Originally Posted by Boatdesigner

I convinced the family to ride with me today, so I loaded the bikes in the old pickup and we went to the trail that runs along the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Normally this is a 10 mile round trip, but there is a new bridge under construction on HWY 19 over the canal and they have part of the trail blocked off. I think we covered about 9 miles.

When we left the sky was looking pretty black and then looked even worse when we got there. I thought for sure we would be turning around in a mile or so and running for cover. Amazingly, the rain held off! On the way down the trail we saw a deer in the woods, but she was a bit shy. This is the view at the end of the trail:

There were some really nice reflections on the water:


Looking out to the Gulf:

On the way back we stopped and looked out over the salt marsh:

A little further along we came across another deer, I had my camera ready this time!

She was looking for Mom:

A family photo:


Rides don't have to be long and epic to be memorable and fun!