Riding the Withlacoochee–Monday–January 23, 2012

It was a bit cool and foggy when we walked this morning.  However, the temperature rose quickly.  After taking care of some house closing business with the attorney’s office, we met Dan and Tricia at 10:30.


We both drove our vehicles to the Gulf Junction Trail head of the Withlacoochee State Trail.

The Trail is a 46 mile, 12 foot wide, paved trail that runs north to south through 3 counties in Florida.

Here is the mileage chart from the different trailheads.

(Click on any photo to enlarge)

Last year, Nancy and I rode the southern half of the trail from Ridge Manor to Floral City and back.  This year, the four of us road the northern part from Gulf Junction to Wallace Brook Park in Inverness.  We pedaled exactly 33.33 miles and I know we will all sleep well tonight. 

Getting ready to ride at the Gulf Junction Trailhead.

There were some ups and downs at the beginning,

but not too far along, we came to a marker for the

Central Ridge District Park.

So we hung a left to find out what was back this trail.

About 1/2 mile from the main trail,

we found this wonderful recreation complex. 

Lots of ball fields, rest rooms and concession stands.

After a little rest, we headed back to the main trail and continued on.  Just a short distance before the Citrus Springs Trailhead, we found a nice picnic table and pulled over to enjoy our picnic lunch.

As we headed down the trail toward Citrus Springs, Dan apologized for the breeze in our face.  He said it never fails whenever he bikes or kayaks the wind is always in his face—both ways!!

It wasn’t long before we reach Citrus Springs Trailhead.

The ride to this point was pretty boring.  Next time I would drive to the Citrus Springs Trailhead and start my ride here.  There was more to see from here on.

How about a beautiful Orange Tree!!

Then we past the Bottle Trees!!

Of course we couldn’t miss the wildlife.

The huge Pink Elephant

and the notorious Bull Shark;o))

Then there were bridges…

One to go under and

one to go over!!

Once we crossed over the bridge,

we were in Inverness and this is a bike crazy little town.

First thing we saw was the bike store.

Next came the Rails to Trails Mural.

How about the Withlacoochee Caboose??

Yes, we had pedaled 15.9 mile so far!!

Time for a little break.

This is our “Where’s Nancy” photo!

Actually this was suppose to be a group shot, but somehow Nancy could not set her camera on automatic and run back to the picture in time;o))  I have to tell you she tried more than once and we all were rolling with laughter along with her…she really was with us…really!!

After our little rest,

we continued a little further down the trail to Wallace Brooks Park.

This is the biggest Turtle I have ever seen!!

It was a beautiful park with a nice lake surrounded 

by trees and walking trails.

Along one of the walking trails was a beautiful memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives on Sept 11th.

After visiting the park,

 we decided we needed to turn around and

 head back from where we came. 

We still had half the trip to pedal;o))

So we turned around and headed north.

It was  a gorgeous day and there were more beautiful views to see.

However, the miles were adding up and

we decided to take a break and try to hitch a ride.

Guess Dan wants to go south to see the Turtles again ;o))

Nancy here: 

After our little rest, the boys decided to spice things up a bit and took off to see how fast they could make their bikes go.  Dan wanted to know what 20+mph felt like on a bike.  Bill said they got the bikes to 25mph.  Tricia and I said they just needed to act like ‘little boys’ again and see who could go faster ;o))

But not long after that, as we near the end of the ride,

we all needed a BUTT BREAK!!

Finally, 33.33 miles later, we were back. 

A great trail ride with good friends on a wonderful day.

WOO HOO!!

But the day wasn’t quite over yet.  After packing up, we decided to head to the Rainbow Springs Headsprings to see it from land.  We plan to paddle there tomorrow, but thought it would be nice to see where we will be going.

The Headsprings is part of the State Park but requires a separate entrance fee unless you are staying at the campground.  To us that meant…No Charge!!

Our first view of the Headsprings!!

There are garden paths that wander all around.

Seminole Falls

Spring has really started blooming and

Tricia was very busy testing the zoom feature on her new camera.

Viewing the Headsprings

So glad we stopped to see the Headsprings from this perspective.  Now we can’t wait to paddle up here again tomorrow and see it from the water!!