
Photos are posted in the gallery.

Trail Condition: Excellent, facilities clean and available.
O\vo~

Nature Coast Trail

Sandra and Mark were waiting for me when I drove up to the sight of Mark's brand new Rans Stratus, parked and ready. After I took a quick spin on a very quiet, light-weight, new bicycle with superbly stable handling, I slid back onto my tricycle and we were off. There was no difficulty in staying focused on the cold as it was only 49 degrees and hadn't been that cool in quite a while. The idea of shopping for socks crossed my mind a few times, but the wind was light and allowed the sun to peek through a fair amount.

We stopped for a break in Fanning Springs and found some fellas actually doing some welding work on the gas pump island. Considering the concept for just a few moments seemed to hasten our departure... something just didn't seem right about that. There were a few other trail users out this morning, one was particularly interested in our strange craft, but mostly we had the trail to ourselves. In Chiefland, we simply turned about and headed back, but noticing it was still feeling rather chilly at 61 degrees, we began to discuss the warmth we suspected would be associated with that little barbeque joint in Fanning Springs. In less time than the return trip took, it became apparent we would stop there for lunch and that turned out to be a very fine idea, indeed. They even had fried green tomatoes on the menu and do a particularly fine job of not over cooking the collards.

After lunch, it was mostly a back to the barn run. We weren't really pushing it, but didn't dawdle either, finishing up the last of the 36 miles happy to see our warm cars waiting.

Photos are posted in the gallery. I'll be out of pocket this coming weekend, but look forward to the weather at last permitting us to ride the Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail the next weekend.

Trail Condition: Always Excellent, facilities clean and available.
O\vo~

Suwannee River Greenway at Branford

Rachel joined me this morning in Fort White as we stole a morning's ride out from beneath an impending weather front. We used the western 5 miles of the O'Leno to Ichetucknee Trail to get to the Ichetucknee River where we made use of the park's facilites before crossing the bridge on US 27 to get to the Suwannee County side where the Suwannee River Greenway at Branford terminates.

This trail has changed a lot since I last rode it in September. Maintenance is way up and debris is way down. It is like night and day comparing the two trails we used today! They have eradicated the major sand wash at one intersection that always saw me dismount, and replaced it with an asphalt ramp. Very nice! Nearly every intersection had, at the very least, fresh yellow paint on the barricade posts, many had new posts, too! It was readily apparent that the trail had recently been edged, mowed, and swept and was indeed a treat to ride from end to end and encounter so very little in the way of surface problems. I was also suprised to find the dive shop building completely gone that had stood atop the north boat ramp at Ivey Memorial Park.

The weather seemed to be holding so nicely that we went ahead west of the north end of the trail to Little River Springs where what seemed to be at least a gagglette of geese hustled away from my low slung craft. There was just enough of a coolness in the breeze to talk me out of my interest in jumping in the inviting spring.

On the way back, we went into the Ichetucknee River State Park and back out again just enough to push our velometers up to total 40 miles by the time we stopped back in Fort White. A good ride... now bring on the rain and the new year!

Photos are posted in the gallery. We're looking forward to riding much more next year.

Trail Condition: Vastly improved, facilities marginal (portable toilets at Little River Springs).
O\vo~

Jacksonville-Baldwin Rained Out

The threat of rain had been reduced to 10% for Saturday morning, according to some forecasters, so we rose early and made the drive, allowing some extra time for a breakfast stop at Everybody's Restaurant. Before we saw Raiford, the pavement began showing signs of recent rain and by the time we made it to Macclenny there was a consistent drizzle. We were encouraged by a lull in precipitation in downtown Baldwin and Rachael joined Deanne and I for breakfast, which made it seem even more likely things would work out.

Then we drove the few blocks north to the trailhead park and as soon as we parked, it began to sprinkle again, and a little heavier. So, we called it "rained out", parted company, and headed for home.

When Deanne and I got underway and realized the sky was constantly improving, it seemed only natural to simply relocate plans for which we were already armed. We drove to Fort White, parked at the Community Thrift Shop, unloaded the trikes, and pedaled away on the O'Leno to Ichetucknee Trail. So we salvaged a rained out ride by enjoying a sunny little 26 mile jaunt through the debris and called it a day. Photos are posted in the gallery.

Trail Condition: Absolutely deplorable, completely blocked in three places, facilities non-existent, this trail is dangerously close to finishing an entire year since its dedication without maintenance.