James Van Fleet Trail

February 15, 2023

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Rich FrasierWow - that's a couple of long straight lines! Was it a challenge to take that corner in-between? :)
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1 year ago

Larry MitchellTo Rich FrasierDidn’t even know we had done it …
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1 year ago

We might just get used to this Florida cycling … today the target was the James Van Fleet Trail which was a quick 20 minute drive from our friends house. As the van we rented stows all the back seats in the floor, unloading and loading the trikes is a 5 minute process and allows us to get riding quickly. We also met another Alaskan friend who wanted to ride with us and he met us at the trailhead.

The actual trail is quite straight but was in good condition, very flat but with ample shade from the trees. One of the first things we noticed was the presence of other cyclists … 3 recumbent trikes, 2 seasoned cyclists riding Bike Fridays (have also cycled 21 European countries) and lots of local cyclists on all forms of bikes. There were very few road crossings and only required us to really stop and wait for traffic.

The miles rolled by quickly between the chatting and easy terrain until we paused on a bridge over a small waterway. Just as in Alaska, if you see folks standing on the side of a road, wildlife is usually present. In our case, cyclists were stopped and peering over the side rails and sure enough, we found our second set of alligators for this trip. We were also gifted several turtles. After our turn around at mile 15, we stopped at the same bridge on the return to see different alligators and what I believe was different turtles.

We picked up a slight headwind for the return which really served to cool us off as the temperature had now reached the low/mid 80’s … about 80 degrees warmer than home.

A definite win for day 2!

Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 51 miles (82 km)

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