Central Florida’s Withlacoochee Trail (Rails to Trails) was everything I thought it would be, and then some.
Pulling out of our gated community around 8 a.m. last Friday (Nov. 2nd), in route to Inverness, FL and the Withlacoochee Trail, I obediently listened to my truck’s Garmin GPS, which ended up being a huge mistake. Why Samantha (our given name to the GPS’s female voice) told us to exit the Florida turnpike just north of Orlando, I’ll never know or understand.
On the other hand, I did instruct her to guide me to an IHOP in a neighboring city, so I believe that is why she steered me wrong. Come to find out, I may have listed the wrong IHOP. My bad!
Anyway, we arrived at the Central Motel in Inverness shortly after our IHOP lunch in time to suit up and head out for a short ride on the northern section of the trail. Not wanting to drift too far from the motel, we kept our first day’s ride to a minimum. Our first day’s ride was something like 13.5 miles, or pretty close to it!
Later that afternoon, and just prior to my wife and I completing our short ride, our cycling friends arrived at the motel, all five of them. After welcoming Ed, Tom, Gary, Steve and Marty to Inverness, all seven of us headed out to a local Italian restaurant for our evening group meal.
Our second day’s ride began with the temperature steady at 55 degrees F. However, knowing that the temperature would eventually rise to near 80 F, we dressed accordingly in light cycling jerseys and cycling shorts. After freezing and shaking for the first couple/three miles, our bodies soon became accustomed to the chill. By mid-morning, we became much more comfortable while moving on the sleek road bikes.
After riding for 50+ miles on the asphalt trail, and with just six miles to go on day two’s ride, we stopped for lunch at an Irish pub that was conveniently located a stone’s throw from the trail.
My fish sandwich and fries were delicious and the beer was ice-cold.
After completing day two’s ride, everyone migrated back to their individual rooms for a late afternoon nap.
That evening, all seven of us dined at Inverness’ Olive Garden Restaurant. The second night’s Italian food was better than the first night’s food.
Day three found us riding on the northern section of the trail, all seventeen miles of it – 34.46 miles round trip.
I enjoyed the northern section slightly better than the southern section mainly because of the adjoining lakes and increased elevation gains. Both sections, however, are tree lined and void of vehicular traffic. No motor vehicles are allowed, only joggers, walkers and bikers.
No comments:
Post a Comment