FLORIDA COAST TO COAST BIKE TRAIL DAY 3

This what happens when you zone-out and
get lost on the C2C Trail!
I was almost there!!!

     Day 3:  57 miles.  80+ degrees and sunny, no wind.  This was a big day for me as it was going to be a back to back high milage day and I was worried how my body would react to 2 big days in a row.  The day was planned to be 50 miles; but lack of appropriate signage and my zoning-out resulted in a 7 mile detour. 

    Day 3 was of some concern as there is a 5 mile gap in the trail.  To navigate the gap you had to ride on sidewalks with heaps of driveways and street crossings while making multiple turns.  There was a lot of slow going and a constant vigilance for cars was mandatory.  It turned out that cars were not the issue, but rather the surface I was riding on was the problem.  While riding the sidewalk I picked up a staple in my tire and received a puncture.  Most riders I know would be breaking out their tire repair kits; but not me as my bike has a super power.  My tires are tubeless which means that there is no tube to puncture so I only get a hole in the tire and not a tube.  Tubeless tires have 4 ounces of liquid latex rolling around inside the tire.  As the tire spins the latex coats the entire inside of the tire so when a hole occurs the air pressure in the tire forces the latex into the hole.  As soon as the latex hits the outside air it hardens and seals the hole so no flat tire!  I will never ride with tubes again as my tubeless tires prevented a lot of work and delay.

The bike trail down the center of Winter 
Garden's main street.

A rail car associated with Winter Garden's history museum.
The museum is located in a former train station of the 
Tavares and Gulf Rail Company.

    This stretch of trail is largely along roads on dedicated bike trails and traveled through a lot of commercial areas around Orlando.  Most of the route was far from scenic until I approached the town of Winter Garden.  This town was my favorite town on the trail.  Winter Garden is a town built around biking.  In fact, the bike trail runs right down the middle of the town's main street and is completely protected from traffic with bikers having the right of way at intersections.  Both sides of the street were full of interesting shops; including bike shops, restaurants, brew pubs, a history museum, and was just plain cute.  Nan met me for lunch at a Thai restaurant.  After lunch I departed but Nan hung on to enjoy a little shopping and strolling down the streets. 

Our Thai restaurant for lunch in Winter Garden.
Excellent!

    West of Winter Garden offered some beautiful riding through live oak parks.  A few miles out of town I encountered a renovated train station which now houses a large bike rental business named "Bikes and Blades."  It was a cool looking place so I went inside.  The store manager was very friendly and when he learned that I was on the C2C Trail he made a big deal out of my presence.  He introduced me to customers, gave me a choice of any soft drink for free and gave me a trail patch.  He also took my photo and posted it on an Orlando website associated with his company.  He made me feel very special.

Bikes and Blades.

    

My photo posted by Bikes & Blades.

    I was feeling pretty good after Bikes and Blades so off I went to my final destination in Groveland.  I was advised that the trip to Groveland was smooth sailing and easy to follow so I completely zoned-out and enjoyed the park-like surroundings until I got lost!  At some point I was supposed to make a 90 degree turn but I went straight.  I peddled happily along until the trail suddenly ended and I was in the middle of nowhere.  Thank goodness for Goggle Maps or I would still be riding.  Google Maps gave me the choice of going back or heading out onto the road.  The road was shorter and I didn't want to retrace my path so lead on Google--Big Mistake!!!  The roads were high speed things with lots of traffic.  Fortunately, there was a marked bike lane along the road on the shoulder; but this was no solace when the draft created by 70 MPH giant trucks hit me and almost blew me over.  For me it was "white knuckle" time but I was committed and after a 7 mile detour I found my way back to the trail.  The bad news was that Nan had parked at my destination and got on her bike to meet me on the trail.  After 30 or 40 minutes of biking and no George she gave up and returned to the car to await my delayed arrival.  Fortunately, I was able to call and let her know of my dilemma so all was good. 

Historic downtown Clermont.

Historic downtown Clermont.

     Along the trail I passed through another cute historic town, Clermont.  Clermont is located on Lake Minneola and has a wonderful waterfront.  It seemed like the perfect place to end the day; but I needed to get a few more miles down the trail to Groveland.  Groveland/Clermont has no convenient overnight facilities.  The closest lodging was 5 or 6 miles away in a highly congested area.  This is were Nan's support really came in handy as she could drive me everyplace I needed to be.  So overnight accommodations and dinner were no big deal.  I even treated her to sushi and ice cream that night.

Clermont had a rich history in the citrus
industry and was a great place for a 
railroad stop.