Withlacoochee State Trail, Wallace Brooks Park, Inverness to Floral City

July 2, 2013 by KTgreen

We’ve had crazy amounts of rain since Friday here in Old Homosassa. It has certainly curtailed any of our outdoor plans! Last week, before the rains came in Terry, Maggie and I made it back out onto the Withlacoochee State Trail and covered another 6 ½ miles–our longest ride yet. It helped that this was also the easiest part of the trail that we’ve covered so far. Flat. Shady. Picturesque. We were happy bikers!

Withlacoochee State Trail, Inverness to Floral City — This section of the Withlacoochee State Trail is almost entirely shaded by large trees.

On this ride we started at Wallace Brooks Park, one of Inverness’s many lovely parks. Wallace Brooks is on the shoreline of the Lake Tsala Apopka chain. It’s a small park but when we returned it was busy with all ages taking advantage of the green space and beautiful large trees. A plus to parking at Wallace Brooks is that the lot is shaded.

Withlacoochee State Trail, Wallace Brooks Parky — Withlacoochee State Trail, Wallace Brooks Park

We always ride as early as possible, but it was already in the upper 80s when we started out. I’ve run and biked on this part of the trail many times there is little elevation change and is shaded with beautiful large live oaks. We spotted 3 sandhill cranes—2 adults and a chick– –within our first mile. For the first time in my many visits to the trail, I saw a horse and rider on the unpaved equestrian side. In addition we came across many dogs with their people, a few walkers and runners, but mainly bicyclists—and most them were couples on bikes. But Terry was the only bicyclist with a dog in his basket.

This portion of the trail goes by Fort Cooper State Park which we plan to visit another day. According to the state park website, there are miles of hiking, bird watching, and– a bonus for us–dogs are allowed!

Rest Area in Front of Fort Cooper State Park

We took a break in Floral City, enjoyed the pretty gazebo that’s right on the trail, tried to figure out exactly where the original train depot might have been, then turned back for Inverness.

Gazebo on the Withlacoochee State Trail in Floral City

Train Depot Marker in Floral City on the Withlacoochee State Trail

Our next ride will be south from Floral City which will be a new section for all three of us. We’re looking forward to our next adventure!

Seagrass Pub

June 25, 2013 by KTgreen

Local Places, Local Faces

Pretty, Pretty, Pretty. But Pretty is as pretty does. Pretty building and décor but after two experiences, not so pretty food or service. Anyhow, wondering what all the other locals that read my blog have to say?

Seagrass Pub — Terry was unhappy with his wings. I LOVED the homemade potato chips but that grilled fish was so sad.

Withlacoochee State Trail, Hernando to Inverness Trailhead

June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by KTgreen

Local Places, Local Faces

Haven’t been posting much about my goal of riding the entire 46 miles of the Withlacoochee State Trail. But we have been on it a few times since my first post way back in the beginning of May. A few weeks ago Terry, Maggie and I started out at the South Citrus Springs Trailhead and rode almost to Hernando. Flat and mostly shaded. Easy ride.

Withlacoochee State Trail, Hernando to Inverness Trailhead

This week we started in Hernando and rode to the Inverness Trailhead. Like the ten miles of trails that we had already traveled, it runs alongside US-41 and is very flat and shaded—which makes for an easy ride. This section of the trail is more picturesque than the northern two sections we just finished. Starting with a view of Lake Hernando, we headed south and passed a large pink elephant and a “bull” shark hanging from a tree. (Really. If you haven’t seen them, just drive north from Inverness on US-41.)

As we rode closer to Inverness, there were water views from both sides of the trail. The trailhead in Inverness is nice with plenty of parking, a restroom, a picnic pavilion, and giant cooter turtles! Can’t find those in too many other places. Suncoast Bicycles is located close to the trailhead and offers rentals, cold drinks, and bike repair. There were a lot of walkers, runners, and bicyclists in all age groups but the trail was not at all crowded.

Withlacoochee State Trail, Hernando to Inverness Trailhead

So far in our journey, there have been a few busy highways to cross but they have definitely been manageable. Riding for miles without the concern of a speeding car passing us too closely is fantastic. If it wasn’t for the 45 minute drive to get to the trail, I would ride it at least twice a week.

Now I’m going to get on my soap box for a little bit. Does anyone out there know that bicyclists are allowed on the road—even in Old Homosassa? You are not supposed to run them down. Really. The law is that a bicycle is a vehicle and gets to use the road. The bicyclist is expected to use four feet of the road and a vehicle has to give the bicyclist 3 feet when passing. Really. Three feet. I did the research. So all you drivers out there that think it’s safe to pass me on those crazy curves on Mason Creek are WRONG! Yeah, I know, I’m right but very dead if I get a little tap from your bumper or that side mirror that’s inches from my face. But I’d like to point out that I’m not the only bicyclist out there. Old Homosassa is a VACATION spot. All vacation rental houses in the area include bicycles. And we have a lot of bars that our tourists enjoy riding to on their bicycles. So please, refrain from passing the drunk bicyclist too close. A lot of locals depend on their tourist dollars. Okay. Off of my soapbox now.

So we have traveled 15 miles on the Trail with 31 to go! I’m especially looking forward to our next ride—from Inverness to Floral City. I’ve been on this section before and it’s very beautiful. If you see us, we are the couple with the fat Jack Russell in a bike basket! Stop us and say hi!