Rails to Trails rides

which lists the rails to trails in the US. You have to join in order to see the maps but it is free. I filtered down to Florida and distances greater than 20 and found two of the longest rails to trails in Florida are the 46-mile Withlacoochee State Trail and the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail at 29 miles. I had heard of the Withlacoochee State Trail years before and had wanted to do it someday.

General James A. Van Fleet State Trail

My wife (Darcy) and I did the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail first because it was closer. Neither Darcy nor I had done much preparation for this 60-mile ride except that we play tennis once a week and dabble in running when we’re not too lazy. We made a weekend of it, sightseeing in Lake Wales the first day and riding the next. It was a very good trip.

Trail info on website: http://www.traillink.com/trail/general-james-a-van-fleet-state-trail.aspx

State website: http://www.floridastateparks.org/vanfleet/default.cfm

Singing Tower (Bok Tower) in Lake Wales Darcy and Dave

The trail starts in Polk City. We did the length of it and back for just under 60 miles. We did it near the end of May and it was getting pretty hot during the day. It was cool in the morning but became warm very quickly as the sun rose. The trail has a lot of shade especially in the morning due to trees lining the path. It goes through forest, farmland, and passes a few country roads. No stores or places to buy food/drinks nearby so bring your own. I had our soft ice chest strapped to the back of my Surly Long Haul Trucker and we had drinks and lunch packed.

We really enjoyed that the trail was mostly in the country and goes through natural areas and farmland.

Start at Polk City This little guy’s so cute – and camera shy

Armadillos foraging – hardly noticed me Lots of Gopher tortoises came out around 10 am

Withlacoochee State Trail

State Trail Website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/crossflorida/trails/with_state.htm

Trail Link Rails to Trails site: http://www.traillink.com/trail/withlacoochee-state-trail.aspx

We did this trail on August 2, 2013. We really lucked out because it did not storm that day. You can almost count on a big thunderstorm most afternoons in August, in Florida. We knew it would get pretty hot but we figured we had the time so let’s go for it.

We rented a room at the Holiday Inn Express at FL-50 and I-75 – I think the city closest is Brooksville. This was one mile from the trail and we cautiously peddled down FL-50 for that mile. Our intent was to ride 30 miles one-way of the trail and then come back to make a 60-mile day. This trail was much like the other one we did except it also went through some small towns. I enjoyed that aspect because we stopped and bought breakfast in a small town and got to talk with some locals. The trail went through a lot of farmland and forest too. At one point I swerved to avoid a 4-foot poisonous copper-mouth snake but Darcy saw it too late and screamed as she ran it over. I doubt that did the snake any good but we didn’t see it laying there dead on the way back.

It did get to be very hot that day as it always does in the summer – especially in central Florida. Darcy was really feeling the heat while I was dealing with it. We went very slowly and I did a stupid thing when we decided to turn back. We hit our 30-mile mark so we knew we would do 60 miles total. I recently got clip-in mountain bike shoes and I tried to make a very slow turn into my left clipped in foot. I was actually saying to myself “don’t do that!” when I fell and hit the pavement – hard. My wrist was sore for 3 weeks and I was very lucky not to have done more damage. I knew better and now have made myself a rule to unclip both feet if in traffic or areas where I may have to stop quickly or make very slow turns.

We went very slowly due to the heat and were very happy when a small rain shower hit us. We didn’t even mind the lightning that much. We plan to do this entire trail sometime in the cooler months. We will bike the length of the trail (46 miles), spend the night, and then bike back the next day.

Cool bridge for trail over FL-50 Trail is shady in the morning/evening.

I’ve come to love my mirror Swampy area

Breakfast break Part of trail – no shade for some stretches

Break time – it was in the 90’s The rain was a blessing and cooled us down