Osteen Bicycle Trail Bridge

Osteen Trail Bridge Construction

The East Central Florida Trail bicycle-pedestrian bridge over highway 415 in Osteen is more than halfway completed (as announced on June 17th this year).  This bridge is a major addition that will immediately provide additional miles of trail travel in Volusia County.  Eventually this trail will connect to Edgewater and Titusville and across the state of Florida to Tampa as the first cross-Florida Bicycle Trail.  One of the community leader's hopes is the ability to get onto the commuter train in Orlando, get off in Debary and bicycle to Tampa or Cocoa Beach, for fun.
Aside from Tourist dollars, extending the bicycle trail from Gemini Springs east will open up miles of trail bicycling for local enthusiasts, and allow people to get around in central Florida and eventually cross from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico by bicycle alone.
Another trail bridge is under construction in Edgewater, and is will be the northern part of this same East Central Florida Trail.  Both bridges should be completed by cooler fall weather.

Touring North Georgia

Bill Dion with north Georgia's War Woman Dell in the background

In the years I lived and worked in Chattanooga, TN, I discovered northern Georgia as my favorite destination for backpacking, canoeing, camping and bicycling.  The busy four-lane highways had not yet been built and the small towns and beautiful country was just waiting to be discovered.  It still retains a lot of that charm and I highly recommend you go see for yourself.  Check out the spring and fall festivals throughout the area.
A few years later my friend Bill Dion and I cooked up some bicycle tours of north Georgia and actually bicycle toured the area twice.  I still have some photos of those trips and nice memories.
Bill is a tall guy and bicycling behind him was awesome for me because he blocked any headwinds, making my ride much easier.  Life didn't work the same way when I rode in front, Bill could never get far enough out of the wind to have an easy ride.  We did get along well, though, and that makes for a good bicycle touring partnership.

Cheers!

Our routes started in Ellijay, GA and followed north to the town of Blue Ridge, then east across the mountains to Suches.  We would then drop down to camp at Vogel State Park and cross Richard Russell Scenic Highway and the AT before dropping downhill into Unicoi, making the big left turn toward Hiawassee.  Passing the road to Georgia's highest mountain, Brasstown Bald and back to Vogel again before the long downhill glide into Dahlonega.  We would stay at Amicolola Falls State Park and return to Ellijay.

The warm part of the ride

Except for that first time...  But I got ahead of my story.
While the routes changed a bit each time, we still followed highways 5 and 76 north from Ellijay to Blue Ridge before turning east toward Morgenton.  During our first trip they were building the four-lane highway which prompted several dead-end runs and lots of carrying the loaded bicycles across the mud to get back to the old road sections.  Our first trip we stayed at Two Wheels Only, a motorcycle campground at Suches who welcomed us in on our bicycles.  The food there was great that night and we slept awesomely, due to pedaling up and down mountain passes all day long.
We did camp at Vogel State Park twice and on the next trip used a walk-in campsite where the view from the tent platform was of halfway up the trees.
Richard Russell Scenic Highway is still beautifully scenic, but it was very steep and we had to use our lowest gears and stop lots to rest on the way up.  The weather was cold and cloudy with swirling clouds around us on the climb.  At our last stop before the top I remarked to Bill "You are on fire!", and from the clouds evaporating heat from us in the cold air, we both appeared to be on fire.  We took way too long a break at the top, and I put on my old yellow rain suit to keep warm during the descent.  Bill found that hilarious and called me "downhill man".

Downhill from here

At Unicoi we were welcome to camp but with packing light for bicycle touring, we didn't have the clothing required for dinner at the restaurant.  We rode in to Helen and bought some food, eating at the campsite, watching our clothes dry that night.
A highlight of the next day was the hill along Owl Creek Road.  The road is pleasant and very quiet until you reach the wall.  It went straight up about as steep as you can drive road paving gear down, for what seemed at the time like hours.  Maybe we had aged since the first tour, but the second time we rode Owl Creek Road we were astonished we had no recollection of the pain of the first trip's climb.
The drop off the mountains into Dahlonega the next day was just plain wonderful and we just missed the bad weather coming in.  A big thanks to the gentlemen who watched our bicycles for us while we viewed the historical film at the old courthouse.
Once again, we found ourselves climbing an amazingly steep hill into Amicalola State Park to get to the campsites.  That steep route has since been rebuilt to make it more safe and they have built an awesome lodge at the top, near the start of the Appalachian Trail.

Laundry at Unicoi

Here's where I left off with "that first time..."  In the morning, Bill's brakes gave out while going down the big hill on the last curve.  He crashed, taco-ing his front wheel and launching panniers and stuff everywhere.  I was behind Bill and got to witness everything.  Bill landed in the grass along the roadside and was mostly unhurt.  After finding his missing glasses lens, we walked his bicycle down the mountain to the welcome center.
I left my panniers there and got to pedal a most awesome bicycle ride into Ellijay that day by myself.  I was swooping past everything, riding fast and free, unencumbered by my loaded pannier weight.  It was an awesome experience I'll never forget.
I picked up my truck and drove back to get Bill.  We drove on south out of the mountains, making it to High Falls State Park where we slept for the night before getting home to central Florida the next day.

A short weekend-long bicycle tour of north Florida

Our loaded mountain bicycles at the corner of Where and Am I?

Walt Foy and I bicycled a back roads route through the farmland of northern Florida, riding a loop from Florida Caverns to Three Rivers State Park and back over a 2 day weekend.  The whole route can be driven in about 3-4 hours the same day and still leave time to tour the Caverns before you leave, but I suggest you try riding a bicycle instead.  Moving along at 10 MPH is the best way to really see the land and experience the topography.  You also feel a sense of "earning" it when you carry your camping gear along the route.  With the low amount of traffic and with only one hill, it was a pleasant ride.
We drove up on Friday, camping at Florida Caverns that night.  In the morning we pedaled out into the country and open farmland.  I remember it was cool weather, but not cold.  The clouds were few and bicycling on our mountain bikes was easy.  Walt didn't own a touring bike, so I left mine at home and we rode our mountain bikes instead.
In the afternoon, we reached the bottom of a large hill where we could see the campsites to the left in Three Rivers State Park.  However, we had to ride uphill to get to the entrance, then coast back downhill to pick a site by the lake.  The bathrooms were clean and the hot showers were welcome.

Waiting for the coffee to kick in the next morning

Walt was watching an osprey dive for dinner across the lake from our campsite when I returned from the shower.  The park was very peaceful and you could hear fish jumping in the lake.  After dinner a couple in a huge motor home bus parked next door to us invited us over to visit.  I think they were interested in us riding bicycles and camping in small tents that took less space than the closet did in their bus.  I know I slept well that night.
The next day was cool and overcast, and after barreling down the hill exiting the park, we rode along more back roads and beside farmland until we got back to Florida Caverns.  After a shower we enjoyed the excellent tour of the cave, delighted to be just a few feet underground in Florida.  I highly recommend the Florida Caverns tour with its interesting geology.