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Published: January 19th 2009
Biking Trip to Florida, Alabama & Georgia
NOTE: This trip blog includes 4 or 5 trails in the above 3 states. The Silver Comet portion was also biked in 2015 and 2017. Tues, March 4
We arrived in Gainesville Florida amidst heavy rains, cool (tornadoes in Mississippi)
We stayed in an older Howard Johnson’s near the University of Florida—was dark in room, but otherwise fairly clean…I felt it smelled a bit too—owners were nice, but I wanted to move for the next night
We ate at Domino’s pizza—good deal due to lots of University students in the area.
The streets were very busy in the area of hotel
Wed. March 5, 2008
Sunny and then partly cloudy, warm enough for t shirts. We moved to a nice Super 8 on University Ave—busy street but hotel was quiet.
Went for our first bike ride
Gainesville to Hawthorne-about 38 km round trip. An interesting trail with hills, turns—butts were very sore as this was our first ride since last fall—my quadriceps actually ached while on the trail—took Tylenol, but between butt and hams, there was a lot of pain
We saw a young guy
Nature Coast State Trail
Rail trestle over the Suwanee Riverwho had wiped out at the bottom of a long twisting hill. He was as groaning in pain while his friends called for an ambulance. Had Wendy’s salads for dinner—very good
Note: The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail runs from Gainesville to Hawthorne for a distance of 26 km (16 miles) and is paved. There are
rest rooms and parking at the Gainesville Trailhead, 3300 SE 15th Street in Gainesville, at Boulware Springs City Park. Information: 352-466-3397.
The trail passes through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and the Lochloosa Wildlife Management Area. A scenic and enjoyable ride.
Thurs. March 6
Drove a short distance to Fanning Springs, Fla.—sunny in a.m. and turned cloudy at noon and rain by late p.m.. We stayed in Cadillac Motel in Fanning Springs. An old place with no Internet, but was clean
We biked from
Fanning Springs to Cross City almost 40 km round trip. It was a nice sunny ride on the way there; had to detour to highway for about a mile as wood chipping machine was working on the trail;ate at Subway—not much choice—and had ice cream cone—shared Joe’s
It turned cloudy on return trip—butts sore—made it home just
before the downpour and put bikes right into motel room for the night.
Joe enjoyed all you can eat crab legs at Lighthouse Seafood Restaurant—only decent place in the area—lots of people looking for the deal—I had tilapia.
Note:
Nature Coast State Trail. We did the portion from Fanning Springs( trailhead) to Cross City (parking). Other trail heads are at Chiefland and Trenton. The trail is paved, parallels highway 19 and crosses the Suwannee Rive on a historic railroad trestle.
There are three sections to the trail which total 52 kilometres (32 miles.) There are a number of benches for resting and towns are close enough for services. Contact information: 11650 NW 115th Street Chiefland, FL 32626 352-493-6072
Friday, March 7
Drove to Tallahassee amid severe thunderstorm watch; had a period of very heavy rain where it turned almost pitch black and we had to stop since the rain was so heavy.
We stayed at Howard Johnson’s on Monroe in the north end. It looked old from the outside but was well kept and clean inside—Joe loved the executive’s chair and computer access once again. Had fridge and micro which we
made use of. Spent afternoon washing our clothes—had a guest laundry there-$1.25 to wash and $1.00 to dry
Went for a walk late p.m. along busy Monroe Street to mall where we looked in a few shoe stores
We ate at Red Lobster—Joe tried blackened tilapia—hot and good, and I had broiled trout—Joe’s fish was better—mine didn’t seem cooked enough.
Sat. March 8, 2008
Still in Tallahassee at Howard Johnson—cereal choices poor, no decaf, but they did have in-room decaf.
Very cool day—had a frost last night—set off for
biking in a botanical gardens north of Highway 10—trail was dirt and bumpy, twisty, hilly, but it was beautiful—very quiet and sunny, although cool, on a Sat. am. Others were out walking dogs, running or biking. I felt really peaceful on this trail, particularly at the bog, sitting in the quiet morning watching ducks, and shore birds on the sunny water. Best place on the trip so far for me.
My ankle really acted up—I could hardly walk or bike—stopped by a bog, sat in the am sun on a bench, and Joe massaged my ankle and foot for me. Then I stretched very taut calf muscles, tight
hams and quads and got some mobility out of it. Continued biking, but had same problem when we got back to car. (about 8 km ride). Massaged, stretched, and then changed from Merrills to white runners—problem went right away, it seemed. Was it the shoe or what????.
Joe went to view the gardens while I sat in car, tidied up, read brochures and rested ankle.
Picked up some cooked ribs and salads from Albertson’s—were both good; also bought frozen food for dinner—I got Amy’s enchiladas with black beans—pricey, but healthy and good. Joe wasn’t as pleased with his burrito.
We ate lunch (salads and ribs) in our room and set out again at around 3pm for
Tallahassee-St. Mark’s trail Historic Railroad Trail. We biked 29 km in very icy cold conditions—trail was shady. Not fun for me—butt and legs ached…had to keep stretching and lifting butt off bike. That was the worst ride of the trip so far - although the trail itself was fine.
NOTE: Tallahassee-St. Mark’s trail Historic Railroad Trail is a straight paved 29 km (18 miles) 2.5 metres (8 ft) wide rails to trails path. The Trailhead is on SR 363 at the southern end of Tallahassee.
There are washrooms and safe parking here. The trail continues 5 more km north into the city. The trail is straight but runs through rural areas and is mostly covered with trees (this must be a blessing in summer) There are few facilities until you get to St. Marks on the coast. A round trip would be almost 60 km.
Contact: Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail State Park: 1022 Desoto Park Drive
Tallahassee, Florida 32301 Phone: 850-922-6007
Sunday March 9
Day is sunny, warmer—should be high of 69’ today
Joe biked from the beginning to mile 9 which we had done on Sat. while I drove the car to mile 9 and started from there when he arrived. Lovely ride to St. Marks. Trail is straight and smooth.
Toured San Marcos State Historical Park—lovely and quite interesting
Lunched at a seafood restaurant on the way back—Joe had blackened shrimp sandwich (good again…Joe is really becoming adventurous) and I had a child’s sized hamburger and fries—good -- Drove to Dotham Alabama. Upon arrival, with new time change, at 5 p.m. the balcony of our Super 8 was in full sunshine so
Information Centre
On the Chief Ladiga tgrail at Piedmont we took our room chairs and sat out with wine and enjoyed the last rays of the day
Joe picked up Wendy’s salads for dinner. Then a quiet night watching TV
Monday, March 10, 2008
Drove to Anniston Alabama. Sunny and mid to high 60s
We stayed in a crummy Super 8—staples in floor, gum/candy wrappers in corner-nice guys at desk next am discussed biking trail with us—they had been on it a lot in the past. No biking today but we did walk on the Chief Ladiga Trail for about 45 minutes
Tuesday, March 11
Drove a few kilometres to
Jacksonville, Alabama. Cool, partly cloudy—raining in the am
We stayed at the University Inn—unfriendly Indian owner/manager didn’t want to let us in at 10:30 a.m., but we did get a room.
Walked to Wal-Mart where I bought some biking shorts, tops, zip jackets and a pair of slacks—10 items for 128.00. Pretty good. And the tops and shorts were wick-away! Joe bought a pair of leather hiking boots that I think he will return. They don’t feel good. Anyway, he threw away his old sandals and hiking shoes.
Biked from about
2 pm when we finally found the trail and the rain quit. We actually drove back to Aniston and picked up the beginning of the
Chief Ladiga Trail. It was as pretty cool. We went as far as Piedmont about 35 km round trip. The trail passed through rural countryside and the university campus in Jacksonville. This was the fifth time we’d biked, and it was the most painful on my butt. Oh, my goodness! I was cold, my quads hurt, and my butt was unbearable.
NOTE: The Chief Ladiga Trail is a rails to trails path that runs from
Anniston Alabama, to Jacksonville, Piedmont and to the Alabama border where it connects with the Silver Comet Trail. The elevation in Anniston is 281 metres (924 feet) and at the border it is 206 metres (677 feet). The length of the
trail is 52 kilometres (32.5) miles. It travels through wetlands, across streams, through forests and farmlands, and includes a view of the Talladega Mountains. There are several bridges and both new and restored railroad trestles when we were there (Spring 2008) there were kilometre markings but they had absolutely nothing to do with reality! There
Silver Comet Trail
West of Rockmart Georgia is parking, water and an information centre in Piedmont.
http://epic.jsu.edu/clt/index.html Wednesday, March 12
Drove to the Days Inn at
Rockmart, Georgia. Very sunny, high of about 69’F. The Chief Ladiga Trail connects with the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia. Biked from Rockmart west towards Alabama, but didn’t get that far, because trail has a break in it that has not yet been finished—they decided to put dollars into highway repair this year
The part that we did bike on was beautiful, particularly the “remote” section that ran along farmers’ fields—saw some beautiful Black Angus cows enjoying the beautiful sunny, warm day. The trail was
fresh, smooth concrete and was brand new as of last fall.
There were
lots of signs re: elevation, distance, in both miles and accurate kilometres.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Stayed in Rockmart, GA again
Beautiful sunny day with temps in 70s—light airy clouds high up in sky. Warmest day of the trip.
Biked all day on
Silver Comet trail through farmland, towns, tunnels, over railroad bridges; what a beautiful trail—some gradual climbs and lots of down grades, particularly at the end when we were tired.
I
stopped at the 34 km mark while Joe biked on past
Florence to the 10.2 km mark on the trail to give him a total of 83 km; he said he could have done more! Even 100! The entire Silver Comet Trail is very well marked with signs and distances.
Picked up food at Wal-Mart (salad for Joe) and KFC, a small meal of chicken for me and went back and chilled out in our room; I was tired.
What a fantastic day of biking. I guess it was appropriate the best was saved for last. The temperature was perfect, the scenery was great and we did our longest rides.
Note: The Silver Comet Trail is over 99 km ( 61 miles) long, and starts near Mavell Road in Smyrna, Georgia. It ends at the Georgia/Alabama state line, near Cedartown and Esom. Mostly rural area and very scenic with a train tunnel and awesome, scenic train trestle. Trail markers with distance and elevation are frequent, large and accurate.
One of the best trails that we have biked in a long time.
http://www.silvercometga.com/
Trail map at: http://www.silvercometga.com/silver-comet-map/silver-comet-map.shtml
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