Gainesville Tour Day 5
 

Day 5 was without doubt the most spectacular day of the tour both due to the scenery and lack of congestion .Once again I started out at about daybreak and continued heading west on 44 till I picked up 42 which continued west while 44 veared off to the southwest.The ride from this intersection to Paisley on 44 was true Fl. backcountry with little traffic or signs of human habitation and a two lane road with good shouldering.The scenery rivaled 41 through Big Cyprus for sheer Fl. beauty.On the north side the road followed the southern boundry of the Ocala National Forest.Paisley was a neat small town and just past it was Clearwater Lake a campground area within the National Forest where the Fl. Trail runs through and reportedly one of the best Fl. backpacking routes starts at the trailhead here .From Clearwater Lake to Altoona 44 lost its shoulder but the road was wide enought not to cause problems with the limited traffic.Altoona was a quaint little one convenience store type town on Rt. 19 the main southern entrance to the National Forest .It was unique in that it had a full service natural health food store where I unfortunately realized I had left my fannypack with all my valuables sitting alongside the Fl. Trail back at Clearwater Lake while going to the bathroom.So I covered the scenic 6 miles from Clearwater to Altoona 4 times and it was beautiful backcountry with interspersed cows graizing.North on 19 was equally scenic with horse farms some sizable giving way to the rolling hills of the ONF and all of 19 was two lane with good shouldering.The ONF generally had a lot of midsize stands of pines with some clearcut areas and some areas of small seedlings . When I reached Rt 40 in the middle of the National Forest and headed west the two lane road lost its shouldering but the rolling hills continued .As 5 PM was approaching I rode fast to avoid the rush hour traffic on this road but it was wide enough to not really cause any problem.I exit the ONF and camped near the appropriately named town of Forest Corners in a field of wheat like grass surrounded by forests of largely deciduous oaks as well as a few pines with cover provided by a briar patch in my tent for the first time because I noticed a few mosquitos/bugs.