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!

The Chassahowitzka Salt Marsh Trails

June 4, 2013 by KTgreen

Local Places, Local Faces

So we’ve got this great birding trail right around the corner from us. Seriously great. Three birding trails, a picnic pavilion, a kayak dock, a viewing tower that we climb to gaze out at the Chaz. And we seem to be the only ones that use it! Well, we did see a few surly teenagers that were playing some kind of war game back there once. Probably “airsoft” which has scary looking weapons and ouch producing pellets.

After visiting the Chassahowitzka Salt Marsh Trails numerous times and posting about those visits more than once, I realized I didn’t know much about it. So with a little research on the Internet, I stumbled across the website for the Friends of Chazz and discovered that they are responsible for this beautiful retreat.

According to their website, this project was completed on approximately 10 acres of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge property and is the only land accessible property in the Refuge System. After completed, the Friends donated it to the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge.

There are no restrooms or drinking water on the property. Also, you need to know that the kayak launch is about ¼ mile from the road and if you want to use it, you will either need to carry your kayak or bring a cart–no vehicles allowed.

As I said before, the view from the tower is awesome. And it’s practically our own private park! But we’ll share it with you. The trailhead is on Mason Creek Drive, about a mile out of Old Homosassa. Whether you are a bird enthusiast, a photographer, or just want to take a short walk on a beautiful trail, you should check it out.

The Holiday in Homosassa

May 28, 2013 by KTgreen

We started our holiday weekend with wings at the Shed. Actually that’s what we do almost every Friday night. After doing our wing tour of Citrus County restaurants, I’ve decided that wings at the Shed are just as good as anywhere else, 50 cents each, and close to home! Plus there is a band, cheap beer, and we usually run into a few neighbors and colorful tourists. Very entertaining!