Bike-Trips

Maureen and Bob invited us to join them and Eric and Mary in Florida for most of February and ride a couple of railtrails that Maureen knew about, near Wallaby Ranch. We were very excited to go and our trip to Florida proved to be one of the neatest bike trips we have been on.

On the third day of driving Deb and I crossed into the state of Florida at 1pm. The town of Gainesville was the first destination and railtrail. We arrived there around 3pm and searched out the trail immediately, found the parking lot, unloaded the bikes and rode the trail until dusk, (priorities don't you know) Thought we could find a motel later, once we got a taste of the trail.

It was everything we could have hoped for. On the internet the trail was 17 miles each way, but as it turns out there is more, leading right into and through the town itself, also a boardwalk and a State Park along the trail to explore with wild alligators. This was also our first glimpse of Florida swamp scenery which is also so awesome, with the trees all covered in moss. We ended up leaving Gainesville Sunday, 3 days later.

We continued driving south to meet our friends at Wallaby Ranch arriving late Sunday afternoon. It was a blast. Our little hooch (cottage) that we stayed in there was tiny, (we loved it), with a bed up above the "living area". (you climbed a ladder to get into the bed). Below the bed was just large enough for a little couch, bar fridge for the groceries and a counter top to eat on. Everything you need! There was no water in the hooch, but the showers and washrooms were close by. It was definitely the best accommodations we had on the whole trip.

During the day, at Wallaby, the tugs (Ultra lights) pull the hang gliders up in the air, release them and swoop back down for the next one. There was action everywhere. You could even go up in a tandem hang glider with a pilot for a flight (I wasn't quite brave enough) to try it out. How many places have you ever stayed, that you are sitting outside your hooch and a plane taxies out the laneway, (a 100 ft away from you) to the field and takes off, or there are hang gliders everywhere in the sky above you??............it was just so awesome! It is really worth checking Bob's "Skydog" web page out on Wallaby Ranch!!

Bob, Maureen, Eric and Mary joined us on a bunch of bike rides leaving right from the park, or sometimes meeting up with us on a trail. Flash, Bob's dachshund, would also be there, in a basket on the front of Bob's bike. He definitely likes being in the lead. If Bob was behind someone, Flash would wine until Bob sped up and got into the lead, then he was happy. Of course, he also liked to run a little along the way............very fast wiener dog!!

We really enjoyed the 10 days at Wallaby with them. After our stay there, we were excited to continue on exploring new trails, but sad to leave our friends, our hooch and the park behind, while we drove over near Clearwater for more trails and the last part of our holiday. They did meet us again later for a couple of rides near Tarpon Springs and a swim with the Manatees!! Afterwards they headed back to Wallaby and Deb and I had a few more days of riding on the west coast before heading home to Canada.

That is pretty much how the whole trip went. The rail trails are beautiful, all paved, well maintained, with "HUGE" bridges over any major roads. Most trails averaging 30 to 35 miles one way. There is a really nice choice, some are urban trails, others are scenic country trails with very few road crossings and lots of nature too view while passing by quaint little villages and lakes. Yet another, the Sun coast trail, that parallels a toll hwy, (it is not a rail trail) is a paved path that follows the lay of the land and the hwy, for over 40 miles each direction.

Each of the trails also has side trip adventures for more mileage on the bikes. They either have a State park joined to them by path, or a lake or river to sit and enjoy your lunch. In the case of the Pinellas trail, the side path leads to Honeymoon Island (also a State Park, near Clearwater) It has a beautiful white sandy beach to spend time at. There is also lots of accommodations on or fairly close to all of the trailheads.

A picture is worth a thousand words, I think once you have looked at them , it gives a nice overview of our 850 miles of riding we enjoyed during the 3 weeks of our holidays. (notice the smiles!!)...................... BUT.......... pictures can't portray how awesome these trails really are, it is so much more exciting and rewarding in real life to ride these trails, and I would recommend exploring it to anyone. We will be going back hopefully next winter, there are more trails to ride and explore in Florida!!

I have a short list of trail names we rode, use them on your computer to google and see for yourself..........Orange County Trail

Pinellas Trail

Van Fleet Trail

Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail

Sun Coast Trail

Withlacoochee Trail

Enjoy the ride..................................Gord and Deb

We started this Biking page because Maureen has been riding with Gord and Debbie Tonguzzo at home in London, Ontario, Canada and really enjoyed her riding experiences like their longest trip to Grand Bend and back which took them 100 miles and all day. Gord and Deb thought that coming to Florida while we were here for the month of February would be great with the warmer temperatures and many trails available some of which Maureen had ridden for a few years now.

We arrived at our Hang Gliding destination, Wallaby Ranch on the last day of January and Gord and Deb showed up three days later after stopping to ride in the Gainesville area and the race was on. Maureen, Debbie, Gord and our friends Eric and Mary went on some great rides on a few different trails like the one near Wintergarden called the West Orange Trail which if we go both ways takes us 42 miles and takes us along a golf coarse and through the town of Wintergarden and then finally into Orlando. On another day we rode to the Van Fleet trail which is 29 miles one way so that is a 74 mile trip when we leave from the Ranch and seven miles to the trail.

After a week of biking with us Gord and Deb decided to head to the west coast of Florida to ride on the world famous Pinellas trail and the Sun Coast trail so we are planning to meet up with Gord and Deb for a Manatee excursion in a few days. There are lots of great bike shops in Florida and yesterday I visited the Bike Barn in Lakeland to purchase a new shifter cable and Wednesday morning I replaced the cable and I am ready to go again except for my sore cheeks which will likely never heal.

We are looking forward to some great stories from the biking fanatics - Gord And Debbie so keep checking back here.