What a day!! On our
bikes by 8:15 a.m. again, and after a few easy street/highway miles, we were on
Lust Road, the entry to Lake Apopka.
Right away we saw alligators, out in the water doing their thing. At the Historic Pump House, there are usually
two options for cyclists – (1) go left to the Magnolia Park Trailhead, a four-mile
trail that stays along the water; or (2) go right and end up at the Green Mountain
Trailhead, a 15-mile ride that is sometimes along the shore, sometimes through
the marsh, and sometimes right alongside canals. We had wanted to do option 1, but that part
was closed for construction. That was ok
by us because we had planned for the long haul, in terms of refreshments.
From the moment we entered Lust Road and throughout the ride
around the lake, we could hear and see a variety of birds. And there were many,
many alligators to hear and see. The
most thrilling was when a big guy, about 9 feet long, crossed the trail about 50
feet ahead of us. He was carrying newly
caught prey – we couldn’t determine what it was, but it was about the size of wiener
dog. We had a nice snack break at one of
the sheltered picnic tables, but we kept a steady pace, because there was little
shade, and the day was heating quickly.
The trail itself was rough, but our road bikes did just fine.
And then we reached the trail head, and went out to the
highway – it was about ten miles to the hotel and, according to Google Maps, about
one hour’s ride. And according to Rob (renowned
liar), once we got to the Hancock Trail which runs south along Hancock Road, it
was all downhill to the hotel. Not!! One huge, long hill after another, some of
which we had to walk, with a trail that would sometimes leave the highway and
go down a hill while the highway was going up, and then would rise to meet the
highway close to the crest of the hill.
Crazy. Well, we outthunk them and
rode the sidewalk alongside the highway.
Also, by this time, it was 90 degrees!
But we soldiered on, and soon were rewarded with another early check in
at the Clermont Hampton Inn.
After showers and resting up a bit, we went across the
street to Carrabba’s Italian Grill for most excellent food and service.
All in all, a wonderful day that delivered what we bargained
for (except for the hills).
Tomorrow, we do country road miles at the beginning and at
the end, with the General Van Fleet trail in the middle.
Resting up at the Hampton in earned air-conditioned comfort,
Diane & Rob
Alligators near, far and all around :)
Beautiful birds as well.
And lovely water flowers.
Our old bikes carried us around the loop.
And ferried us to our next motel for the night.
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