I did the Van Fleet! (yet another...)
#1
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I did the Van Fleet! (yet another...)
Inspired by other posters who have done, I wanted to break my personal distance record of 38 miles by doing the Gen. Van Fleet trail. I started at the Mabel trailhead, all the way to Polk city and back. The odometer says 60.17 miles in 5:52h. To that you could add a 20 minute break at the Polk city trailhead and another 5 minutes at one of the middle stations (water comes in, it has to come out).
And since my current road bike doesn't really fit me, I did it on a (drum roll here...) $59.95 cheapo MTB from Walmart that weights 51 pounds and has both wheels out of true.
My only regret was not taking my camera with me. As expected, I found lots of squirrels and 2 snakes. But the bunny that tried to race me for 1/10 of a mile was a new one. The deer that jumped in front of me was very pretty and unexpected. And I really wanted to get a picture of my exhausted self, flipping the bird at the nasty looking vulture that was circling above me for the last 90 minutes (I'm not dead yet!).
I feel great!
PS: The bunny won...
And since my current road bike doesn't really fit me, I did it on a (drum roll here...) $59.95 cheapo MTB from Walmart that weights 51 pounds and has both wheels out of true.
My only regret was not taking my camera with me. As expected, I found lots of squirrels and 2 snakes. But the bunny that tried to race me for 1/10 of a mile was a new one. The deer that jumped in front of me was very pretty and unexpected. And I really wanted to get a picture of my exhausted self, flipping the bird at the nasty looking vulture that was circling above me for the last 90 minutes (I'm not dead yet!).
I feel great!
PS: The bunny won...
#2
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Congrats! I rode the Van fleet trail today as well but started at the polk city trail head.nice day to ride! see you out there.
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tons of snakes out there today!!!!!!! a few rabbits,turtles,squirrels and wild turkey. The wind was blowing but not that bad.
#4
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I did it again! This time I took the camera with me. Again I started from Mabel city, went to Polk City and came back. Here are some pics:
This is one of the wooden bridges, there are a few...
The trail is so long and straight that it disappears in the horizon...
The bunnies were to fast so I decided to race the turtles!
This is at one of the trailheads...
Some historic marker from the railroad era...
Taking a break....
The concrete bridges say they need repair...
No kidding, they do need repair...
And don't you dare go under the bridge M'kay
This is one of the wooden bridges, there are a few...
The trail is so long and straight that it disappears in the horizon...
The bunnies were to fast so I decided to race the turtles!
This is at one of the trailheads...
Some historic marker from the railroad era...
Taking a break....
The concrete bridges say they need repair...
No kidding, they do need repair...
And don't you dare go under the bridge M'kay
#5
Look! My Spine!
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Bathrooms at the second trailhead....
The whole thing is FLAT. So even a noob like me can fly!
There are only a handfull of intersections, mostly private or rural roads with little or no traffic...
Here's my favorite resting spot...
Yeah, another break...
and finally, Polk City! (remember I still have to go back)
The whole thing is FLAT. So even a noob like me can fly!
There are only a handfull of intersections, mostly private or rural roads with little or no traffic...
Here's my favorite resting spot...
Yeah, another break...
and finally, Polk City! (remember I still have to go back)
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Nice going. I ride the Blanchard Park trail everyday. I do 21.5 from the Goldenrod entance and back....my house is just off the trail, so I'm pretty fortunate. I have to try the ride you did....round trip of course.
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Ruben,
You should give the Withlachoochee Trail a try. Essentially just as flat, but thre's a curve here and there over the 46 mile route. About the same as the Van Fleet, just a handfull of very low traffic crossings. Easy to add a few extra miles in either at the turn around or along the way to make it a nice century. Easy to pick up near Dade City - Trailhead is approximately a mile South of US 301/98 & CR 575 in Trilby, FL
You should give the Withlachoochee Trail a try. Essentially just as flat, but thre's a curve here and there over the 46 mile route. About the same as the Van Fleet, just a handfull of very low traffic crossings. Easy to add a few extra miles in either at the turn around or along the way to make it a nice century. Easy to pick up near Dade City - Trailhead is approximately a mile South of US 301/98 & CR 575 in Trilby, FL
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It's always windy - just get out and ride
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It's always windy - just get out and ride
League of American Bicyclist LCI 3144
♥♥ Please support riders if you can ♥♥
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