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FLORIDA ROADTRIPS - 2022 - BIKE TRAILS |
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Click on pictures for larger version
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| This year, we decided to break the bikes out and do as many of Florida's bike trails as we can get to. Our great Florida bike trip started this morning. 14 miles today, 7 up and 7 back on the bike track that was converted from railway tracks. Withlacoochee Bike Trail. | |
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| Day 2 on the trail. Took it a little easier with just 10 miles on the bikes. Cutest lamb farm ever on the trail! | |
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 Another fun day! 15 miles and great sights. Along the trail you can get pizza, wings and beer in the cute little towns. |
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 Was a good day after last night's flooded hotel room with a 14 mile bike ride on Van Fleet trail followed by birthday hamburger at a local bar. Note the alligator above. |
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 Gave the bikes a rest today and walked about 4 miles through what is probably the most beautiful swamp we have seen in Florida. We'll be back. |
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 The next bike trail was "Paint the Trail" in Orlando. This trail is known for it's artwork on pop culture painted on fences bordering the trail. Fun day cycling and seeing all the art. Then a quick spin around Lake Apopka north shore. |
  Our next bike trail was heading down to the Everglades, but on the way we stopped at Myakka River State Park. The park is known for its HUGE aligator population, and it didn't dissapoint! |
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Lunch in the Everglades... Wendy deciding whether or not to try the frog's leg... It really does taste like chicken! |
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Next day we went to the Everglades National Park Shark Valley. Did not see any sharks, but there were plenty of aligators!! |
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This is one of the few bike trails in Floria that is circular and ends at the starting point, so you don't have to double back and ride the trail twice to get back to your car. A 15 mile ride. |
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 On the observation tower half way through the trail. |
 Note the aligator under the aligator warning sign! |
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 What a great ride with lots to see, and completely flat, and don't play Yahtzee with the aligators! |
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And now for something completely different! We left the alligators behind and headed to Palm Beach to ride the Palm Beach Lake Bike Trail. 10 miles of water on the left and billionaires mansions on the right! Pretty neat bike trail and we finished it off by driving by President Trump's mansion and checking out the armed security guards. |
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Headed back from the Everglades and made a "Pit Stop". Our hotel
balcony overlooks Turn Seven, on the Sebring Internation Raceway. Pretty cool as there was a race going on right after we checked in. Earlier today we had a leisurely 10 mile cycle around Lake Jackson and now I'm trying to figure out the rules of racing. |
 Next road trip was to ride the Nature Coast Trail. A great day cycling! We crossed the Tressel Bridge over the Suwanee River and enjoyed the countryside. We only did a little over 10 miles because the wind was whipping like a big dog! While on the bridge, one gust knocked Bruce's bike right over to the other side! (He wasn't on it and no humans or bikes were injured during the taking of these photos.) |
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A great 11 mile ride thru some gorgeous countryside! The history surrounding Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is fascinating. Wendy said: Whomever said Florida is flat needs a smack from Will Smith! This trail has more curves than Marilyn Monroe and I'll admit, my little no speed, 1 gear cruiser bike battled up a couple hills. Ok.... It wasn't the bike it was my legs! . As much as I wanted filet mignon for our anniversary dinner tonight, the little Ft. McCoy general store and market was fresh out! But there was plenty of Hog Jowel. That a big pass right there. Looks like grilled chicken on the BBQ for me. |
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The trail that runs through Paynes Prairie State park is called the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. Known for wild horses and bison.
The next trail on this trip was the Cross Florida Greenway Trail, where the highlight was riding over the land bridge. |
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So cool! The first of its kind in the United States, this land
bridge was primarily built for animals to cross I75 safely. Planters
line the span and the trail is enjoyed by hikers, cyclist and
equestrian riders. They even have cameras to documents the wildlife that crosses - coyotes, wild turkeys, bobcats, and black bears. 200ft across and 100 ft high, this was definitely the highlight of our cycling trip. |