Southeast - Road Riding Near Disney World

(Originally posted in Road Cycling here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=468610), not getting much response there, so thought I'd repost over here, hopefully I'm not violating some kind of netiquette or BF policy.)

I realize that I'm not going to a road biking paradise - but I will have a bike with me, and I'm just looking for something where I can start pedaling at first light (in early October), get in a brisk 18-20 miles in an hour, and then rejoin the family as they wake up and get ready for the theme parks. I'm staying just south of Disney World and would prefer to start pedaling from the condo, but if there's a short drive to get to something a lot nicer I'd entertain that. Any suggestions?

Check out Orange Cycle's website. They offer maps for routes and trails around Orlando, I'm a good bit south of Orlando but I'd check out Kissimmee and Celebration for interesting rides. The West Orange Trail is not too far from Disney. Have fun!

+1 West Orange Trail. It's about 15 miles away, but a very nice ride.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/eastcentral/trails/west_orange.htm (http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/eastcentral/trails/west_orange.htm)

Just remember: there are two types of motorists in Orlando:

1) Tourists that are lost
2) Locals that are late

Be Careful.

Where are you located in reference to Disney? I have family that lives in Bay Hill and when I head down there for more than a day, I always take my bike and ride out and about. Some of the roads can be a slight bit scary, but, the lanes are fairly wide and I have not been hit yet. **Prays**, I sure as heck would not ride anywhere near Disney that is for sure, but North of it on Apoka-Vineland Rd can be nice and allows me to just into some other out of traffic area's fairly easy.

FYI, I'm going to be one of the Disney tourists, so I'm going to do my riding real early before Disney even opens - so I'm hoping to avoid the tourists that are lost and the locals that are late. :)

I'm staying near US192 and Old Lake Wilson Rd (between 429 and I-4). I got a suggestion off line to go west on US192, north on US27 (both have shoulders), then west on much more scenic and lightly traveled County Road 474 - then coming back the same way. Only problem with is that it's 7 (junk?) miles to 474, but I could drive those miles and ride the rest.

I also got a tip that there's 545 (Avalon Rd.) off US192 that is popular with clubs on the weekend, but gets construction truck traffic during the week.

I live north or Orlando (Longwood). I've been looking at houses in the kissime/celebration/davenport/ponciana areas, south of Orlando (it's closer to the office). So far, all roads are scary. No shoulder, one narrow lane, 70mph traffic and little or no chance of connecting residential neighborhoods to bypass the main roads. I had some threads on the subject too, with little response. Like the other posters said, the west orange trail in Clearmont is very good, but you will have to drive there. And also mentioned, Orange Cycle has a very good page with a collection of links for local trails and group ride routes:

http://orangecycleorlando.com/page.cfm?pageID=30

If you have google earth, you could also take a look at the kmz file from MetroPlan Orlando:

http://www.metroplanorlando.com/site/downloads/default.asp?order=category&CategoryID=35