Day 3 Thursday April 29 2021 - Clermont to Brooksville
Day 3 - 64.1 miles
Day 3 Thursday April 29 2021 - Clermont to Brooksville
Todays ride will be 64.1 miles. Today will severely challenge our bikes, batteries and bodies. The complete route can be found here. We leave Clermont and work our way West. At mile 2.7, we pick up the South Lake Trail. Our time on the South Lake Trail starts with an disarmingly idyllic 3-4 mile ride along the shores of Lake Minneola but ends abruptly at mile 10.7 when when the Trail ends at busy four-lane State Highway FL-50. Fortunately, we only have about 2 miles on FL-50 until we reach Groveland FL. At Groveland, we will need to rest, refill water bottles, buy snacks and say our prayers. For the next 25 miles, until we reach Ridge Manor FL, we will not see a single convenience store. We may not see a human being either as we are passing through the Richloam Wildlife Management Area (58,000 acres). Wild turkey, white-tailed deer, gopher tortoise, wild hogs, gray squirrels, alligators and non-venomous and venomous water snakes are common throughout this area. Off-road excursions (i.e. bathroom stops) are not advised along this stretch of our ride. There is a Dollar General Store in Ridge Manor and we will need to replenish our supplies there. Shortly after we leave Ridge Manor, we will pick up the Withlacoochee Trail for about 4 miles. At mile 45.7 we take a hard left off the Withlacoochee Trail onto the Good Neighbor Trail which takes us through the Croom Wildlife Management Area (20,000 acres). After about 12 miles we re-enter civilization. Unfortunately, the last eight (8) miles of our longest ride of the trip will be on a combination of residential streets and state highways. The only good thing about this ride is the end. We will be staying in a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott that is less than a year old. Also, two blocks away is a brand new Chipotle and Starbucks. An lastly, when we leave the next morning, we are only two blocks from the Suncoast Trail.
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