Chuck's Adventures: Unusual Sights Seen on Bike Trails

Over the last 20 years, I've biked over 40,000 miles on over 250 trails in 37 states, and here are some of the unusual sights I've seen while biking.

The first is a sign you never seen in Chicago...

...but lest you think it a strange sign to see, here's what I regularly run into on the Shark Valley Loop Trail in Everglades National Park which I've biked about a dozen times...

Bridges are often encountered on trails, and this trestle is all that remains of a 1911 bridge on Florida's Legacy Trail which travels from Venice to Sarasota.

This interesting bridge takes Florida's Nature Coast Trail over the historic Suwannee River in Chiefland. The 1335 foot long bridge was built in the early 1900s and had a 150 foot long swing span section which rotated to allow steam boats to pass. It no longer swings open.

This is the "Land Bridge" that spans I-75 near Ocala, Florida. Yes, that is vegetation growing on this bridge which carries wildlife as well as bikes, walkers, and equestrians safely over the interstate highway.

Here's what's on the bridge...

Here's the view from the bridge...

While biking the Yarborough Linear Trail in Ft. Myers, this osprey swooped into the canal and caught a fish, and then rotated the fish to make it aerodynamic and flew away. Fun to watch! Look closely and you'll spot the fish in its talons...

While biking Ohio's Creekside Trail, I stopped at Beavercreek's impressive 9/11 Memorial which featured several photo displays of the attacks...

...as well as the centerpiece of the memorial, a 3 ton multi-story window casement which spanned floors 101 to 105 of the north tower, just above the point of impact of flight 11. It is 25 feet tall and 8 feet wide. Three staircases in the tower were destroyed making escape impossible for those above the impact and dooming 1462 people. Two of their local Beavercreek firefighters (who had gone to Ground Zero to assist in recovery efforts) drove to New York in 2011 to pick up this steel remnant.

Alaska's Girdwood Trail ("Gird to Bird Trail") travels alongside this "ghost forest" created when the 1964 Alaska earthquake sent seawater into the forest, killing all the trees. The 9.6 earthquake, the second largest in recorded history, lowered the ground here eight feet, putting the forest that was here below the high tide line of Turnagain Arm and flooding the spruce forest with saltwater, killing all the trees. But since salt is the best preservative, the trees remain intact, supported by the three feet of silt deposits that were left by the tide.

The Girdwood Trail also had this 105 MM recoilless rifle (M27A1) pictured below which was used to relieve the snow load before potential avalanches could crash down the mountain and destroy the Seward Highway and the Alaska Railroad tracks at its base. Ultimately, the highway and tracks were moved west to the shore of Turnagain Arm to prevent avalanches from blocking them, the old road was turned into the bike trail, and the gun left as an exhibit.

I discovered another ghost forest on Georgia's Jekyll Island, also created by seawater. Here's a small portion of this area...

Arizona's Ghost of Coyote Mountain Trail took me through open range, and this bull was eying me and starting to approach me as I passed, clearly communicating that he was about to defend his ladies if I stuck around!

The ambitious and very active members of the Ocala Mountain Bike Club have been constructing wood structures in several places in the Santos/Florida Greenway mountain bike venue.

This one descends into a deep sinkhole...

In Flatwoods Wilderness peak near Tampa, I came across three young raccoons, two of which scampered up trees as I stopped to get out my camera. The curious critters obliged with this cute shot...

Here's a sign you don't often see. The Venetian Trail in Venice, Florida, passes the high school baseball field, so someone with a sense of humor posted this warning sign.

Some bike clubs and communities dress up their trails with sculpture. Alcoa/Maryville's Greenway Trail has this one...

Wisconsin's famous Elroy-Sparta Trail has "Ben Bikin'," a huge statue of a mustachioed 19th century biker atop a Victorian-era "penny-farthing" high-wheel bike, located a half mile from the Sparta visitor center on South Water Street.

Ohio's Little Miami River Trail...

Florida's Lake Mineola Trail...

Ohio's New River Trail...

Minnesota's Root River Trail...

And the SWAMP Mountain Bike Club members display their whimsy with these next four decorations on trees along the Croom Trails near Brooksville...

I saw this rather unusual hunting blind (bunker?) along Michigan's Musketawa Trail. My first thought was, "Are the deer armed in this state?"

Finally, since many trails occupy former rail lines (hence rail-trails), I often see refurbished railroad cabooses on display as seen below on Florida's 46 mile Withlacoochee State Trail.

...and Ohio's Little Miami Trailhead in Xenia...

...and Georgia's Silver Comet Trail...

You can also learn a bit of interesting history on some trails. Ohio's Alum Trail was dedicated to Marshall "Major" Taylor ("The Cyclone") who was the first African-American to become an international superstar and attain a world record. For 16 years he was a champion racer on three continents, though he had to race mainly in Europe because he was banned from racing in segregated areas of America. In 1899 in Montreal, he set 7 world records, including riding the mile in 1 minute 19 seconds -- 46 miles per hour! In a world without cars, motorcycles, or airplanes, cyclists were the fastest humans on earth.

He died in 1932, impoverished and forgotten in Chicago, and was buried in an unmarked grave. Years later, bicycle magnate Frank Schwinn and pro racers reburied Taylor in a prominent part of Mount Glenwood Cemetery in Chicago, and in 1979, the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Columbus, Ohio, became the first club founded to honor his principles and accomplishments.

DeLand, Florida has dozens of murals celebrating the town's history, one of which is over 100 feet in length. Below is one copied from an 1890s era photo showing winter tourists...