My annual escape from Chicago's winter was well-timed this year. Our mild weather had a mere 11 inches of snow up until I left, but two big storms hit the area the first five days after I left, more than doubling that total. Glad I missed them!
I had enjoyable visits with family the first two days, first in Kentucky and then in Tennessee. On day three I drove nearly 500 miles through much rain and made it to southern Georgia. On day four, the temperatures were now warm enough to bike, but this second straight day of rain axed that. With my planned bike ride on the Jacksonville-Baldwin Trail rained out, I kept driving and made it to Gainesville just as the rain ended. Good timing. I got out the bike and did 20 miles on two connector trails and the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail, seeing some wild turkeys and this deer...
Day five was warm and sunny. I drove farther south through Florida and decided to bike the southernmost section of the Withlacoochee State Trail, a section I hadn't done for a number of years -- thirteen miles worth through lovely forest and rural scenery. Next I wanted to do the southern section of the General Van Fleet Trail. I'd done the northern half some years ago, but never the section through the famous Green Swamp, so found my way on backroads to the Green Pond Trailhead and biked another 17 miles. Here's a sign on a bridge that we never see in Chicago...
...and they weren't kidding as seen below...
The Green Swamp is the headwaters for several of Florida's famous rivers, and it also supplies much of the water for Florida's aquifers. Glad I finally got to experience this beautiful area along with the dozens of people who were also taking advantage of the warm, sunny day.
So, a very successful start to the trip with two rides totaling 50 miles, and considering I hadn't ridden since the start of November when Chicago's cold weather hit, I'm pleased with this mileage so early in the new biking season. Last year was my best mileage ever with over 3100 miles on fat tires. I'll probably never hit that high a number again, but I'll try!
Another day, another trail -- or two trails due to conditions beyond my control. I drove to a favorite place whenever I'm in Tampa -- Flatwoods Park and its Wilderness Trail. As I removed the bike from my van, I saw the back tire was nearly flat. Okay, I'm by the ranger station so I took the bike, spare tube, and air pump over to the picnic tables and fixed the problem. Much easier doing it here than while on the trail somewhere, right? Then I began biking and it immediately became obvious the rear derailleur wasn't working, and no matter what I tried, it stayed in lowest gear. So my 27 speed bike is now a 3 speed bike since only the front shifter worked. I limped around the 8 mile paved course but knew I couldn't tackle the mountain biking trails I really came here for. I did however spot this shy fellow in the woods near the trail. It's a young buck with antlers already growing and several points showing...
So i headed back to the vehicle and then searched on my iPad maps app for a local bike shop. Oh goody, there's one listed, and it's a Trek dealer, too, way on the other side of Tampa. Off I go. I find it with the help of Siri, my personal (computerized) assistant, they're aren't busy in the shop, a helpful mechanic takes my bike into the back room, and 3 minutes later brings it back in working order. The shifter cable had slipped out of a holder so the mechanic loosened it, put it back in place, and tightened it. AND NO CHARGE EVEN! Thank you!
So I decided to go to a new trail (for me) in nearby St. Petersburg -- the North Bay Trail. It's supposed to be 6+ miles in length and have an easy access to the Pinellas Trail if I want more miles. Well, it was a lovely ride along the water for a couple miles, but a lack of directional signs and a road under construction made me ad lib around town, and I never found a full 6 miles of trail, or the Pinellas Trail either. But I did meander around for 11 miles or so, so I got to enjoy the beautiful weather and interesting scenery, and between the two rides, I got in about 20 miles of biking.
