Originally published in The Tampa Bay Times
As I teetered at the top of the hill, the words “insurance copay” kept running through my mind.
Below all I could see was a gauntlet of roots, rocks and chewed up sand ready to grab my front wheel and launch me over the bars. When you go mountain biking on the Cross Florida Greenway in Ocala, be prepared to get a little lost and a little bruised. Or as one mountain biking friend says, “you get a little mud and a little blood”. But you’re going to have a lot of fun.
The Greenway is part of a trail system that covers more than 4,000 miles of trails in State Parks and state lands. There are probably several thousand more miles that are maintained by cities and counties around the state. Trails have increased tremendously in popularity as more are built, and more riders decide they’ve had enough playing matador and bull games on crowded urban roadways.
The Pinellas Trail is the heaviest used and most successful of all the trails in the state. It draws over a million visitors a year. Tampa Bay area riders are already familiar with the Pinellas Trail, one of the first and most successful urban trail rides in the country. Here are five other rides, each offering a unique trail experience, and the opportunity to explore different parts of Florida. The Greenway is a mountain bike experience. The others are paved.
Withlacoochee State Trail
The Withlacoochee State Recreation Trail follows an old rail bed along the western banks of the Withlacoochee River through parts of Polk, Hernando and Citrus counties. It is long enough that you can make it a weekend adventure if you want to do the whole thing
Like most “Rails To Trails” bikeways that used to be a railroad right-of-way, it is paved, generally straight and flat. Call it an illusion, but no matter which way I go, I always seem to be climbing uphill. Still, this is not a hard ride and you see people of all ages, shapes and sizes riding everything from high-tech racing bikes to old beach cruisers.
The trail rambles 46 miles through rural countrysides, small towns, the Withlachochee State Forest, and the city of Inverness. The most popular starting points are the Ridge Manor Trailhead just off State Road 50, east of I-75, or in Inverness.
The town of Floral City greets trail users with water fountains at the north and south city limits, and a small gazebo that offers a shady rest stop downtown. This is a good place to get off the trail and tour oak lined streets that aren’t clogged with traffic, or stop in shops or restaurants. There is a country store in Istachatta that has covered tables at trailside where you can relax with cold drinks and a snack.
There are several community parks located along the trail. Fort Cooper State Park is nearby.
Florida Keys Historic Trail
Many of the guidebooks caution you against biking in the Florida Keys because of the traffic. People who take that advice are missing out on one of the most beautiful and historic bike trips in the country. Most of the Keys are already connected with a bike trail that is separated from traffic on U.S. 1.
The ride is one of the most scenic anywhere. In some places you have spectacular views of the Atlantic and Florida Bay on either side. The trail sidetracks onto local neighborhood streets through some areas of Tavernier and Islamorada. The State of Florida and local communities have been working for years to connect missing links in the trail.
Travel in the Keys is defined by mile markers, and each mile along the way takes you past historic benchmarks. You can almost hear the sound of the pile drivers working on Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad. The monument to the 500 people who died in the great hurricane of 1935 is located near mile marker 81 in Islamorada.
The bridges in the Keys offer the most spectacular views, and some have separate bike and pedestrian crossings so you can take your time and enjoy the scenery. Even the famed 7-Mile Bridge has an eight-foot pull-off lane that serves as a suitable bike lane. You want to use caution and move quickly at the smaller bridges because these are where riders and traffic come back together again. There are also places where the bike trail alternates between the east and west sides of U.S. 1, and crossing back and forth can be dicey. This is not a good ride for children.
Just south of Marathon you can take a short side trip on the old railroad bridge that takes you out to watch the sunset at Pigeon Key. The bridge is now used as a fishing pier and jogging trail.
Gasparilla Trail
This is a short ride, but a great weekend getaway. The signature feature of the Gasparilla Trail is the destination, the town of Boca Grande. This former millionaire’s hideaway sits on the Gulf of Mexico, at the entrance to Charlotte Harbor. The trail used to be a private rail line that allowed rich industrial barons of a century ago to ride to their beach mansions in their private rail cars. Many of the locals now use the trail to commute around the island in their private golf carts.
The old railroad station now holds restaurants, boutiques and artsy gift shops. There seems to be art galleries in every block. Tarpon fishing is the big attraction here in the spring and summer.
The Gasparilla is probably the only trail in Florida where you have to be ready to swerve and brake for iguanas darting in front of you. Descendants of house pets who escaped to freedom, some of them are up to three feet long.
The trail’s end is at the Gasparilla Island State Park and Lighthouse. A round trip up the island and back is only about 13 miles. Ending at the park lets you use the restrooms and showers to clean up before you head into Boca Grande for lunch and shopping.
Cross Florida Greenway
The Cross Florida Greenway is a spaghetti plate of interwoven hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails near Ocala.
The busiest section of the trail flanks both sides of Interstate 75 south of Ocala, connected by a “Land Bridge”. The bridge was built specifically to carry trail users and wildlife across the highway. I’ve often imagined the possibility of a mountain biker and a Florida black bear each trying to cross the bridge at the same time. Hmmm, kinda tasty except this helmet thing is a little tough to chew.
Horses outnumber bikers and hikers in this part of the Greenway. Each group of users has its own trail designations but they are not always clearly marked and there is a lot of communal traffic.
The mountain bike trail at the Land Bridge has a schizophrenic personality. East of I-75 it’s flat and tame. To the west it turns into a roller coaster of hills with steep climbs and intimidating downhills. Not far away is the Santos Trail, which is on the Greenway, but privately maintained by the Ocala Mountain Biking Club. Santos has been around a long time and has a good mix of trails with varied degrees of difficulty.
West Orange Trail, Orlando
The most popular ride in the Orlando area is the paved West Orange Trail, which starts near the Lake County line and runs northeast to Apopka. Much like the Pinellas Trail without the urban congestion, the West Orange Trail runs through small towns, subdivisions and rolling hills west of Orlando.
Family restaurants, antique shops and boutiques line the trail in Winter Garden. The trailhead at Winter Garden Station is the most popular access point. It has plenty of shaded parking, restrooms and vending machines.
There is an entrance to the Oakland Nature Preserve Park near the west end of the trail. A number of small parks and an equestrian park are located along the way.
The trail borders subdivisions, golf courses, business parks and citrus groves. Some stretches are heavily tree shaded, offering a welcome break from the beating sun in the summer.