Alapattah Nini Ligiton: Ocala to Gainesville

We left Ocala at 11:00 a.m. after waiting for the rain storm to pass through. Eight hours (5 ½ hours actual ride time) and 49 miles later we were in the Hampton Inn in downtown Gainesville.

We had a great day, even though we had to ride several busy highways, some with little to no shoulder. We passed through one after another gorgeous horse farms, some with longhorn cattle as well, taking a short break here and there. Our favorite break, though, was at the small town of Micanopy, where we had a nice respite, including ice cream at the local café. And Rob did a little WD-40 maintenance on Diane’s chain.

And then we were off again, and in another six miles, we connected with the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail. It is wonderfully smooth and very interesting. It runs through part of the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. In the late 1800s, the eight-mile-wide Paynes Prairie was a lake, with fish camps, steamboat charters and barges that transported citrus. Then, suddenly, a giant sink hole formed and the lake drained very quickly. Within days, the prairie went dry (and scarily, could do so again without warning). For now, though, Paynes Prairie has smaller bodies of water that drain underground to recharge the aquifer that lies below.

Most of the trail is fairly flat but there is one section called The Hammock Hills & Curves. The hills are steep and the curves sharp. For us there was not so much climbing as there was descending. But it was challenging and quite exhilarating. Then the trail leveled out again, and we connected to another trail that led us to dedicated bike lanes and thence to our hotel.

We quickly showered and headed out to dinner – Cuban fare this time – at Emiliano’s. It was so delicious – Paella for Rob and for Diane, Piñon, layers of sweet plantains, chicken fricassee, and mozzarella cheese, topped with chimichurri sauce, served over rice. Oh, yeah, and Sangria for Rob, and Mojito for Diane. By the time we got back to the hotel and prepared for the next day (including re-routing the next day’s ride, to avoid the hammock hills and curves) we were too pleasantly sated and tired to post to our blog.

Well we have gotten through the two rainy days but have had to deal with strong headwinds. Such is biking. Below a few "resting theme" pics for your perusal. Rob