Ten days in Florida are a perfect antidote to rainy and cool weather at home. We are definitely ready for the spring to arrive so we go south for some riding without arm warmers, leg warmers, vests and long sleeve jerseys. We are rewarded with sunshine and not a drop of rain. We clock 250 miles on seven rides and we hike 4 miles on each of our off (the bike) days.

We are staying at an air B&B in Inverness which allows us great access to different parts of the Withlacoochee Trail. More on our accommodations later. Wait until you see this place.

Reg and Michele Ullman were kind enough to make the drive from Orlando to spend the day. We enjoyed the company on and off the bike. They enjoyed their first strawberry shakes from The Ferris Groves store in Floral City!

We had two days off the bike (after all, we were re-acquainting our butts with our saddles) and we hiked in the Withlacoochie State Forest – which was less than a mile from our air B&B (more on our accommodations later…very strange!).

We went up to Ocala for a ride in bucolic horse country with Laura and Earle. A ride through the expansive and magnificent World Equestrian Center is a great way to start a ride and see how the other half lives!

Fortunately the roads are still free and and although some (still) need to be repaved, we thoroughly enjoy the rolling hills and the good company.

We are trying to watch the calories, so not a lot of desserts and ice cream on this trip. We did take Laura and Earle to The Front Porch for a delicious post-ride lunch. It’s impossible to eat there and not indulge in their famous pie. This slice of chocolate coconut merengue did not hold together for the photo – but it was scrumptious!

We had a visit and a ride with Linda and Eric at their winter home in Webster.

It was terrific to visit with friends and to have beautiful days filled with sunshine and warmth.

And now those accommodations, which were bizarre at best. A year ago we had reserved a house close to the bike trail and the Inverness downtown. We ended up having to cancel it due to some circumstances beyond our control. Ultimately we realized we were going to be able to go to Florida after all, and when Roger tried to find something the choices were VERY limited. We ended up is a 4000 square foot loft which was the top floor of a large metal industrial type building. I described it as a bachelor pad run amok…the 9 shower heads in the shower that was as large as some NYC apartments, the urinal in the “toilet room” – the only room with an actual door on it. The giant mermaid hot tub – which we didn’t use because we couldn’t justify wasting all of that water.

The photos do NOT do it “justice”, but I’ll share just a few more.

I could go on and on describing the place, and the things that had us shaking our heads. It was certainly an experience! We did NOT see them, but apparently there were “pet” squirrels around the the property…ick.

We are happy that we were able to rack up some miles and enjoy the abundant sunshine for ten days.

Next up, we head west to continue our spring training in Southern California.

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