Biking the South, part 3

Despite on-and-off rain both days, I managed to get in 2 rides at my favorite biking venue of the 120+ I've biked across the country -- the Santos Trailhead in the Ocala National Forest just outside Ocala, Florida.  The members of the Ocala Mountain Bike Association have built several dozen trails totaling over 50 miles through the forest -- marvelous trails!

It drizzled on me the first day, so I was satisfied with 70 minutes and 9 miles, finishing soaking wet and with a pretty grungy bike, but fortunately a quick wash down of the bike at the bike washing station and a hot shower for me back at my motel and all was fine.  The next day I avoided rain storms but the forest was wet of course and so was I after 10 miles and 80 minutes in the 95% humidity, but it was another wonderful ride through luscious scenery. And after another shower, I was ready for an afternoon at Silver Springs Nature Park.

The next day, as I drove to Cedar Key, I stopped in Inverness, Florida, and biked 23 miles on the Withlacoochee Trail and enjoyed the views of the lake...

The next 2 days were my final biking days on this trip, with rides of 23 and 19 miles on 2 sections of the Nature Coast State Trail. Here's a photo of the historic Suwannee River from the old railroad trestle near Fanning Springs, Florida.

It was a great trip. Besides participating in a volunteer trail project and 2 Road Scholar/Elderhostel programs (all of which are detailed earlier in this blog) I also managed to bike over 300 miles on this trip, the most miles I've ever accomplished on a vacation.  Now I head back to Chicagoland with the hope that the weather there allows me to continue biking without a cold weather hiatus!