Withlacoochee Trail from Inverness to Townsend Lake Park - November 11, 2012

Rode from Mile 16 to Mile 31 and back.  A beautiful day in the 70's!  The beginning of the trail is very flat.  The second half has alot of long slow ups and downs.  Didn't matter too much until coming back, after going 24 miles my blood sugar was dropping fast.  The next two miles were very hard--until we came to Ferris Groves and guzzeled 16 ounces of freshly squeezed orange juice and a chocolate covered strawberry.  The last 6 miles seemed a breeze after that.  We saw many gopher tortoises and a pretty dear crossing the trail.  30 miles

Total of 477.5 miles thus far.

Nature Coast from Old Towne to Chiefland

November 4, 2012
This is our favorite part of the Nature Coast Trail.  It's flat and through the trees. Old Towne to Fanning Springs (4 miles) crosses the Suwannee River via the old railroad trestle.  It's beautiful.  And a nice place to stop, look at the river and talk to other bikers.  The weather was about 70 degrees--perfect for biking.  And then it's another 9 miles from Fanning Springs to Chiefland.  The reward is the Yum Yum Shop where you can get delicious Working Cow Ice Cream at a reasonable price!  Eat outside on the picnic tables.  26 mile round trip.



447.5 miles thus far

 

First of the new season

October 28, 2012
Finally the weather has cooled down from scorching and we couldn't resist a ride.  We began by riding through Tioga and Jockey Club and then decided to ride west down Newberry Road to the end of the sidewalk which is 5 miles long.  It's been a long time since we were on our bikes and we missed it.  It felt great.  Inlcuding neighborhood the ride was 12 miles.
Total of 421.5 miles  ridden.

Fanning Springs to Chiefland and Sturgeon

May 5, 2012 Started in Fanning Springs and rode to the end in Chiefland. I had to test out all the bicycle presents Jeremy & Randy gave me for my birthday! Loved my odometer! The trail is nice and flat--but oh it was hot! The trail is mostly sunny; but there is alot of mottled shade as well (50/50) Now that summer is here and it's in the 90's we need to either ride very early in the morning or late afternoon. We rewarded ourselves with ice cream at the Yum Yum Shoppe in Chiefland! That round trip was only 18 miles so we rode on to the Suwannee River Bridge where we sat for quite a while watching the sturgeon jumping out of the water! That was cool! 24.5 miles today 409.5 miles thus far!

Palatka/Lake Butler Trail

April 8, 2012 Started in Keystone Heights, to Grandin, and on towards Palatka. We thought there was a mile gap in the paved trail. So when we hit the Etonia Forest, we continued through the pinestraw, grass, and gravel. It was really tough going! After going quite a ways we decided to turn back. Good thing! When we got back we drove and found that the entrance to the forest was the end of the paved trail! I guess one day it will go through. It's a pretty trail and nice and flat. There were lots of gopher tortoise holes and you could often see one with its head sticking out! Turns out we did a three mile round trip within the forest. 33 miles today

385 Miles thus far!

Wildflowers, Leaves & Rain - Nature Coast Trail

Went back to the Nature Coast Trail, starting in Fanning Springs, riding to Cheifland. A very stormy looking sky! However, we've learned in Florida to go ahead and do things because it may or may not rain where you are. We had a nice, fast ride to Chiefland. There were beautiful wildflowers along the trail, especially approaching Chiefland. There were also falling leaves from the oaks everywhere lining the trail and coming down like snow. We completed the round trip, 18 miles, and wanted to go a few more. So we started toward Old Town, and got to the Suwannee trestle bridge. It started sprinking so we turned around to go back at a very rapid pace. Randy was running short of breath so we stopped 2 1/2 miles from the end at a covered bench. As we waited, the rain only got harder and harder. After about 20 minutes it let up a little so on we went. We never rode so hard! It was cold! It was pouring on us and it was very hard to see. We finally made it back to the car and.....of course...the rain stopped!! All the trails we've ridden on thus far have had nice clean bathrooms. However, the facility at Chiefland was NOT!

24 Miles today
352 miles thus far

Withlacoochee State Trail - Southern Third

The final leg of the 46 mile Withlacoochee State Trail! We didn't know that there was parking at the very southern end at US301. We drove to Ridge Manor where there are rest rooms, a drinking fountain, picnic tables and ample parking. From there we went 6 miles south to the end at US301. Then up north again past Ridge Manor and on to Lake Townsend for a 31 mile round trip!
A hot 85 degree day--but oh so windy! There were times I had to stand up to pedal against a very strong head wind--alot of effort expended! The trail is very flat and nice. Very rural and mostly sunny. We saw a gopher tortoise, raccoon, and sandhill crane. This section probably had the least crossroads of any of the trails thus far. We didn't see restaurants nearby the trail, so when we were finished we drove from Ridge Manor 10 miles south on US301 and had a wonderful dinner of cuban marinated pork, yellow rice, black beans and plantains at Matter of Taste in Dade City--a very nice place, especially upstairs, in a pretty small city.

31 Miles today!
328 miles thus far.