We'd discovered the Withlacoochee State Trail (WST) by accident. We returned for the annual Rails-to-Trails October ride. The after ride food tent was a pie lovers dream. Home baked pies of every kind.
Needless to say, we ate too much pie. (And loved every bite.) Our solution: Do more miles. So we started making the WST ride a century ride. It was perfect:
- A pleasant canopied paved trail.
- Rails-to-trails, so very gentle grades.
- Good rest stop and after ride food.
- A time of year when the weather is generally nice for cycling.
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| The Withlacoochee State Trail |
So the first weekend in October found us in Inverness, Florida, for the annual WST bike ride. It was a fun ride. We rode with a guy from Tampa. He was a funny guy, and we laughed about some of the things that had gone horribly wrong on the week-long rides the three of us had done over the years. Getting lost. Rain. Unrelenting heat. Freezing cold weather. We decided he had bragging rights for surviving the worst ride ever: 358 riders started; 25 - of which our Tampa friend was one - finished. (The ride was through the mountains of Tennessee, and there was a heat wave.)
Most rides are fun and pretty uneventful. (Especially nice little centuries on trails like the Withlacoochee!) But if you ride enough years, well, stuff sometimes happens. Things a bit more in the "adventure" category than you had planned on. You can share these stories with cycling friends. But you quickly learn that some cycling friends and most non-bikey friends will question your sanity if they learn about your "adventures." These are the rides that require a bit of imagination in retelling. Downplaying the "adventures." Playing up the beautiful scenery, great route, and all the more traditional things one expects on a bike trip.
It's better that way. (Trust me.)
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| A stop to admire the scenery. |
