Clermont to Ridge Manor on the C2C

Greetings from Booksville/Ridge Manor, Florida,

Sometimes when you travel you come upon something that delights you and reminds you why you travel. We had that happen a few times in the last 48 hours.

Last night after I wrote to you and showered, we followed the directions of the owner of The Orange Motel and walked up the road to a strip mall tofind a place to eat.

Steve noticed this tall tower and wo ndered outloud if there was an airport nearby.  It kind of looked like one of those Lookout towers only taller.  As we wondered looking for a place to eat, we ended up at a bunch of food trucks and vendors, like it was supposed to be some kind of festival but it was raining and not .any people were there.  We ordered a small pizza from one truck and then went into a kind of coffee shop to order a beverage.

The lady at the cash register said they were offering free rides up the tower today.  The elevator to the top was right in the coffee shop!

First we ate the pizza.

Then we went inside and rode the elevator to the top.  The elevator buttons are only for two floors.

Steve pointed out this building and I realized I had been there!  It's the Presidents Museum.  If you zoom in you might see the replica of the Lincoln Memorial at the front and in the back there is a replica of Mt. Rushmore.

The tower used to be located in an orange grove, but it has always been a tourist attraction.

This is the inside of the elevator door.

This morning I felt good enough to ride again.  I mapped our route to a motel by Ridge Manor, it looked like it was 33 miles.  That sounded reasonable.  I reserved a room by Ridge Manor.

My friend, Ann, is anxious to hear how we got from the S Lake Apopka Trail to the Withlacoochee Trail.  There is a big gap  between the two.  The construction of the Coast to Coast Trail isn't completed yet.  Bike tour groups shuttle their riders between the two trails.

Before I forget I wanted to show you, I wrapped up my electrical stuff yesterday before we rode in the rain. The booklet that came with the Bike said to not get it wet.  Lol, like rain doesn't happen when riding bicycle. 

We decided to take the detour to shorten our time on Hwy 50.  I got the instructions another rider posted on a Florida Trails Facebook Page.

The detour was nice, through rolling country side, to the Van Fleet Trail Head on Bay Lake Rd.

At the Mabel Trail head there were racing cyclists trying out high tech gear.  Steve says he thinks some of those bikes were $25,000!

After that we avoided 50 by taking a road that ran parallel to 50.  But that ended and we were on the shoulder of 50.  Until we hit construction. 

Fortunately we weren't in that mess too long when I saw that they were building a trail on the south side of the Hwy.  We rode that for a good while, happily, though still into a steady wind.

There was a sign pointing off the hwy to Historic Richloam General Store.  Google said it was only half a mile.  So we went for it.  We were glad we did!  What a delight.  A guy was playing old country music out front.  And they had good ice cream!

The last 12 miles was very difficult with sore butts and strong wind in our faces.  I only had three stripes of power out of five left on my e assist at the end of our ride.  Much of the way I used more electric.  Poor Steve was all leg and heart power.  

It turns out with the detours we did over 50 miles again!  No wonder we are spent!

Tonight we are refueling with pasta at the pizza joint in Ridge Manor.

Steve says it used to be he would climb the hill and wait for me.  Now, I glide on by up the hill with the e-assist.

Tomorrow we have less than 30 miles to get home.