Clearwater, FL

March 30, 2008

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Since we would not return to Clearwater after the tour, we needed to get up early to drive north to Fanning Springs to leave the car for the week. We had breakfast in the room, cereal and fruit, and packed supplies for the drive and return bus trip. It's a critical time when you leave the car for a week, making sure you have everything you need and aren't taking anything to carry for the week and don't really need. It was difficult getting up at 6:30am after being out with Mike and Susan at the Watering Trough the night before.

It was about a 3 hour drive to Fanning Springs State Park. We stopped at a gas station near the park to pick up some more food and got behind two older gentlemen purchasing a case of Milwaukee's Best and who lamented the fact that the price had increased from $5.50 to $6.50 a 12-pack recently.

At the park we made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the road and settled in for the 2+ hour bus trip back to Clearwater, thankful that we didn't have to wait in line to have our tandem packed in a truck. The trip was uneventful, most people talking to their seatmates, Kerie and I listening to our music players and reading.

Bus ride from Fanning Springs to ClearwaterTent City in ClearwaterBelleview Biltmore Resort

It was a short walk back to the Summerside Inn from Ross Norton Park, across the RR tracks and along a side street. After changing we joined a few other cyclists for the optional local ride, mostly on the Pineallas Trail again. Much of the trail is routed along the sidewalk in Clearwater which can be very dangerous, with motorists exiting and entering the road oblivious to trail users approaching from both sides. There were some locals riding on the trail but surprisingly few. The first stop was the Belleview Biltmore Resort, a huge wooden building that's been used for a resort for many years. We checked out the large ballrooms and wandered the halls for a while before heading back to the trail.

We next rode through downtown Clearwater and onto the Causeway Bridge to Clearwater Beach. We were routed on the north sidewalk which was narrow and two-way. There were pullouts where we could stop to take pictures.

We lingered for a while at Clearwater Beach, walking out onto the long pier to people watch. The Clearwater Bridge was the first climb of the day, and the second was the Sand Key Bridge. We chose to ride on the wide bridge shoulder instead of the sidewalk and had no problems. The beach at Sand Key was less crowded.

On the return trip we were on the south side of the Causeway Bridge where there was a wide paved trail, at the end of which was an interesting spiral ped/bike bridge that made a complete circle twice and dumped us out onto a sidewalk with no curb ramp. We rode about 20 miles total.

Clearwater BridgeClearwater BeachRider's Meeting

By the time we returned to tent city it was after 5pm. This year we decided to simplify life and purchase the meal plan. The black beans, rice, fried vegetables and salad were good as was the moist cake. The couple next to us were from near Rochester, NY and we traded stories about riding in the Finger Lakes and about the wineries in the area. They were very familiar with the Bully Hill winery tastings; everyone who has been there seems to have an interesting story. They told us about the great times they had back in the 60's and 70's. Other riders at the table traded tales of the late Walter Taylor, founder of Bully Hill and a member of the famous Taylor wines family. There is a story that when Taylor visited France when he first started the winery, he was on a tour of a vineyard and while distracting his hosts, members of his party took clippings of the vines and later grafted them onto American stock.

Tomorrow is another out and back ride to Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, and Honeymoon Island.

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